Made with human hands directed by a human mind inspired by a human life.
Author ~ Creator ~ Author Services
There will always be reasons to put off finishing and publishing your book: obligations, responsibilities, the expectations of others… even self-generated obstacles like fear, shame, or imposter syndrome.
Thing is, there is only so much time to be alive.
And no other person on the planet, or who has ever lived, or will ever live, will ever write the book you need to write.
It’s time to write the book, and bring it to the world.
Let me help. Click the button.
I’ve been helping writers, authors, podcasters, and other creators since the turn of the century.
My “superpower” is a creative and professional background granting me three points of complimentary perspective:
Along those same lines, as a pioneer in both the independent publishing and “new media” worlds, I’ve been in the trenches a very long time. Heck, I’ve dug a few!
All of which is to say that I live and breathe as a creator, and a marketer, and I’ve been there.
And I’m still there, making and learning. As I like to say: “It’s not my first rodeo, but the bulls and the horses and especially the clowns keep changing..!”
I want you to make your thing and bring it into the world. I offer the practical, technical, and life experience to help you make it happen, and an approach that is at once nurturing, educational, and free of bullshit.
Let’s figure out if we’d be a good fit.
Kind words from selected clients past and present.
Here’s a selection of client books I’ve had the honor to help bring into the world, from start-to-finish assistance to more specific or one-off tasks. You’re next!
Everything I do for my clients, I’ve done myself in the pursuit of my own creative endeavors.
That means I can help you at nearly every step of the way:
In other words: whatever you need in your creative life, especially if you’re a writer or author, I have the skills and experience to help.
A glance at the carousel of client books on this page will show that I’ve worked on titles from nearly every genre, fiction and non-fiction, with the exception of Romance… and I’d certainly work with you on your Romance book, too; it just hasn’t come up!
As a creative services provider in general, I’ve worked in memoir, horror, science fiction, fantasy, western, historical fiction, fairy tales, mystery and thriller, memoir, biography, ethnography, poetry, children’s literature, business, and self-improvement, and probably a few other categories over the last quarter century that have slipped my mind.
As a developmental editor, I’ve tackled memoir, biography, music history / biography, science fiction, children’s literature, and self-improvement, among others.
As a writer and a reader, I’m interested in literary genre fiction — in other words, character- and theme-driven fiction with some (or a lot of) genre trappings.
Do I work on (insert genre)? I’m qualified to work on stories. I know how to build a good one, and how to help you get the most out of yours.
The definition of expensive depends on your resources, measured not just by your bank account, but by your available time, energy, and expertise as well.
While I have an hourly rate that’s currently $130.00 per, that typically only applies to one-off “piecework,” like when a client has a sudden or pressing need I can take care of in an afternoon or faster.
With most clients, we work on a project basis: a set of interrelated tasks with a common objective and timeline. For example, creating the e-book and paperback editions of your book and getting them to market in time for your target launch date. Or creating a website. Or setting up your mailing list. Or a developmental edit on your manuscript.
I charge for the entire project, taking into account the average industry-standard rate for the tasks involved, the time allocated, and the presumed complexity. I don’t think about how many literal work-hours the project will take… for one thing, that would be prohibitively expensive, and for another, the estimate would probably be wrong.
I’m more interested in finding a price that’s fair for all parties.
With projects over $500, I always offer the option to pay in three installments: at the beginning, somewhere in the middle, and at the delivery date. I’m open to other payment schedules.
My goal is that your creative endeavor be realized; that together, we add to the collective culture. To that end, I can be flexible to some degree.
For clients who desire my assistance with a variety of things on an ongoing basis, I offer retainer packages: X hours per month for Y months. A discount applies to the hourly rate based on the number of hours retained per month, and the number of months.
Retainers are great for long-term working relationships, as the client knows what they’ll spend each month, they can turn to me for pretty much whatever they need, and I know there’s a consistent revenue source for the duration of the retainer.
Retainers are popular with my clients. It’s not uncommon for the arrangement to last for years (I have one retainer client who just passed the decade mark!)
At the moment, I don’t have ala carte pricing. Rather, I assess your needs, any special requests, extra features, or other variables, and provide a quote.
See “Is Matt Expensive” for more on the topic of price.
Most interactions with clients take place over e-mail, since it’s an excellent, searchable record. To that end, we’ll do our best to maintain relevant subject lines, and expect replies the next business day.
Phone calls and video conferences (usually via Zoom) are available, however these should be scheduled except in the most critical (as in: everything is burning down) situations. Impromptu calls are discouraged out of respect for one another’s time and workload.
Similarly, text messaging (MMS / SMS) is used for time sensitive situations that can be resolved quickly, such as in the case of log-in authorizations or other just-in-time concerns.
When it makes sense for everybody and the circumstances, in-person meetings are an option.
I do not conduct business via social media or social media messaging apps.
The short answer is “No.”
For more on my thoughts on the use of generative AI / large language models and other AI assistants and tools, please see my Statement of Ethics and Principles and this Scribtotum article.
Invoicing is handled electronically via either Square or Stripe through secured and encrypted protocols. I never have access to your payment information. Payment is accepted via debit card, credit card, or ACH bank transfer.
Invoices are payable when issued and considered past due on the seventh day after being issued. Late payment penalties apply.
For hourly work, I typically invoice on or around the 15th and 30th of each month for work done in the previous two weeks.
Projects are invoiced in three installments: the first to start the work, the second somewhere near the mid-point, and the third on delivery or on the “no later than” date of completion.
Retainers are treated like limited-time subscriptions: invoices are issued and paid automatically a few days before the beginning of each monthly retainer period.
You can see my invoicing policies here.
Do you have a question not covered here? Contact me directly… or better yet, just schedule a discovery call and we can talk about it then!
The first step toward working together is to talk to each other.
Book a free one-hour discovery meeting so I can learn more about you, your work, and your goals and intentions regarding your work… and so we can get to know each other!
There’s no obligation beyond simply showing up and having a chat.
Book our discovery meeting below. A Zoom appointment will be automatically created, but if you include your phone number, I’ll call you at the designated time instead.
Be sure to include a few words about your goals and intentions, the help you’re looking to receive, questions you have, and so on… anything that might help us both make the most of our time.