Your scholarly success depends on communicating your ideas effectively. But there are times in an individual's journey when you don't have support for that: a distant/unhelpful advisor, a remote work set-up, a department with colleagues who don't share your focus.
Get the personalized writing support you need from an experienced coach. From thesis development to manuscript editing, my services are tailored to meet your unique needs and help you succeed in your academic journey.
“I can’t express how grateful I am for the work that we’re doing. How did I get through my whole Ph.D. without having this support?”
-Nour (pictured above), PhD Candidate, Modern Languages. See additional testimonials
Weekly “By Your Side” Coaching
“I really want to publish more.”
“I need help knowing how to improve my article.”
“It’s overwhelming working on this dissertation chapter.”
“I wish somebody could check in on my progress and help my research stay on track.”
If any of these describe your situation, you’re not alone. Scholarly researchers commonly experience these challenges. I’ve been there myself and I know how to help.
The “By Your Side” coaching package only has a few criteria:
- Are you working on a project that requires scholarly writing?
- Are you far enough along in your projects that you’ve already gathered your data or identified your evidence?
- Do you have relatively open-ended timing and few formal checkpoints?
- Can you reliably find at least 5 hours per week to work on your research?
If you answer yes, then let me stick “By Your Side.”
My “By Your Side” coaching program consists of weekly one-on-one 30-min Zoom sessions (or in person if you're in Pittsburgh and want to come to my home office). The first session with a new client involves an intake form to get to know your project and writing experience. In each subsequent session, we review your progress since we last talked, resolve issues that are on your mind, set goals, and sometimes improve specific passages that you’ve drafted. Sessions continue for a pre-determined length of time, such as for a semester, with the option to continue as needed.
With the By Your Side coaching program, recommended times vary depending on your ability to put in time and your goals. Typical outcomes include:
- Article submission, based on completed seminar paper – 12 weeks
- Article submission, from scratch – 6 months
- Develop a “research pipeline” for ongoing publishing efforts – 6 months
- Dissertation completion – 1 year
Our sessions help you gain momentum in actually moving your project forward. Writing becomes less stressful. Insightful argumentation becomes more achievable. And finishing becomes more satisfying!
Pricing: Each 30-min session costs $50, payable weekly or monthly. If you are drawing on institutional funds for coaching, I can work with your institution to process them.
Reviewer 1 Feedback
Sometimes you need very specific help that would be best outside of a weekly format. The most common of these special projects is when you’ve received a revise-and-resubmit (R&R) or are in the final stages of preparing a paper or book manuscript. Projects in this stage are still developing their argument.
In these cases, let me be “Reviewer 1” for you – a generous, helpful, affirming response to your deep ideas. The Reviewer 1 package consists of:
- A response letter - like you would receive from reviewers, but detailed and thoughtful so that you feel heard and engaged
- Marginal notes in your text that describe my reading experience and point to bigger questions/suggestions. If I do suggest deep edits, they will be based on my good-faith understanding of what this project is trying to be.
- After I deliver my feedback, we follow up with a call where we can chew on my suggestions together - I'm on your team.
Pricing: for a roughly 8,000-10,000 word manuscript, the Reviewer 1 package costs $250.