Writer, Speaker, and Teacher
COACHING
Meet the Book Doctor
No matter the stage of your work, from conception to publication, whether you are working on a novel, a memoir, or even your dissertation, my coaching and consulting services are the bridge to help you move to the next chapter (literally).
why work with me?
I’ve taught and supported writers for 10+ years both in academia and privately. In that time I’ve helped countless people complete, edit, and publish their novels, memoirs, non-fiction and young adult books, and academic publications, too. As a seasoned writing mentor, I promise you:
The only thing standing between you and your finished work is your willingness and commitment. That’s it.
But it’s hard to do this alone in a world and industry that is often mysterious and, well, lonely. I didn’t start writing (for real) until I was 29 and never imagined I’d end up writing novels or books. So I’ve been where you are. Whether you’re a seasoned writer on deadline, an academic thinking of doing a trade book, or you just finished your MFA yet are still shy of having that book done, I am both the person who will help you get to work and the midwife who will hold your hand every step of the way.
I want to see you succeed, to do what you love and have a voice in the world. I have high expectations, but if you make an effort to learn, to write, to try—I will be your biggest fan and your most fervent advocate.
On top of being compassionate, inspiring and encouraging, Dr. Donna Freitas is genuinely invested in the success of her clients and students. With electrifying joy, Donna shares her knowledge of storytelling in a way that motivates you to keep going! Working with her on my first novel has been a delight. I highly recommend her for coaching and consulting, especially if you're starting a manuscript for the first time or wanting to get feedback on a finished draft. Donna is very precise in her approach while also creating a safe space for a writer to explore many possibilities when it comes to characters, plot and world building. I'm deeply thankful for her expertise and dedication to the craft — in fact, I don't know what I'd do without her. Thank you, Donna!
Donna’s instruction on my first novel has been paramount; she’s helped me explore my plot with incredible depth and insight. More than that, Donna is kind, thoughtful, and full of prompting questions that have propelled me into stronger sentences, chapters, and characters. She has helped me build my confidence as a writer, and her feedback on my in-progress novel has made a normally isolated and sometimes complicated first draft process feel invigorating and exciting. Donna’s instruction is more useful than any writing class I’ve ever taken, and has supplied me with very useful practices and habits as I work toward building my writer’s life.
Donna accompanied me through the daunting--but incredibly liberating--process of transforming one of my books from a standard academic treatise to a piece of creative nonfiction. She helped me unearth and amplify the gems in my writing and to foreground the stories I was trying to tell with my project. She physically dissected one of my drafts so I could see what she was talking about and that has become a critical step of my revision process in every project. That book ended up winning an award from my academic guild! Donna always fills me with courage and confidence, especially when talking with potential editors. If you work with her, she will be a tireless champion of your work and you.
In the past, I’ve been hesitant to seek help for my writing because previous experiences have left me feeling stifled and uninspired. Working with Donna has been such a wonderful experience! Donna’s feedback was very clear, pointed, and constructive. What I appreciate most about her approach is that she was committed to maintaining the integrity of my voice, so her edits and suggestions helped me to produce writing that was stronger and made me proud. Her feedback has helped me improve my writing overall, and I’ve been able to apply her advice to other projects I’m working on.
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On top of being compassionate, inspiring and encouraging, Dr. Donna Freitas is genuinely invested in the success of her clients and students. With electrifying joy, Donna shares her knowledge of storytelling in a way that motivates you to keep going! Working with her on my first novel has been a delight. I highly recommend her for coaching and consulting, especially if you're starting a manuscript for the first time or wanting to get feedback on a finished draft. Donna is very precise in her approach while also creating a safe space for a writer to explore many possibilities when it comes to characters, plot and world building. I'm deeply thankful for her expertise and dedication to the craft — in fact, I don't know what I'd do without her. Thank you, Donna!
Donna’s instruction on my first novel has been paramount; she’s helped me explore my plot with incredible depth and insight. More than that, Donna is kind, thoughtful, and full of prompting questions that have propelled me into stronger sentences, chapters, and characters. She has helped me build my confidence as a writer, and her feedback on my in-progress novel has made a normally isolated and sometimes complicated first draft process feel invigorating and exciting. Donna’s instruction is more useful than any writing class I’ve ever taken, and has supplied me with very useful practices and habits as I work toward building my writer’s life.
Donna accompanied me through the daunting--but incredibly liberating--process of transforming one of my books from a standard academic treatise to a piece of creative nonfiction. She helped me unearth and amplify the gems in my writing and to foreground the stories I was trying to tell with my project. She physically dissected one of my drafts so I could see what she was talking about and that has become a critical step of my revision process in every project. That book ended up winning an award from my academic guild! Donna always fills me with courage and confidence, especially when talking with potential editors. If you work with her, she will be a tireless champion of your work and you.
In the past, I’ve been hesitant to seek help for my writing because previous experiences have left me feeling stifled and uninspired. Working with Donna has been such a wonderful experience! Donna’s feedback was very clear, pointed, and constructive. What I appreciate most about her approach is that she was committed to maintaining the integrity of my voice, so her edits and suggestions helped me to produce writing that was stronger and made me proud. Her feedback has helped me improve my writing overall, and I’ve been able to apply her advice to other projects I’m working on.
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WORK WITH ME
Together we might:
- Complete a first draft.
- Brainstorm your novel's plot or book's structure.
- Build a proposal.
- Tackle craft issues.
- Revise your completed draft.
- Bring your dissertation over the finish line.
- Make a plan for approaching agents.
- Adjust your novel's plot.
- Strengthen a novel or memoir's narrative arc.
- Prepare your manuscript for submitting to agents.
Individual Writing Consult
For those writers in need of a single brainstorming session for plot, narrative arc/structure, proposal work, craft discussion, or other early to mid-project needs, I will set up an individual session online, and read up to 20 pages before the session. Pricing will be determined depending on your needs and goals.
Donna is amazing! Her writing exercises are incredible, and gave me the idea for a book which is now being published by Macmillan. Her encouragement, advice, and understanding of the creative writing process have made a huge difference in my writing career, and have simply meant the world. Trust me – you want to work with her!
Donna's insight was crucial to my work. She was able to see not only what was on the page in front of her, but what it could be. Her knowledge about both the craft of writing and the business of publishing helped to strengthen my work. She pushed me to grow as a writer, and I highly recommend Donna's editorial services throughout any stage of the writing process.
I would not have been able to finish my first book without Donna's expertise as an editor. Her guidance and encouragement meant the difference between getting lost in my creativity to arriving at the last page with a sense of triumph. If you feel the desire, or even the imperative, to write, Donna Freitas, is the one to help see you through to a complete, and coherent, manuscript. I could not recommend her brilliant, and unfaltering support more.
Working with Donna shaped the ways I think about narrative and how and why we share stories. Donna's feedback and conversations helped me form the plot and trajectory of my YA novel A Million Quiet Revolutions. Listening to what I wanted the story to capture and brainstorming ways to bring my goals to fruition, Donna saw me through the whole process of completing my first novel. Through working together, I saw my own ideas more clearly and her guidance led me to now feel more confident about planning and drafting a Young Adult novel
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Donna is amazing! Her writing exercises are incredible, and gave me the idea for a book which is now being published by Macmillan. Her encouragement, advice, and understanding of the creative writing process have made a huge difference in my writing career, and have simply meant the world. Trust me – you want to work with her!
Donna's insight was crucial to my work. She was able to see not only what was on the page in front of her, but what it could be. Her knowledge about both the craft of writing and the business of publishing helped to strengthen my work. She pushed me to grow as a writer, and I highly recommend Donna's editorial services throughout any stage of the writing process.
I would not have been able to finish my first book without Donna's expertise as an editor. Her guidance and encouragement meant the difference between getting lost in my creativity to arriving at the last page with a sense of triumph. If you feel the desire, or even the imperative, to write, Donna Freitas, is the one to help see you through to a complete, and coherent, manuscript. I could not recommend her brilliant, and unfaltering support more.
Working with Donna shaped the ways I think about narrative and how and why we share stories. Donna's feedback and conversations helped me form the plot and trajectory of my YA novel A Million Quiet Revolutions. Listening to what I wanted the story to capture and brainstorming ways to bring my goals to fruition, Donna saw me through the whole process of completing my first novel. Through working together, I saw my own ideas more clearly and her guidance led me to now feel more confident about planning and drafting a Young Adult novel
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Full Manuscript Read & Book Doctoring
If you have a manuscript in progress that needs another eye, a major revision, or is in its final stages as you get ready to send out to agents, IDonna amis experienced at all stages of revision and all manner of doctoring—from plot doctoring for the novel, to finding the voice / narrative arc in a memoir, to reimagining one’s academic project for publishers as opposed to one’s dissertation committee.
Because of the long-term nature of this work, a brief consultation is required before we begin to set goals and make sure that I’m the best fit for your project. Pricing will be determined depending on the project scope.
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Full Manuscript Read
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Pre-read online one-on-one conversation
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Post-read online one-on-one consultation
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Recordings of your sessions
I’ve known Donna for ten years, and in that time she has twice been a crucial champion for novels I needed to finish but found myself too lost in to cut a straight path forward. With one book she saved me over a single brunch; with the other she came to my apartment for an afternoon and got down on the floor to rearrange the manuscript in the way she thought could unlock the flow. Each time I felt so lucky to have—yes, I’m going to borrow from Charlotte’s Web!—someone in my life who was a great friend and a great writer. E.B. White said that combination was rare, and it is. But Donna is that singular. Her wide and varied experience as an author, coupled with her time in academia, makes her a coach who both a) knows the marketplace and b) knows what’s needed to coax a piece of text toward being more powerful than it currently is, and how to deliver that news with grace, humor, and enthusiasm. She will brainstorm with you about character, plot, dialogue, argument, or critique, and then zoom out to offer big-picture solutions to narrative momentum or clarifications on its purpose. She loves books and the process of making them real, and this passion for this endeavor, and her real and true love of other humans, is what makes her not just a great friend and a great writer, but a great editor. Your pages will be lucky to meet her.
I credit Donna Freitas with the fact that my book is out in the world rather than cast away, unfinished, in a drawer somewhere. When I couldn’t see past my own doubts or tangled thoughts, Donna stepped in and fully restored my confidence in my project. As an attuned listener and a brilliant thinker, Donna has a way of finding the connective tissue in a jumble of thoughts and concepts. Twice now – once with my first book and now with a second one taking shape – Donna has reflected my own ideas back to me in a way that leaves me feeling not only far clearer about what I’m trying to say, but far more passionate about using my voice to say it. While her input at every stage of the writing process is extraordinarily valuable, she is especially gifted in her ability to get the stuck writer unstuck.
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I’ve known Donna for ten years, and in that time she has twice been a crucial champion for novels I needed to finish but found myself too lost in to cut a straight path forward. With one book she saved me over a single brunch; with the other she came to my apartment for an afternoon and got down on the floor to rearrange the manuscript in the way she thought could unlock the flow. Each time I felt so lucky to have—yes, I’m going to borrow from Charlotte’s Web!—someone in my life who was a great friend and a great writer. E.B. White said that combination was rare, and it is. But Donna is that singular. Her wide and varied experience as an author, coupled with her time in academia, makes her a coach who both a) knows the marketplace and b) knows what’s needed to coax a piece of text toward being more powerful than it currently is, and how to deliver that news with grace, humor, and enthusiasm. She will brainstorm with you about character, plot, dialogue, argument, or critique, and then zoom out to offer big-picture solutions to narrative momentum or clarifications on its purpose. She loves books and the process of making them real, and this passion for this endeavor, and her real and true love of other humans, is what makes her not just a great friend and a great writer, but a great editor. Your pages will be lucky to meet her.
I credit Donna Freitas with the fact that my book is out in the world rather than cast away, unfinished, in a drawer somewhere. When I couldn’t see past my own doubts or tangled thoughts, Donna stepped in and fully restored my confidence in my project. As an attuned listener and a brilliant thinker, Donna has a way of finding the connective tissue in a jumble of thoughts and concepts. Twice now – once with my first book and now with a second one taking shape – Donna has reflected my own ideas back to me in a way that leaves me feeling not only far clearer about what I’m trying to say, but far more passionate about using my voice to say it. While her input at every stage of the writing process is extraordinarily valuable, she is especially gifted in her ability to get the stuck writer unstuck.
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Manuscript-in-Progress Consultation
Work with me to produce a full-length manuscript over the course of six months to a year, depending on the project and your needs. I’ll set once-per-month deadlines for submissions, with an eye toward finishing the book project in the designated time, which will be followed up with one-on-one online consults each month. This includes monthly progress feedback, a full manuscript read / feedback consult after the designated time period ends, and limited email contact.
Because of the long-term nature of this work, a brief consultation is required before we begin to set goals and make sure that I’m the best fit for your project. Pricing will be determined depending on the project scope.
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Monthly online meetings
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Full Manuscript Read
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Post-read online one-on-one consultation
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Recordings of all your sessions
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Limited email contact
Craft Talks
Enjoy these short videos for a taste of my writing philosophy and teaching style.
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NEED SOMETHING DIFFERENT?
Let's Talk
I’m happy to have a conversation about what you’re looking for to see if coaching with me is the right fit.
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