Courses, Critiques, & Consultations

A useful, time-efficient walk-through for the first-time Wordpress user plus some handy print-outs of things to consider before embarking on the site-creation journey and once established. It was great to see the web design options laid out in one place. A newbie may find it really helpful to have this information rather than just jumping in and trying to work it out themselves. Anne Young, picture book writer and 12x12 member
Veronica's course on setting up and improving author websites came at a good time for me. I am a longtime writer but pre-published children's writer and I've been wondering for a while how to market myself in advance of the publishing I hope is to come! Veronica gave good examples of how websites can connect with different audiences and how you can combine different parts of yourself (not just children's author, for instance) to make it compelling, thorough, and inviting to a range of readers. I was inspired by all she has done as a writer and beyond and now want to create my own site. She has an easy-to-understand and friendly style that I think will resonate with students at all stages of their writing (and website) journeys. Laurie Kaiser, picture book writer and 12x12 member
With worksheets and videos to make sure you have everything you need in your media kit, this online course provided a comprehensive template for what I needed to do. Veronica delivered everything with an easy, casual vibe that made the whole process less intimidating. Videos were short. Worksheets told you exactly what you needed. It helped motivate me to work on something I dreaded doing. She also included information that I had no idea I needed as a debut picture book author. I’m so grateful that I took this course. As anyone who has been a new author, marketing can be overwhelming without a guide, which is what this course has been for me. - Brandi-Ann Uyemura, debut author of I AM A BON DANCER
Great tips and insider knowledge! I am sure people that are about to start the process will find this webinar very useful. Elena, picture book writer and 12x12 member

Please check out my on-demand courses below or schedule a live workshop or consultation in the box to the right.

On-Demand Virtual Marketing Courses:

Selling Yourself Without Selling Yourself Short

Marketing Courses for KidLit Creators & Bookish Folks

"Marketing" can sometimes feel like a dirty word. Especially when we write or illustrate books for young people, and we want to focus on our art and the joy of creating. We're not in it for the money after all... But publishing is still a business and you are a small business owner. (Yes, even if you are still "pre-published.") So how can you effectively "Sell Yourself" without selling yourself out--or selling yourself short? These courses are designed to help KidLit creators at all stages of their publishing careers to find the joy in sharing their art with the world. From creating your "perfect" school, library, or conference presention to keeping audiences engaged in person and online... You can be your own best marketing tool!

Click the buttons below to purchase the full Selling Yourself Without Selling Yourself Short series, with access for a year, or for an overview of the courses, with free bonus exercises to get you started and links to purchase each course in the SYWSYS series individually.

Buy now SYWSYS Overview

 

On-Demand Writing Workshops

Embrace the Magic of "What If?"

How to Write a Cake with a drawing of a decorated 2 layer birthday cake

How to Write a Cake: Every cake starts with the same basic ingredients: eggs, flour, milk…

Every story also starts with the same basic ingredients: character, setting, plot… We will start with the basics, then add a healthy helping of "What if?" to choose the right layers and decorations for creating a delicious story "cake!"

How to Fracture a Fairy Tale with a cartoon frog prince puckered up for a kiss

How to Fracture a Fairy Tale: Everyone knows that fairy tales always end happily. But is the accepted ending always the happiest? In this workshop, we will use the magical question "What if?" to take a story we already know and love, pull it apart, twist it upside down and inside out, then put it back together to create something new!

Histories, Herstories, & Theirstories: How to Turn True Stories into Truly Great Fiction, with a drawing of a stack of books

They say truth is stranger than fiction. In this workshop, we'll go beyond "that’s what really happened!" to turn true stories into truly great (believable) fiction. We'll apply the magical "What if?" to the old adage "write what you know" to discover the heart of our personal stories and other true tales.

How to Fail Fearlessly, with an explosion happening behind the word fail

Author life isn't easy. Rejections from editors before publication and negative reviews after. Why do we do it? I'll tell you my secret: my biggest successes happened BECAUSE of failure, not in spite of it! We'll apply the magic of "What if?" to turn our personal stumbling blocks into stepping stones.

Critiques & Consultations

Due to a weakened immune system and the still-ongoing threat of COVID-19 and measles (Yes, these are still very real threats, especially for those of us with weakened immune systems), I have limited availability for in-person events at this time. Please contact me as far in advance as possible, if you are interested in an in-person appearance. We may be able to work something out, if I have adequate time to prepare.

I have a limited number of spaces available each month for both critiques and consultations. Turnaround time for manuscript critiques up to 10 pages is generally 2 weeks, though that might change depending upon the number of other commitments I have. Turnaround time for critiques on websites, presentions, or other marketing elements vary based on the scope of the elements being critiqued. Please fill out the form below to inquire about availability and current turnaround times.

Example Prices:

This is not an exhuastive list, but this should give you an idea of what to expect. (I know that when I am price-checking things, there's nothing more frustrating than "contact me for a quote.") All prices are subject to change, as sometimes the economy fluctuates faster than I can update my website. (Frequent government shutdowns lately have made our household finances not QUITE as flexible as they used to be...)

If you have a limited budget, please don't hesitate to reach out! I know that capitalism can be hard, and I may be able to give a discount if I have the spoons for it at the moment. And I'm always up for a good barter exchange of services if you have skills I don't!

  • Website Critique, general overview: $60 for each 5 pages (or portion thereof)
  • Website Critique, in-depth with link & image check: $120 for each 5 pages (or portion thereof)
  • Presentation Critique (PowerPoint only): $150
  • Presentation Critique (PowerPoint + Video Call for feedback on your delivery): $100 per 20 minutes of presentation time (includes video recording and 30 minutes of feedback + Q&A after you demonstrate your presentation)
  • Query or First Page critique: $30
  • 10-page Manuscript or Full Picture Book critique: $75
  • Manuscript critique: $150 for each 50 pages (or portion thereof)
  • Consultation: $75 for 1 hour of general brainstorming or specific feedback
  • Critique plus Video Consultation: Critique price (listed above), plus $40 for a 30-minute video call or $70 for a one-hour call
  • Other critiques or consultions: Please contact me for a quote
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    Please note:

    Each critique includes one pass. I will be happy to clarify with up to three follow-up questions if there's something in my notes that you don't understand, but questions like "Is this wording better?" require a second read from me. Please contact me for pricing and availability if you need a follow-up critique. (For a follow-up with very few changes, I may be able to provide a discounted rate. If there are significant revisions, please understand that this is an entirely new critique.)

    "Manuscript" refers to a properly formatted manuscript using 12 point font, 1-inch margins, and double-spacing. If your submission is not properly formatted, I will either kick it back to you to fix before I critique, or I will apply proper formatting and only critique up to the number of properly-formatted pages we have agreed upon. (If applying proper formatting increases the page count from 38 to 54 pages, and you have paid for one "up to 50 pages" section, I will critique only the first 50 of the 54 pages.)