Let me help your faculty become better, happier writers!
I understand the pressures of academic writing. I did my PhD (English literature) at the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) and then worked in academia in the US and UK for more than 12 years. Academics have to cope with the pressure to publish while juggling many other work commitments (teaching, committee work, marking ...) and trying to have a life. To support your faculty I can develop a workshop, facilitate a writing retreat, or offer one-to-one coaching.
Click the button below to book a call to discuss what your team needs, or keep scrolling to see what kinds of things I offer.
How can I help you?
At UC Davis I trained to teach writing across the disciplines. Since completing my PhD, I have worked with academics from a variety of fields including: history, politics, sociology, literature, botany, medicine, and law. While the content of what these academics write varies wildly, the pressures they deal with and their need for a sustainable writing practice are very similar.
All prices mentioned below reflect the discount I offer universities and other publicly funded institutions.
Workshops
I can develop workshops on topics such as the following:
- Writing productivity
- Outlining your article/chapter in a way that makes writing easy
- Understanding and working with writer's block
If you have a specific topic in mind that I haven't listed above, we can discuss it in our initial call. Each workshop would be crafted to suit your faculty's needs. All workshops are interactive - participants learn better by putting the tools and techniques I teach them into use during the workshop.
Rates: 2-hour workshop: £550 + travel and expenses if you require an in-person workshop; I'm also happy to deliver the workshop via Zoom.
Half-day workshop: £750 + travel and expenses for in-person delivery.
Writing retreats
Writing retreats can help you develop your research culture and facilitate team building. While residential retreats held off campus are something we can discuss, a one-day retreat held on your campus can be just as beneficial. Here's how I would structure a one-day retreat:
- Welcome and introductions
- Workshop (topic to be agreed)
- Co-writing
- Lunch
- Co-writing
- Conclusion
For the co-writing sessions, we would need a room that is large enough for everyone to bring their laptops/notebooks and have space to work, as well as access to refreshments.
During the co-writing sessions, I would need a separate, but nearby, room in which to hold one-to-one meetings with each participant so we can discuss their individual writing issues and concerns.
Rate: £1450 + travel and expenses
One-to-One coaching
One-to-one coaching is often the best option for writers with serious blocks - those who have stopped publishing, or may have never started - and for those who have tight deadlines and demanding schedules.
To resolve their writing issues, seriously blocked writers need the space to hold confidential discussions with someone who is not on their team and who will not report to their line manager. In our sessions we would examine why they haven't been writing, look at what has and hasn't worked for them in the past, discuss their goals, and devise a suitable plan of action. This would likely require 3 to 4 sessions and could include focus on organisation, writing skills, and accountability.
Writers struggling to complete large projects with tight deadlines will benefit from support in deciding where to start and devising a workable plan for meeting their deadline. We'll break the project down into small, manageable tasks, and as they complete each one, their confidence in their ability to complete the whole will grow. These writers will also benefit from the added accountability our sessions will give them.
Rate: £150/hour with a minimum booking of 6 hours (these sessions can be spread over multiple writers). In most cases, these sessions will be held via Zoom; where this is not the case, I will charge travel and expenses in addition to the session rate.