Work With Me

Choose the path that meets you where you are.

Every story is unique, and every writer arrives at a different point on the road. Start wherever you are.

For the writer drowning in ideas

$19

The Workbook: From Tangled to Throughline

A guided workbook that walks you through the first piece of the throughline work on your own, so you can feel your story start to take shape. It's also the exact preparation for the Throughline Session, so nothing you do here is wasted.

Coming Soon!

Launching soon. Subscribe on Substack for first word.

The front door to working with me

$249

The Throughline Session

You bring the throughline you found. We test it, sharpen it, and start to name the point your book is built to prove. You leave with a written Throughline Statement and my notes. The full $249 credits toward the Boot Camp or 1:1 coaching.

My signature offer

Founding rate $450/month · three months

Find Your Throughline Boot Camp

A six-seat small-group intensive that takes your story from tangled idea to a complete, draft-ready blueprint.

For the writer who's ready to draft, or already drafting

$800/month · three-month minimum

1:1 Book Coaching

Private, dedicated support where I read all of your pages, with editorial notes and coaching calls as you build the book. This is the natural next step after the Boot Camp, and the three-month minimum is there because a novel needs real accountability, not drop-in support.

Frequently asked

The questions that come up most.

What is a book coach?

Think of a book coach as a thought partner for the whole messy, wonderful process of writing a novel. Instead of disappearing into a document alone and hoping it's working, you get someone in your corner who gives you structure, honest feedback, and a reason to keep showing up to the page. I'm part developmental editor, part cheerleader, part accountability buddy, and part thought partner. An editor reads what you've written and hands back notes. A coach works alongside you as you write, so the story gets stronger as it grows, instead of getting fixed once it's done.

What is a throughline?

It's the single question your story keeps asking, scene after scene, until the ending answers it. It's drawn from something you keep searching for in your own life, which is what makes it yours and not a formula. Screenwriters borrow two ideas here: the through-line of action, the driving want that runs unbroken from first scene to last, and the central dramatic question a whole story is built to resolve. Your throughline braids them. Most writers who feel stuck aren't short on ideas. They have too many, and no test for which ones the story is really built around. The question is that test. Finding it is the moment the fog lifts and the book finally knows what it is. That moment is my favorite part of this work.

Who is the Find Your Throughline Boot Camp for?

It's for the writer with a big, cinematic speculative story she can see in her head but can't quite get onto the page. Maybe you've worldbuilt for years. Maybe you've started chapter one more times than you'd like to admit. You're carrying a full life and a demanding creative career, and the novel keeps getting pushed to someday. The Boot Camp is a small group of six writers, three months, and a clear path from tangled idea to a complete, draft-ready blueprint. You walk in with a jumble and walk out ready to write the book.

What is Author Accelerator's Blueprint for a Book method?

The Blueprint for a Book is a proven, step-by-step method for building a novel from the inside out, created by Jennie Nash and taught to certified coaches like me. Rather than starting with chapter one and hoping for the best, it walks you through the real foundations first: why you're writing this book, who it's for, who your characters are and what they want, and how the whole thing is structured, scene by scene. By the time you reach the actual drafting, you're not staring at a blank page wondering if it will hold together. You already know it will. It's the difference between building a house from a plan and building it one wall at a time, hoping the roof fits.

What genres do you coach?

Speculative fiction is my home, especially the stories that don't sit neatly in one box. Fantasy, dystopian, science fiction, romantasy, gothic, magical realism, and all the beautiful blends in between. If your book has a map in the front, a world that doesn't quite match ours, or a premise that makes people say "wait, how does that work," we're going to get along. This is the fiction I read for the pure pleasure of it, and it's what I coach best.

I barely have time to write. What's the actual commitment?

One live 90-minute call every other week, plus focused work between calls that you can do in two to three hours a week. Nothing in the Boot Camp requires drafting, and nothing requires a writing retreat you don't have. It was designed by someone whose own novel lives in the margins of a communications career. If you have a Sunday afternoon most weeks, you have enough.

What if I can't make a call live?

Every call is recorded, and the shared progress thread keeps you connected between sessions. That said, the live calls are where the group magic happens, so I schedule them with working women in mind and share dates before you commit.

I've been worldbuilding for years and haven't written a word. Am I too early for this?

You're exactly on time. The Boot Camp doesn't need pages, it needs the world and the idea you're already carrying. Writers who arrive with folders of notes and nothing drafted often move fastest, because there's no half-built structure to take apart first.

I already have 40,000 words. Am I too late for it?

Not if those words stalled. Plenty of writers draft their way into the fog and then can't see the shape of what they have. We'd use your pages as raw material: the blueprint work tells you what belongs, what's missing, and where the book actually starts. If you have a complete draft and want feedback on the writing itself, that's my 1:1 coaching instead.

Why the Boot Camp instead of working with you one on one?

They do different jobs. The Boot Camp builds the plan for the book, in a small group, before drafting begins. My 1:1 coaching is where I read every page as you write. Most writers do them in that order, and Boot Camp graduates get a clear on-ramp into 1:1 if they want eyes on their draft. The Boot Camp is also the more accessible investment: $450 a month instead of $800.

I've done a Throughline Session. Does that count toward the Boot Camp?

Yes. If you've completed a Throughline Session, your $249 is credited toward your seat in full. Mention it when doors open and I'll apply it.

Is three months really enough?

For this piece of the work, yes, and the deadline is part of the point. The Boot Camp ends where drafting begins, on purpose. Three months is enough to find your throughline, design your structure, and map the whole novel scene by scene, because you're not trying to write the book at the same time. You've had this story for years. What it needs now is a container with edges.

What happens when the Boot Camp ends?

You leave with a complete Inside Outline, a personal writing plan, and a clear picture of your next step. For some writers that's drafting on their own. For others it's 1:1 coaching, where I read every page as you write. Either way, you won't leave with a certificate and a shrug. You'll know exactly what Monday looks like.

Not sure where you fit?

Book a free discovery call, or write to me and tell me about the story you're carrying. karen@liveinstory.com.