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A Writer's Roadmap
Helping Writers Make Their Way
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Ah, the exciting life of a writer...
Looking for help?
Writing can be pure pleasure. It gives you total freedom to create, costs nothing but time and a few materials, and uses all of your intellectual and emotional abilities.
But it is a tough business. Writers can pour time and money into learning the craft and putting their work out there, yet find themselves underpublished and increasingly demoralized as the years go by.
Maybe you’ve written books you believe in, but no longer send them out to agents & publishers. Or you do, and hear crickets. Or you self-publish, and discover that your sales are so low, you’re not sure it was worth it.
What’s a writer to do?
- Understand the terrain.
- Learn about the roadblocks.
- Set your goals.
- Adjust your mindset and open up to serendipity.
- Clarify your next steps.
- Keep going.
If you love writing but getting your work to readers seems up to chance, you’re in the right place. A Writer’s Roadmap helps creatives make their way through the strange and often illogical landscape of creating work for publication. We offer free resources, unique courses, and inside information via our blog.
Welcome! Pull up a chair and stay a while.
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6 Essentials for a Successful Book
Whether you're aiming for traditional publishers or launching your book yourself, this one-page guide to publication shows you the lay of the land.
Inside the Editor's Toolbox
This informative 12-page PDF describes the 4 main tools professional editors use to help strengthen your manuscript.
Click to go straight to the help
For when not lack of information about the publishing landscape is your biggest roadblock.
The Latest From Our Blog
Writing is a “learn by doing” thing, and the only way to learn how to write a book is to write one. This is problematic for many reasons, the main one being that writing a book is confusing, difficult, and almost always optional. Several years ago I borrowed a bunch of money and went back …
7 Project Management Principles for Writing a Book Read More »
Who's behind A Writer's Roadmap?
Hi, I’m Pat Dobie.
I am an editor, book doctor and coach working with writers all over the world on both fiction and nonfiction. My clients have gone on to get agents, achieve traditional publication, self-publish successfully, and win awards. I’ve taught writing and project management live to hundreds of beginning and intermediate writers, and coached writers 1:1 on bringing their book-length projects from concept development through to publication.
In my work I encounter plenty of writers who need more than getting one manuscript on the page and into the best possible shape. These writers also need a reliable guide through the sometimes mysterious terrain that writing a book entails: from completing a first draft to creating a book that is well-written, well-published, and well-received by readers.
That’s why I created A Writer’s Roadmap.
Launch January 31, 2022
A 5-week course for intermediate writers—
Fiction's Big-Picture Fundamentals: Creating Stories that Work
Finished your book?
Save time and money on the road to publication.
Fiction Editing Demystified!
Fiction Editing: A Writer’s Roadmap is a fundamental guide for fiction writers at any stage, from first-time novelists to veterans in the art and craft of writing. Whether you’re seeking an agent / publisher or planning to launch your book yourself, it will give you essential tips for understanding if and when to hire an editor, what to expect, and how to get the most bang for your buck (or euro, or pound…)