Editor

Developmental Editor / Book Coach Needed for First-Time Nonfiction Author (Mental Health / Self-Help) About me: I'm Gordon Gooding, a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW-R) with over 30 years of clinical practice, including a background as a school social worker. I'm writing my first book, and I've never done anything like this before. I need an experienced partner who can help me get it across the finish line the right way. About the book The working title is *Work With the Wind: A Therapist's Honest Guide to Living With Anxiety, Not Against It.* The core idea: anxiety and discomfort are like wind. You can't eliminate it, and you can't sail straight into it, but with the right skills you can reach any destination anyway. I use sailing as the organizing metaphor throughout (drawing on my own decades on the water) and weave in the Yerkes-Dodson stress curve, clinical frameworks for different anxiety presentations, and material from my own recovery and clinical career. It's meant to counter the "eliminate your anxiety" promise of a lot of books currently on the shelf, and instead offer a "living with, not against" approach. Current status: the foreword and 6 of 10 planned chapters are drafted (most through 2-3 rounds of revision). I'm actively writing the remaining chapters and want a professional eye on the whole project going forward, not just a final polish at the end. What I'm looking for: I need a developmental editor or book coach, not a proofreader, to help me with: - Big-picture structural feedback: does the book hold together is the pacing right across chapters - Guidance on voice and audience: keeping the tone plain-spoken and personal without slipping into either textbook-dry or self-help-cliché territory - Chapter-by-chapter review as I complete drafts, with honest, specific feedback (not just encouragement) - Help thinking through open structural questions (for example, where certain recurring images should land, how much clinical material versus narrative belongs in each chapter) - General coaching on the first-time-author process: manuscript organization, working toward a finished draft, and what typically comes next (whether that's agents, publishers, or self-publishing) if you're able to speak to that This is not a ghostwriting job. The ideas, clinical content, and voice are mine. I want someone to help me shape and strengthen what I'm already writing. Ideal candidate - Proven developmental editing or book coaching experience with nonfiction, ideally in memoir, self-help, psychology, or wellness categories - Comfortable giving direct, substantive feedback (not just line edits) - Experience working with first-time authors through to a completed manuscript - Bonus: familiarity with the mental health / anxiety book market, or personal interest in sailing/outdoor metaphor-driven writing (not required, but a plus) Scope, budget, and timeline I'm still deciding between hourly and per-chapter/milestone pricing, and I'm open to a recommendation from applicants based on how you typically structure developmental editing engagements for an ongoing, chapter-by-chapter collaboration like this. Please include your standard rate structure and how you'd approach a project at this stage (6 of 10 chapters drafted, actively being written) in your proposal. To apply, please include 1. Examples of nonfiction/self-help or memoir projects you've developmentally edited or coached, ideally ones that reached publication 2. Your typical process for working with a client through an in-progress manuscript 3. Your rate structure (hourly, per chapter, or full-manuscript flat fee) and availability 4. A brief note on what stood out to you about this project, if anything