Six months. The program starts when you are accepted and have made your first payment.

$2,860. This amount can be paid in full or in six monthly payments of $475.

Absolutely! Following the completion of the program, we will offer clients the option to continue for a monthly cost of $375. You will have access to the coaches, which means they can continue to answer questions and offer feedback on your manuscript.

Together, our coaches offer a unique set of skills and experiences: both coaches have their own writing practice. Megan has finished a memoir, in addition to having a long career as an educator. Danielle is a freelance editor (developmental, copyediting, and proofreading), and they worked as a new play dramaturg in the Chicago theatre scene. Both coaches have completed the Certified Clinical Trauma Professional course and are dedicated to providing a safe and caring environment for clients. Book coaching programs typically range from $1,800 to $10,000. Some book coaches charge per hour, per session, per month—and the costs add up quickly. At Give Her the Pen, we set a flat rate where the highest value meets the lowest cost because our mission is to serve as many women as possible. 

As a personal thank you for joining the GHTP community, each client receives a personalized care package in the mail. The program provides a twenty-four-week course of instructional/motivational videos and activities to gain a deeper understanding of memoir, develop a writing practice, and work toward a first draft of your memoir. In addition to the course materials, the program offers written manuscript feedback, monthly individual check-ins, weekly group calls, and access to a growing community forum of memoirists.

While we like to adhere to a structured program, we work with our clients to create deadlines and goals based on their individual needs and skill sets.

You will be asked to read at least one memoir and one book on writing from our recommended book list—these can be checked out from a library or they may need to be purchased.

Yes.

The first step is to complete the intake form, which will be reviewed within 5–7 business days. If we feel your project might be a good fit for us, we will schedule a free consultation with you to discuss your project in more detail. Following the consultation, we’ll email you with our final decision. We are looking for clients who already have a foundational understanding of the writing craft and a solid idea of what their memoir will be about. We do ask for a writing sample, but this does not have to be from a memoir—this is only to evaluate that you have basic writing skills. Please submit anything that shows your skill (fiction, personal essay, academic, even cover letters, etc.).

If you are invited to reapply, that will be communicated in the email. If it is not indicated, we wish you the best and encourage you to seek memoir coaching from another business.

As opposed to copyediting and proofreading, which look for consistency in style and correct grammar, developmental editing looks at a much wider scope. Developmental editors give feedback on story structure, character arcs, pacing, and themes. They help early in the drafting process as you are making your largest revisions; they act as a potential reader who checks if your story does what you think it does.

20,000 words.

We charge $0.04 per word—20,000 words is $700. This is consistent with current editorial rates for one editor. However, at GHTP, two editors will read and comment on your work.

Yes.

No. We require that you submit a sample of 1,000–1,200 words from any part of your manuscript. If we feel that we are the right editors for the job, we will return a free sample edit of your work along with an estimated timeline—then you can decide if we’re the right fit for you.

You will receive an annotated manuscript with comments from both coaches and a summary letter with our main suggestions for revision highlighted.