Draft Zero Development

You wrote it once and it fell apart.

You have the idea but don't know where to start.

Let's build the foundation so it stands this time.

Some books fail at the draft stage. Not because the author can't write, but because the story that's so vivid in their head doesn't fully make it onto the page. You can see the world, feel the characters, follow every thread. But your brain fills in gaps that your words haven't bridged yet. The plot feels complete because you know what you meant, but the reader only knows what you wrote. 

Draft Zero Development is for authors building a story's foundation, whether you're starting from scratch or rebuilding after a draft that didn't work. This isn't editing—there's no draft to edit yet. This goes deeper than coaching. I ask hard questions and stress-test your ideas against your story's logic until you have a foundation that holds.

You bring the ideas and the raw material. I stress-test them—what holds together, what breaks, what's missing. You make every decision. I make sure those decisions don't collapse under pressure. 

I specialize in speculative and romantic fantasy—fantasy, paranormal romance, romantasy, supernatural thriller, and gothic fantasy. If your book has worldbuilding, magic systems, or a lot of moving parts that need to hold together, I'd love to work with you.

Who This Is For

  • Authors who finished a draft that didn't work and don't fully understand why

  • Authors with a trunk novel they can't let go of but can't fix through revision alone

  • Authors who pantsed a book and lost the thread somewhere in the middle

  • Authors with rich ideas but no system to hold them together

  • Authors who are building their first book and want the foundation right before they draft

  • Authors who need worldbuilding, plot architecture, or story logic stress-tested before rewriting

  • Authors who want a thinking partner who will push back, not just nod along

What This Isn't

  • Developmental editing (there's no working draft to edit—we're building what comes before)

  • Book coaching alone (I also stress-test ideas and build frameworks alongside you)

  • Ghostwriting (you still write the book; I help you build what you're writing from)

  • A quick fix (foundation work takes time)

  • Line editing or copyediting (that comes later, after you have a draft that works)

Foundation Partnership (Monthly)

For authors who need ongoing collaboration to build their story's architecture.

By the end of our work together, you'll have a story foundation solid enough to write from with confidence—worldbuilding that holds together under pressure, plot architecture that supports the weight of your narrative, and a clear understanding of how your story holds together and why it'll keep holding.

What's Included:

  • 60-minute sessions (frequency based on tier)

  • Between-session development work: I review whatever materials you submit (outlines, worldbuilding documents, character notes, plot sketches, draft chapters) and stress-test them against story logic.

  • Written feedback that scales to what your project needs at each stage. You maintain your documents; I respond to each version.

  • Session summary and next steps after each meeting

  • Email support for questions between sessions

For each session, I spend 4–6 hours on between-session development work—reviewing your materials, building frameworks, and preparing structural analysis. The session itself is where we work through what I've found. The deeper work happens before we ever get on the call.

Tier Sessions/ Month Investment
Foundation 2 $700/month
Foundation Extended 3 $1,000/month
Foundation Intensive 4 $1,300/month

Minimum 2-month commitment, then month-to-month. Payment is due on the 1st of each month.

60-Minute Single Session: $325

For authors who need focused help on a specific element—a worldbuilding problem, a plot hole, a structural question—or want to explore whether Foundation Partnership is the right fit.

You send materials in advance. I review, prepare feedback, and come ready to work. Includes a written summary of our discussion and next steps.

How We Work Together

You bring the ideas. I stress-test them.

Before sessions, I dig into what you've shared—your worldbuilding, your plot threads, your character dynamics. I look for what holds together and what breaks under pressure. I identify gaps you might not see because you're too close to the material. I build frameworks and ask hard questions.

In sessions, we work through it together. You react to what I've found. You make decisions. You shape the direction. My job is to make sure those decisions don't create problems three chapters (or three hundred pages) down the line.

Some authors need to know the ending before they can build toward it. Others need to discover the story as they go. We figure out how your brain works best, then work that way.

Process Overview

Discovery

  • You share a brief overview: what your book is about, what you think went wrong, what you're trying to build, and what you're hoping to achieve

  • Free 30-minute consultation to determine if we're right for each other

  • If we're a good fit, you send your materials and we begin

The Work

  • I review and identify what's working, what's not holding, and what's missing

  • We identify which systems need building first (world? plot? characters? all three?)

  • Sessions: We review together, you react and refine, and we solve problems

  • Your foundation documents grow as we work

The Evolution 

Draft Zero Development doesn't end when the foundation is built; it evolves. Once the structural decisions hold under pressure, sessions shift from foundation work to drafting support: chapter review, pacing feedback, and working through what changes when the story goes somewhere you didn't expect. You stay in the partnership as long as it serves the work. 

Deliverables

By the end of our work together, you'll have:

  • Your worldbuilding bible, stress-tested for internal consistency and gaps

  • Your plot/structure documentation, pressure-checked and holding weight

  • Your character system with verified arcs, relationships, and motivations

  • Any specialized systems your story requires, tested against your story's logic (magic, factions, politics, timeline)

  • Clear understanding of how your story's systems work together and where they'd break if you don't address them now

  • Documents ready to write from

If you stay in the partnership, sessions evolve with the work: chapter reviews, pacing check-ins, and making sure the foundation holds as the story grows.

Administrative Policies

    • Monthly partnerships: due on the 1st of each month

    • Single sessions: invoiced after session

    • Mid-month starts prorated accordingly

    • Submit materials at least 3 business days before your session. The earlier, the deeper I can go.

    • Materials can include: outlines, worldbuilding notes, character sketches, plot summaries, drafts of specific sections—whatever is relevant to where we are in the process

    • If you submit more than I can work through deeply before our session, we'll prioritize together—what needs attention first?

  • Life happens. Here's how we handle it:

    • One 30-day pause with 2 weeks' notice

    • Termination: 30-day notice required; no refunds for the current month

    • Non-response: After 14 days without communication, services pause until contact resumes

    • I respond to emails within 1 business day.

  • Life happens: 

    • 24 hours' notice to reschedule

    • Missed sessions without notice are forfeited

FAQ

  • It depends on how much needs building. Simpler projects might need 2-3 months. Complex fantasy with worldbuilding, magic systems, and multiple POVs might need 4-6 months or longer. We'll assess during discovery.

  • Send whatever is relevant to where we are in the process. Some sessions need 25 pages of worldbuilding; some need a 5-page outline. The depth of my work scales to what the material needs, not how many pages it is. If you're ever unsure, ask—I'd rather help you prioritize than have you hold back.

  • That happens. Sometimes the foundation work reveals that the story you need to tell is different from the one you tried to tell. That's not failure—that's the process working. We adjust.

  • Yes, and sometimes you should. There's a point where more planning stops serving the story and starts working against it. If you outline too thoroughly, you can lose the desire to write. You've already seen the story, and writing it out in full prose feels like retracing steps instead of discovering something. Part of my job is recognizing when the foundation is strong enough for you to start building. Once the structural decisions hold under pressure, we'll decide together when to start drafting—even if there are open questions left. Some things only reveal themselves on the page.

  • You write, and I'm still here if you want me. Sessions shift from structural work to drafting support: chapter reviews, pacing feedback, and working through what changes when the story goes somewhere you didn't expect. The partnership evolves with the work.

  • Then we're starting with more information than most. I'll read what you have, diagnose what's holding and what isn't, and we'll build from there. Sometimes a draft needs structural repair, not line editing. Sometimes the world underneath it needs rebuilding before the next version can stand. Either way, you're in the right place—Draft Zero Development works whether you're starting from scratch or starting over. 

  • It's adjacent. Traditional book coaching focuses on guiding the author's thinking through questions. Draft Zero Development is more hands-on: I stress-test ideas, identify structural problems, and build frameworks alongside you. You still make every decision—but I'm doing more than asking questions.

No AI Touches Your Book. Ever.

Your manuscript doesn't go into any AI tool. Not for summaries, not for feedback, not for "just checking." Not at any stage, and not without your written permission. This applies whether your book is unpublished, in progress, or already out in the world.

The work you're paying me for is my work. Reader reports, annotated manuscripts, session feedback, narration prep—all of it is written by me, on my own, without AI assistance of any kind. That includes the behind-the-scenes notes and drafts. My reading brain and Word's basic spell-check are the whole toolkit. Nothing cloud-based, nothing AI-powered, nothing that sends your text anywhere.

Your book and your name never enter an AI system. If that line ever needs to move, I'll ask you first. You can say no, and it won't change anything about our work together.

The formal version lives in the Terms of Service.

Ready to build?

Whether you're rebuilding after a draft that didn't work or building for the first time, let's make sure the foundation holds. We'll start with a free 30-minute consultation to see if this is the right fit.