Author Coaching with Alida Winternheimer
Imagine…
You know stories are all about human connection, and you’re ready to connect.
Imagine a writing coach who is there for you, person to person, week after week.
The leap from here to Author is a massive one, and you’re not sure how you’ll make it.
Imagine a writing coach preparing you for that leap and ensuring your success with process, strategies, and honest to goodness knowledge.
When you think about writing your book, overwhelm sets in, because you just don’t know how to begin.
Imagine a mentor walking with you through the entire journey, guiding and supporting every step.
You’ve been feeling the nudge to put your message out into the world as a book.
Imagine completing a book that you’re proud to put into the world and stand behind.
Imagine yourself as Author.
Alida Winternheimer
Meet Alida
I don’t just make books. I make writers.
I believe that the stories we are compelled to tell make demands on us, and it is our privilege to meet those demands in order to reach the most people in the most authentic and compelling way possible.
Phenomenal
Alida is a phenomenal writer, and her coaching is next level. I am constantly learning from her. Over the last year and a half, Alida has helped me serve my audience authentically and communicate my message effectively.
If you’re on a mission to help other people with your ideas and skills through email, articles, or a book, then working with Alida is one of the best investments you can make in yourself and your business.
Nasia Davos – Psychologist, Coach, Creator of the CBQ Method™ www.CBQMethod.com
Writing is narrative.
Narrative craft involves all forms of written communication designed to move people to feel, think, or act. Narrative craft encompasses the short story, novel, memoir, self-help book, essay, article, speech, course, and even the humble email. If you are communicating through the written word, you are using narrative. And I can help you use it better.
For individualized coaching, schedule a discovery call. We’ll chat about your goals, any specific projects, and see if we’re a fit to work together. I look forward to meeting you.
The Novel Journey
A year-long group coaching experience to take writers through the novel-writing process from page one to “the end,” designed to develop each writer’s story craft skills and knowledge while strengthening a work-in-progress.
One-on-One
Whether you need a single call to problem solve or expert guidance for a stretch of weeks or months, I’m here for you.
Whether you’re working on a novel, memoir, or other nonfiction, I’ll help you develop your narrative craft.
Invaluable
Looking back on my journey with Alida as my writing coach, I’m struck by two quotes that perfectly encapsulate my experience with her.
Oprah Winfrey once said, “A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” This quote truly reflects the caring and thoughtful way Alida has guided me over the years.
Similarly, H. L. Mencken’s words resonate with me: “The best teacher is not the one who knows most but the one who is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful.” Alida possesses this unique ability to nurture my writing skills and help me express my thoughts clearly and sometimes even beautifully.
What I appreciate most about working with Alida is her honest coaching style. She knows when to challenge me and apply just the right amount of pressure, as well as when to acknowledge my achievements. This balance has been invaluable in helping me grow as a writer.
André Chaperon – Nonfiction writer dabbling in fiction, www.AndreChaperon.com
How It Works
Schedule a Free Discovery Call
We’ll start by getting to know each other and discussing how I can help you achieve your literary goals over a single or series of calls.
Build a Coaching Plan
We’ll create a plan by considering how you’d like to grow, what you’d like to accomplish, and all the ways I can support you. From creative process to problem solving. From story craft to editorial insights.
Reach Your Goals
No matter where you’re at in your writing journey or what kind of book you’re working on, my goal is for you to not only hit a target (word count, draft) but to grow as a writer, with new or refined skills to carry forward into everything you write.
Rates
$180 / hour for single hours
$150 / hour for 4 hours = $600
$120 / hour for 8 hours = $960
$100 / hour for 12 hours = $1200
$90 / hour as an add-on to a current developmental editing package
More Details
Clients can book regularly scheduled time slots or use on an as-needed basis while working together, as agreed upon when developing a coaching plan. All sessions must be used within a 6-month period from date of coaching agreement. Unused sessions will not be refunded at the end of the period.
Coaching will be invoiced. Payments may be made in full or in installments up to 4 payments. Please ask about installments.
All invoices will include links for making payments through Paypal, Stripe, or by credit card. A payment processing fee (which goes to Paypal or Stripe) will be added to the invoice for your convenience. Rates currently run from 3.5% national – 5.5% international and are set by processors.
Writers Say
Each of the writers below had a single, 30-minute coaching session with me. Before their call, writers sent 3 questions in order of importance and a 1-page document that gave an overview of their project. The document could have been a query letter, writing sample, plot summary, character sketch, or whatever was relevant to the writer’s questions.
Here’s what writers say after only 30 minutes with Alida.
I highly recommend Alida as a writing coach, and I look forward to working with her again in the future.
Alida delivers her advice in a professional yet personable manner. She calls herself a writing coach (as well as an editor). The angst that a writer feels with most editors doesn’t exist with her because the tone of her sessions seem collaborative rather than critical.
I have read both of the Story Works Guide to Writing Fiction books that are currently available, and I am eagerly awaiting the next. I watch her podcasts and find them very instructive. But to solve specific issues in your writing, there is no substitute for a coaching session. I highly recommend Alida because her advice is good advice and following it has made me a better writer.
Within the first ten minutes she was able to point out that I held my readers close to the six year old protagonist in the first page, but then distanced them in the second page within the same scene by subtly switching to the adult point of view. As soon as she said it, I could see what she was talking about, but that had not occurred to me before, even though I have read, rewritten and read again this same section.
I am now going to sign up for one of her editing packages, because I believe that she help me make that leap from an “almost good book” to a great book.
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