WORK WITH ME

*   MANUSCRIPT  SERVICES  ARE  CURRENTLY OPEN   *

Looking for thoughtful, sensitive comments on your poems? 

Need someone to hold the flashlight while you work at a project you're developing, or be another pair of eyes on something else you're writing? 

Ready to spark or rekindle a writing practice, or maybe deepen your engagement with poetry as a reader who may or may not write? 

Bringing more than two decades of writing, editing, and mentoring experience, I am happy to accompany you as a field guide in your creative practice. I work with writers of all ages and all stages to foster exploration and creative risk-taking in a supportive, collaborative space. 

If you don't see exactly what you're looking for, please reach out to discuss a custom service tailored specifically to your interests. Send me an email or use the contact link at the top of this page. 

MANUSCRIPT SERVICES

Manuscript Services are currently open. The following options do not require a prior query, though you are welcome to ask questions before submitting. 

The Broad View

• A Handful of Poems: up to 5 poems, max. 5 pages | $100
• Folio: up to 10 poems, max. 10 pages | $175

A one-page written response focused on what I see in the poems with suggestions about how they may be strengthened. I may include questions intended to spark your imaginative response or directions for further development. Optional follow-up: feedback on revisions at the rate of $15/poem or page.

The Closer View

• Close-up on Poems: up to 3 poems, max. 3 pages | $100
• Close-up on More Poems: up to 10 poems, max. 10 pages | $275

 

A detailed reading of each poem, focused if requested on specific questions or aspects of the work. I may include questions and suggestions for further development. Feedback includes considerations of form and structure, image, metaphor, lineation, sound patterning, word choice, etc. 

• Putting It Together: Consultation on a chapbook-length manuscript or body of work in progress | $350

A comprehensive written response and a 30-minute Zoom consultation on a chapbook-length manuscript (roughly 15-30 poems / pages) This service provides structural and thematic feedback, and a clear map for your next steps. 

• The Short Long View: Manuscript Review (up to 80 pages) | $450

What you get: A comprehensive review of a book-length collection of poems including written notes and a one-hour video conversation about the manuscript. 

 

Send your work (formatted in Word and PDF, each poem starting on a separate page) and the fee (by e-transfer or PayPal) to <susan@susangillis.ca>. Use a standard 12-point font such as Times New Roman, Arial or Courier New. Page numbers are helpful; a contents list is helpful but not required. Feel free to include a note or question if you'd like me to give attention to anything in particular. My response time is normally 3-5 weeks.

Please query ahead for the following manuscript and mentorship services:

• The Long View: Manuscript Development | $1,500 and up

Deep, developmental editorial consultation from initial draft to a polished collection. Together we will determine specific approaches, objectives, a timeline, and a budget / fee structure, according to the scope of the project.

MENTORSHIP

• Field Work: Mentoring and guidance in your creative practice |  $65/hour (3-hour minimum) 

This service is tailored specifically to your interests and needs. We can work on one, two, or many poems at a time. We can also work on prompts, reading and responding, and other aspects of a creative practice involving poetry.

Fees will always be established in consultation, so you will never be left wondering what a project might cost. 

• Mini Mentorship (2 hours; 4x30-minute or 2x60-minute sessions or a combination) | $175 

A focused version of the Field Work described above, these consultations provide you with feedback on poems and suggestions for development. Written notes are not included in the Mini Mentorship. Sessions can be scheduled weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. 

Reach out here for info on these or other services. I'm always happy to hear from you!

(Please note, copy-editing, proof-reading and related services are not included in these services.)

MY APPROACH

How to spark and hold to a writing practice is something I've thought about a lot. The joy - and yes, sometimes the agony - of discovery in language is an ongoing passion. 

Our work together focuses on you: you will be heard, encouraged, challenged and supported as you develop your writing your way, according to your goals. Our conversation may include everything from suggested writing prompts to discussions of work we admire (or are challenged by—because that’s productive too). See more about my approach to mentoring here.

My role is to guide, champion, and enable you in your practice, whether through individual poems or manuscript development, renewing a practice that feels stalled or beginning a new practice, exploration and discovery of how poetry lives and moves, or other area of interest in poetry. Services and fees vary by project, and are determined in consultation.

My experience includes workshops and discussion groups for Concordia University, the Quebec Writers’ Federation, John Abbott College, Festival Blue Met Bleu, Los Parronales (Chile), and many individual mentorships. I also give talks, host workshops, and guide reading for poets, creatives in other fields, and readers.

Watching the tide change on the Minas Basin

Some things people have said about my services:

"Susan is a receptive and perceptive reader who knows when to suggest and when to sit back and let the writer do the heavy lifting. It is a privilege to have Susan help me with my manuscript, and I wholeheartedly recommend her services."

"The care and intelligence of the service Susan provided surpassed my expectations, it was a form of gift-giving, truly."

"Inspiring, constructive, effective!"