As a poet and educator, I love helping writers develop their craft. My editorial services are available to writers of all stripes and types: whether you’re trying to establish a writing practice or working on a collection, I’d be delighted to work with you in realizing your poetic vision.
You can also work with me through Poetry Barn’s private mentorship program or enroll in an independent study version of my Poetry Barn classes Naming the Song: a Making & Mending Workshop, Beguiled & Bewildered: A Generative Poetry Workshop, or Snap, Crackle, Pop: a Making & Mending Syntax Workshop.
Manuscript Services:
I’m available to consult on full-length and chapbook poetry manuscripts. Together, we can come up with an editorial strategy that best suits your needs. Editorial services available include
- Line edits and comments on individual poems
- Feedback and suggestions on manuscript arrangement, section titles, and collection title
- Descriptive and evaluative feedback on the collection
- Advice regarding potential venues for publication
Individual Poems:
In addition to commenting on manuscripts, I’m happy to look at an individual poem or small group of poems (1-5 poems). In responding to individual poems, I can provide
- Line edits and comments
- Insight into other directions a poem might take or ideas for “companion poems” that extend or build on the draft(s) you’ve sent me
- Reading suggestions to help you in developing your vision and voice
Writing Coach/Mentor:
In addition to editing services, I offer my services as a writing coach or mentor. Together we will establish an ongoing relationship, tailored to provide you the accountability and feedback you want. In this role, I can provide
- Regular check-ins via email, video chat, or phone: on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, we can discuss your progress on a project, strategies for overcoming writer’s block, and/or ways to bolster your writing routine through writing prompts and reading assignments
- Editing services on individual poems and manuscripts
- Advice regarding publication, networking, and sharing your work
Fees:
Because each service is tailored to your individual goals as a writer, fees are highly negotiable. Please use the form below to tell me about your project and we can go from there.
Testimonials (from former students/clients):
“I was grateful to work with Amie for a couple of years, both as a class instructor and private mentor. She is inspirational and helpful in so many ways. I wrote a lot under her and she spent much time on feedback and questions, encouraging as well as finding ways to improve upon my writing. It’s hard to find instructors that are as productive and organized as she is. She is knowledgeable, her classes always creative and superior to many.” –Ellen Lager
“I highly admire her instructional style and her ability to really tease out the best in a piece of writing all the while meeting it on its own terms.”
“Amie’s feedback on my writing was the highlight of the class. It was insightful and helped me to improve my writing overall.”
“I appreciated Amie’s entire approach….Most of all I appreciated her quiet encouragement. I sensed her genuine enthusiasm for participants to learn as much as possible, on our terms. The mark of a great instructor!”
“I thought the instructor was, for the most part, excellent–especially in her very professional critiques, which were exceptionally nuanced, fair, and balanced. She beautifully modeled how to best phrase constructive critique of a poem, whether a first draft or revision. I thought her feedback, both to myself and my peers, was well thought out, thorough, perceptive, and clearly presented. She created a relaxed but focused atmosphere and was personable and added bits of humor here and there, but didn’t go overboard with it.”
Amie Whittemore | Poet & Educator 