Empowering Writers to Tell Their Stories
Are you ready to finish that manuscript?
You need someone to get into the book with you and work side by side. You need a listener. You need a book whisperer.
Finishing is the one thing that will help you grow as a writer. And the fact that there are so many writers out there with unfinished manuscripts, well….I call it a book-finishing crisis.
We must find a way to complete them because in the finishing lies the secret to writing.
What is that secret?
It's your own personal secret, so I don't know what that is yet. The key to your own work is in YOU. Not in any expert.
If we work together, I guarantee you'll find it, or your money back.
Call on me. I've been there.
I believe that writers most need to figure out what story they are telling. (“But what’s it about?” )
I use psychoanalytic techniques as a vehicle to offer writers a new perspective on their work. Combining deep listening and spontaneous conversation, I capture keywords and themes and play them back to the writer, prompting them to hear themselves and get to the heart of their writing.
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“Moving and provocative…a profound journey into the heart of another culture.”
—Gish Jen, author of The Resisters, Tiger Writing, and The Girl at the Baggage Claim
"The Fourth String reconfigures the typical Japan fish-out-of-water memoir into a meditation on music and mastery, relationships, culture, and narrative."
"The Fourth String is a piercingly insightful memoir of a young woman's search for herself by diving into the demanding traditional art form of the shamisen in a country renowned for keeping outsiders at arms' length."
—Liza Dalby, author of Geisha, Kimono, The Tale of Murasaki, and others
"Impressively well written with a distinctive narrative storytelling style, The Fourth String is an inherently fascinating, thoughtful, and compelling read."
"Before working with Janet, my novel was stuck. I had lots of ideas about revisions but was unable to determine where to focus. Janet's manuscript review clarified the strengths and weaknesses of my overall project. We discussed my vision and determined my underlying premise, which gave me a clear metric to evaluate what the book needs. Janet encouraged me to move forward to complete my novel on an aggressive but achievable monthly schedule. At the beginning of each cycle, I develop a revision plan for specific chapters. We meet to discuss my revised chapters and how they fit into the overall book. Working with Janet has got me back on track and enthusiastic about finishing my novel!"
--John R., finishing a novel-in-stories
"Janet is an encouraging, thoughtful, and engaging book coach. She asked on-point questions that allowed me to find my own insights about my work-in-progress and helped me discover the next steps without inserting any agenda of her own. She shared her field-tested knowledge of what makes a story work as well as a genuine enthusiasm for the processes of writing and coaching. I will certainly seek her out again in the future!"
--Joanna, YA novel
"Janet Pocorobba is a manuscript microscope - she reads effortlessly with clarity and discovers the concealed relationship between characters/setting/plot with revelation and compassion. Her teaching background gives her the necessary edge for creating reasonable revision timelines. Her comments on my novel manuscript "Hurricane Light" were insightful and beneficial for revision. We are now working together on my synopsis - concentrating on character motivation to bring the synopsis to life."
--Annie P., finishing a novel
