Welcome to Our Little Creative Corner of the Web!
About Creative Words
After spending twenty-plus years editing manuscripts for hundreds of authors, all the while knowing I was meant to do more—that I longed to do more—I’m finally taking the plunge. I’ve expanded my little editing business to include coaching services, mentoring services, and manuscript feedback. But that’s not even the best part!
As I began to research the competition, I had to face the fact that there’s nothing very unique about another author, agent, or editor providing these kinds of services. But before long, I realized there are a couple of ways I’m different.
First, I remember (like it was yesterday!) when I first started in this business and how badly I wished I could connect with a mentor or get some feedback on my writing. But I was a stay-at-home mom with three children, the internet was a brand-new thing, and I couldn’t justify spending the money on something that wasn’t a sure source of income. Oh, I’m certain I would have gotten value from whatever writer’s program or course I found, but back then, there weren’t dozens of websites where writers could find the same or similar services. I’m not sure there were any, come to think of it, because the only thing I recall that’s even remotely similar is Romance Writers of America. No way could I have budgeted the cost of dues for national and local chapters. And the closest chapter was too far away to make attending meetings a regular occurence. Then there would have been sitter fees, too, of course. Assuming I could find someone who didn’t charge an arm and two legs because I had three children…not one.
But enough about me. This is about you and how I believe I’m different and can offer you something unique.
The point of my story is this: I believe in my heart that every writer deserves access to some level of authentic feedback. When your mom or your sister tells you they love what you’re writing, that’s a bit of an ego boost and makes you feel good inside. But even with a few supportive family members, authors are often consumed with self-doubt. Sure, Mom and Sis are avid readers, but do they really know everything that goes into a great story? And then our minds start churning, and those questions start popping into our heads. Maybe you know the questions I’m talking about?
Does this story suck? Does my writing suck? Am I wasting precious time I would be better off spending with my husband/children/aging parents/best friend/dog? Am I a fraud? Should I just quit?
The answer to those questions is no, no, no, no, and hell no. Never quit. If you love writing, then keep writing. Very few people are born with the innate ability to craft a bestseller the first time they put their butt in a chair and start to write. The rest of us have to study writer’s craft and practice what we learn every day. We have to participate in critique groups (if you’re not, you should, or at least find a critique partner), and we have to revise and then revise again. And the authors who can afford to will sometimes hire a coach, take an online master class, or pay for a manuscript critique.
So, here’s what I want to do…
If you’re like I was twenty years ago, and you'd love a little feedback from someone who understands how you feel and who knows a lot about writing a novel and can offer you some great feedback, please get in touch with me. You can use the email form on the contact page. If you can’t afford to pay for a course, a class, or a coach right now, that’s okay. I’ll be happy to read a synopsis of your work and the first three chapters and give you my honest opinion and a few personalized pieces of advice. I’ll only ask one small favor in return but don’t worry. It’s nothing big—you won’t owe me a dime. Or your firstborn. You won’t need to bargain for your soul, and I think you’ll find it’s a very fair trade.
And for everyone else, here are a few other things I’m offering.
One, if you’ve been over to the services page, you might have noticed my prices are much lower than what others are charging. This is intentional, and I plan to keep the costs for services as low as possible. Also, in the coming weeks, if you see a class or course you’re interested in, or you’re looking for a mentor, coach, or editor, but you can’t cover the entire cost upfront, I have two options. First, I’ve decided to make financing available through PayPal—they offer both “pay in four” and a pay-monthly plan. I’ve used PayPal for business for about a dozen years, and I know and trust their system. If for some reason you can’t or don’t qualify for PayPal’s financing options, I’m willing to work with you on a personalized payment program. To learn more about both of these options, visit the services page.
Okay… Phew. This has turned into an overly long “about” page, so I’ll try to wrap this up. I have two other plans I want to tell you about, but I’ll make it quick.
Just give me three more minutes, okay?
First, a little soul-bearing. Throughout much of my life, I’ve struggled with self-esteem issues and varying levels of anxiety and depression. I’ve lived through a few tragedies, and I’m still working through those things. For many years, I’ve also had a suspicion that there’s a connection between creativity and mental wellness. Right around the time I started thinking about expanding my business, I started researching this mental health-creativity connection, and I wasn’t surprised when my suspicions were confirmed. According to various studies, creative people are much more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and even things like bipolar disorder. But I uncovered a lot of great news, too, and I found it all so intriguing, that I decided to integrate topics on author self-care into this site. I’ll be blogging on different topics, quoting different studies and statistics, but best of all, I’m going to try several of the suggestions doctors and therapists say we can use to prevent or reverse some of these mental and emotional issues, and then I’ll be sharing details about my experiences here on the blog page. If you’d like to join me and become more proactive about maintaining a healthy mind and spirit, I would love to have you leave comments on those posts.
I’m really hoping we can build a small, supportive community here.
The second thing I have in the works is an entire section of the site devoted to teaching older children and teenagers creative writing. The benefits of the exercises and activities I’ll be talking about soon are just as helpful for people of all ages. And with the uptick in depression and suicide among teenagers and young adults in the United States, I feel like I might be able to create some useful tools to help some of them cope. At the very least, they’ll learn a valuable skill that’ll stick with them.
And that’s all. For now.
I hope you’ll bear with me while I create some content and courses, write a few blog posts and guides, and get this new venture off the ground.
I know you have a lot of choices when it comes to where you spend your time online, so thank you for dropping by Creative Words. If I can do anything for you, please get in touch through the email form on the contact page.
