Writing Mentorship & Support
For memoir, personal essay & non-fiction
One-on-One sessions with author Vanessa Chakour
offer guidance, accountability and feedback.
Writing can be a lonely, solitary process. It can often feel as though we are creating in a vacuum. This is why compassionate, constructive feedback is so necessary. It can mean the difference between trashing a beautiful, important piece because we’re mired in self-criticism and developing it and putting it out there.
Mentoring sessions are created for you, whether you have a book idea gnawing at you, a sprawling book-proposal that needs editing, or a desire to get back into your writing groove. Together, we’ll explore your creative process, examine real and percieved obstacles, discuss your ideas, goals and intentions and find ways to feed inspiration.
Sessions are sliding scale, $150-200/hour. The eventual rate includes on the time I spend reading, offering written notes and feedback, and the time we spend meeting on Zoom, on the phone, or in person (if you’re in Western MA or I happen to be where you are).
The hourly rate is reduced for comprehesive, Creative Support packages described below:
Creative Support packages are designed for you and the unique needs of your project.
This is how we begin:
We’ll schedule an introductory phone call or Zoom session where we discuss your writing and what brought you here. We’ll explore your vision, intentions, challenges, and creative process.
After our call, I’ll create an outline for our work together and make sure it looks good to you. Then, we’ll have weekly sessions via phone or Zoom. When you have writing for me to read, I’ll ask you to share it via Google Docs (no more than 5-pages at a time) where I’ll give you feedback.
Our collaborative work is curated for you, your project and your craft and may include writing prompts, suggested reading, and practices to inspire creative flow.
To get the most out of our work together, I ask for a 5 to 7-week commitment. The rate for 5-weeks is $1175, 7-weeks is $1475. Once we’ve worked together, you’ll be eligible for a monthly rate.
If you’d like to commit to a longer period of time, contact me and we can explore options.
Each project is unique: some require more time reading and editing while others require talking through ideas and writing-challenges on Zoom. Regular sessions and consistency are key for momentum.
A note about commitment: Time is precious for all of us. I plan around our sessions, value your time and your project and prepare prior to each session so ask that you give me plenty of notice — minimum 48 hours — if you can't make it. Please understand, if cancellation is within 24 hours, I've already committed that time and it is considered a session.