transform your story into a standout novel
~ Thriller
~ horror
~ romance
~ fantasy
~ mystery
~ romantasy
~ cozy
~ Thriller ~ horror ~ romance ~ fantasy ~ mystery ~ romantasy ~ cozy
Book Coach & Developmental Editor
Violette Davis
I believe authors don’t need more marketing advice. They need a clearer path to writing books their readers will love.
Own your genre : find your fandom
Genre is your North Star.
Why? Because genre’s the shared language between you and your readers–and the most powerful tool you have for writing and revisions.
Whether you write romance, thrillers, or mysteries, truly embracing your genre will guarantee you find the readers who will love your book—and tell their friends to buy it.
Master your craft: write an unputdownable book
Story is more than a plot. It’s a journey of change. No matter what genre you are writing, your story is ultimately about the specific struggles of your characters.
Refining your protagonist’s goals and conflicts to reflect both their internal and external struggles will fortify your story—and make your novel stand out among the masses.
Build your process: build your career
Writing should be fun!
Okay, well, it can also feel like the world is ending, but we spend hours a day writing or thinking about writing, and therefore it should be something positive in our lives, not something we dread.
Use tools, not rules, to develop your own process, voice and confidence to write your next book.
Revision Roadmap
5 Components of the revision roadmap
Whether you are a pantser or a plotter, use the Hero’s Journey or Save the Cat!, or are a seasoned writer or a novice, there are five key components of writing genre fiction that shape your book. Understanding and utilizing these five components in your revisions will deepen your story and make your novel stand out from the crowd.
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Genre is the universe your story lives in. Embracing your genre will strengthen your novel by creating boundaries that help you write and edit, sharpen your story from the big story question down to your individual sentences, and guide you to readers who will devour your book and then tell their friends about it.
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No matter what genre you are writing, your story is ultimately about the specific struggles of your characters.
Refining your protagonist’s goals and conflicts to reflect both their internal and external struggles will fortify your story—and make your novel stand out among the masses.
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Your story might ultimately revolve around your protagonist, but there would be no story without antagonistic forces throwing your protagonist’s life into turmoil.
They say every antagonist is the protagonist of their own story. Deeply understanding their goals, motivations and steps to achieve their plans will uplevel your book from the big plot points down to your on-the-page details.
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Whether you are a pantser or a plotter, understanding how your protagonist reacts to the challenges presented to them and how these reactions frame your story will help you develop an unputdownable book.
Breaking story structure into four acts, each bookended by major points in your protagonist’s journey, will clarify and deepen your novel, no matter what genre you are writing.
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Scenes are the actual units that make up your story. With a clear grasp of scene structure and the steps needed to ensure your scenes move the story forward, you will master the medium of genre fiction.
Work with Violette
Full manuscript evaluation & Revision plan
The Revision Roadmap
THE REVISION ROADMAP is a full manuscript evaluation and revision plan package. No matter where you are in your writing journey, this package is designed to give you personalized feedback and a tailor-made roadmap on how to clarify and strengthen your manuscript so you can confidently revise it into an unputdownable novel.
You Get…
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I will critique how your manuscript flows from its setup to your happily ever after, breaking down which individual sections are effective and where improvements can strengthen your story. I will focus on your plot points, character arcs, antagonistic forces and pacing.
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You will receive a personalized roadmap prioritizing top structural concerns and highlighting the order for your revisions.
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Steps included in your roadmap go beyond structural analysis. You will also receive advice on next steps to take to take your draft and make it a publishable manuscript.
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You can schedule a one-on-one virtual meeting with me up to one month after receiving your feedback to discuss your revisions or next steps.
Price: $150 USD per 10,000 words.
start here
Optional Add-On
1:1 COACHING
Three months of high-touch coaching
Don’t want to revise alone? With one-on-one coaching, I will help you clarify your protagonist’s arc, conflict, pacing and scene strength. I will guide you through your personalized agenda to refine your story so you feel confident in finishing and publishing your unputdownable novel.
PRICE: $1,800 USD
The Revision Roadmap is for all stages of writing. Whether you only have a partially finished draft or have completed multiple edits, I will work closely with you and your story to help turn it from good to great.
I will provide a detailed editorial letter addressing the novel's overall strengths and a roadmap outlining clear next steps to transform your novel into a story worthy of a fandom.
“Violette is an amazing book coach and editor! You can tell she really cares about writers and helping them tell the best stories they can; her passion shines through her work.”
Robin Nemesszeghy, Author of Convergence Point
Writing romance? Check out the The Romance Roadmap.
Learn more here:
You’re not alone
Feeling lost in the writing world?
I’m here to help guide you through the next steps of your process, no matter if you are trying to write your first draft or polish up your manuscript before publishing.