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Workshops
Coaching, editing, reader reports
Events
Workshops
March: JUMP! A crash course in storytelling for first-time novelists. See details here.
April: Self-publishing, Step by Step With Tanya Meeson and Lucinda Hooley. See details here.
June: Submission. Manuscript development for new and newish authors of fiction. See details here.
Coaching, editing, reader reports
I’ve been working as an editor in various capacities since 2009. I started out in the magazine industry, moved to business editing, and now help other writers and publishers in a few ways.
Beta reads
You’ve got your manuscript, now you need to know if it’s worth a damn. I read your manuscript and provide a detailed report tailored to your text and areas of focus, as well as an hour’s face-to-face to discuss the findings.
Developmental editing
Developmental editing or structural editing is when an editor goes through your text and stress tests it for plot, character, world-building and so on. I’ll show you where your work needs, well, work and provide insights and suggestions for improving it. This is a very intense process and only those who are serious about producing a publishable book, or who want to challenge themselves to create the very best story they’re able to, need bother with this. This process can happen as you’re writing or after you’ve written your book. Here’s a good write-up from Wikipedia about developmental editing.
Line editing (also known as ‘copy editing’)
This is more than a spelling and grammar check; it’s checking facts, timelines, and consistencies in story, character, and world-building, among many other things. Here’s a good write-up from Wikipedia about this.
This is different to proofreading which is literally just the final, surface-level check that all the i’s are dotted and all the t’s crossed on your document before publication.
Coaching
This is for authors who need help with any aspect of their writing process. Sometimes this looks like coaching an author through their writing process—from the start of their book to the end; sometimes I become a writing and thinking partner; sometimes authors just need some advice about marketing, pitching, submissions, their genre, self-publishing or help writing letters to agents (among many other things, of course).
None of these services is a one-size-fits-all. I work closely with my authors to tailor the services to their specific requirements (and budgets where needs be).
Keen? Mail me here for rates and more information.
Events
Book launch: The Witch of Benbar’s Cross, 24 March at The Book Lounge. Details to come.
Otherworld: 25 July, Exclusive Books. Details to come
JUMP!
This course is for first-time novelists or those struggling through a manuscript and coming up against a block. I’ll take you through writing tips and techniques to press on and develop your ideas, and storytelling techniques, from character development and world building, to creating a narrative arc and how to plot this out.
It’s for newbie authors who want some shorthand storytelling skills, pointers on what it means to find a writing voice, and how to get from ‘Once upon a time…’ to ‘The End’.
JUMP! is not a course in memoir writing or poetry or journalling; it is not a deep dive to connect with your feelings or finding prettier ways of saying what you feel.
It is a course specifically for those who want to start a piece of fiction—and finish it. Best suited for those aged 18 and over, and those serious about writing a novel.
Honestly, it’s the kind of course I wish I’d been on as a young wanna-be writer with wild ideas—all dangerously untethered to reality—about what it means to write a book.
Course details
When: Wednesdays / 4, 11, 18 MARCH / 6 pm to 8 pm
Where: On your botty in the comfort of your own home. Zoom sign in.
Why: Because you’re tired of waiting for ‘one day’ and just want to jump the fack in and start writing.
What to bring: An open mind, a big heart, a willingness to make mistakes, and something to write on.
Charge: ZA Residents R1 800/Internationals R2 500 for all three sessions, PLUS a separate one-hour, one-on-one Zoom with me to chat about your specific questions. (Unfortunately, this will not include reading your manuscript. For that, you’re welcome to request a beta read and report.)
Students and Pensioners get a 10% discount.
If you’re really stumped for cash, get in touch anyway and let’s make a plan.
Seats limited to 15 people.
Keen? Mail me here to book your seat.
Self-publishing, step by step
Self-publishing, step by step is a course for those authors looking to self-publish their work. The coursework is aimed at fiction authors, but authors of any category and genre will find it useful. We try to make as much time available for Q&A at the end of each session.
Lucinda Hooley and I had a great time with this course in 2024 and 2025 and we’re back for another round.
If you’ve wanted to know what goes into publishing a book or how to publish your own, Lu and I cover all the bases: prepping your material, the editing process, choosing a cover, finding people to help you out, printing, marketing, setting up your author profile, networking—the works.
In fact, everything you need to know to produce a book that rivals those that are traditionally published.
The course fee includes 8 hours of workshop, Q&As to answer your specific questions, ‘homework’ and resources to get you started on your project, and notes.
So, if you’re tired of waiting to hear back from publishers about your novel, if you have a memoir you’d like to share with your family, maybe some poetry or a children’s story, maybe something you want to do for your business, sign up and let’s get that book baby out into the world.
Course details
When: Wednesdays / 8, 15, 22, 29 APRIL / 6 pm to 8 pm
Where: On your botty in the comfort of your own home. Zoom sign in.
Why: Because you’re tired of waiting for the gatekeepers to allow you to publish your book.
What to bring: An open mind, a big heart, and something to write on.
Charge: ZA Residents R1 800/Internationals R2 500 for the four sessions, PLUS notes.
Students and Pensioners get a 10% discount.
If you’re really stumped for cash, get in touch anyway and let’s make a plan.
Seats limited to 15 people.
Keen? Mail me here to book your seat.
Submission
See your work through the lens of a developmental and copy editor. Why? Two reasons.
If you want your story to be of a marketable and publishable standard—if you want to pitch to agents and publishers—you’re going to have to deliver the best product you can. Agents won’t give your work a sniff if it’s not in good shape.
But most importantly: the work of creation is multilayered, and moving from first draft to editing—where your third, fourth, tenth draft is hiding—is where so much of the magic of storytelling is unlocked.
‘The only kind of writing is rewriting,’ said Hemingway and that guy knew a thing or to about it.
In this course I’ll show you how to self-edit your book, how to see it as a developmental and copy editor might.
We’ll talk about the shock editing can be to the ego of a new and newish author before they start seeing the value in it. We’ll look at book categories and genres, timelines, story structure and pacing, internal coherence, character development, chapter and scene structure, dialogue and writing skill, among other things.
This course is primarily suited to those who have finished a novel and are hoping to start pitching it to agents and trad and indie publishers, or preparing it for self-publishing.
But it’s definitely for those who think they don’t need an editor; that their first draft is perfect as it is. And it’s even for those keen beans who are starting their story-writing process or who might be in the process of writing their novel and are curious about what to look out for as they write.
Course details
When: Wednesdays – 3, 10, 17, 24 JUNE – 6 pm to 8 pm
Where: On your botty in the comfort of your own home. Zoom sign in.
Why: Because you love your story and you want to dive way, way deeper into it; because you’re preparing to pitch agents or publishers.
What to bring: An open mind, a big heart, a willingness to make mistakes, and something to write on.
Charge: ZA Residents R2 400/Internationals R3 100 for all four sessions, PLUS a separate one-hour, one-on-one Zoom with me to chat about your specific questions, PLUS 10% off on a reader’s report.
Students and Pensioners get a 10% discount.
If you’re really stumped for cash, get in touch anyway and let’s make a plan.
Seats limited to 10 people.
Keen? Mail me here to book your seat.
TANYA MEESON 