How Can I Help?

Publishing a book can feel like a race sometimes, and usually one you haven’t ever trained for. Some people need encouragement and support right at the starting gate. Others need help getting over the finish line. Some need company running the hard, lonely miles in the middle. I’m here for you, for any or all of it.

You will need different help at different stages, and there will always be surprises. That's why I'm here— to help at any or every stage of the process.

Things I can help with:

  • Talking you through the sometimes complicated process of getting your book from the idea stage onto book shelves.

  • Reading what you’ve been working on and helping you figure out what the next steps are.

  • Working alongside you to help you figure out how to tell the story you want to tell.

  • Collaborating with you to put together a book proposal that is ready to send out to agents.

  • Making suggestions on your manuscript to strengthen your ideas and polish your prose.

  • Helping with all aspects of the process, including setting deadlines, brainstorming ideas, helping hire outside help, and reading and editing as we go.

  • A deeper, more collaborative process, digging deeply into the writing, the argument, and the structure of your book.

  • Taking your ideas and your expertise and getting the words down on the page for you.

  • Jane Fleming Fransson has a special place in our hearts for her timely, devoted, and critical assist down the home stretch. We suspect she has lived past lives as an ER doctor, or perhaps as a magician, or maybe as a saint. We saw hints of all of those in her performance.

    John Donvan and Caren Zucker, authors of In a Different Key

  • Jane Fleming Fransson was my collaborator throughout this process. We each were doing our jobs, but it never felt like work. You will never know how much you mean to me, Jane, because you made my story come to life. Something else came to life as we worked together— a friendship. Jane always gave me her last bit of patience, attention, kindness and encouragement when I had none of those things left in my tank. From here on out, you are in my tribe. You are one of my delights.

    Corey Keyes, author of Languishing

  • Jane Fleming Fransson’s editing prowess did wonders for my book. Her genuine excitement around my family’s story and belief in me as a writer lit a fuse in me, and helped propel my project into the next phase of its life.

    Georgia Hunter, author of We Were the Lucky Ones

  • Jane Fleming Fransson deserves special thanks for believing in me, and this story, from the beginning, for her valuable guidance the entire way, and most of all for serving as an informal therapist when I needed a boost.

    Will Bardenwerper, author of The Prisoner in His Palace

  • I will forever be thankful to editor Jane Fleming Fransson for her rigor, humor, and now, friendship.

    Soraya Chemaly, author of Rage Becomes Her

  • Thanks especially to Jane Fleming Fransson, who was kind, understanding, monumentally helpful, and kept us on a deadline even when we were completely lost about what the heck we were doing. This book would simply not exist without her.

    Anney Reese and Samantha McVey, authors of Stuff Mom Never Told You

  • Thank you for your never flagging enthusiasm and hand-holding, Jane Fleming Fransson; you taught me how to write.

    Joan Koenig, author of The Musical Child

  • Heartfelt thanks go to my editor, Jane Fleming Fransson, whose dedication and friendship have made this process a delight from start to finish.

    Sadia Shepard, author of The Girl from Foreign

  • Jane Fleming Fransson loved this book and pushed me to make it the best it could be. She went beyond the call of duty and was a huge help to me.

    Ann Napolitano, author of A Good Hard Look

Where Do We Begin?

We’ll start with a phone call, so I can ask you some questions to understand where you're at in the process. Different stages have different sets of needs, and different goals require different systems of support.

Step One

After I’ve read a sample of your work, we’ll set up a phone call to get to know each other, so we can figure out how I might best be able to help you.

Step Two

We work together to craft a plan to get you from where you are to wherever you need to go— no matter what stage of the process you’re currently in.

Step Three

Once we’ve agreed on our plan of attack, we set some project deadlines, determine the course of action, and set off together towards the finish line.

Past Projects

  • The Art of Gathering: How we meet and why it matters by Priya Parker
  • Born Round: A story of family, food and a ferocious appetite by Frank Bruni
  • Bringing Up Bébé: an American mother discovers the wisdom of French parenting by Pamela Druckerman
  • Deluxe: How luxury lost its luster by Dana Thomas
  • In a Different Key: the story of Autism by John Donvan Caren Zucker
  • Farm City: The education of an urban farmer by Novella Carpenter
  • FInal Salute: a story of unfinished lives by Jim Sheeler
  • Four Fish: the future of the last wild food by Paul Greenberg
  • Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the making and breaking of America's empire by Jonathan M. KatzGangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the making and breaking of America's empire by Jonathan M. Katz
  • Languishing: how to feel alive again in a world that wears us down by Corey Keyes
  • Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin
  • Provenance: how a con man and a forger rewrote the history of modern art by Laney Salisbury & Aly Sujo
  • Rage Becomes Her: The power of women's anger by Soraya Chemaly
  • Shoot like a Girl: one woman's dramatic fight in Afghanistan and on the home front by Mary Jennings Hegarvv
  • Stuff Mom Never Told You by Anney Reese & Samantha McVey
  • Spies, Lies and Algorithms by Amy B. Zegart
  • The Musical Child by Joan Koenig
  • The Parent Trap by Nate G. Hilger
  • The Tinder Box: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers by James Andrew Miller
  • The Unforgiving Minute: a Soldier's Education by Craig M. Mullaney
  • We were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
  • How to Raise a Healthy Gamer by Alok Kanojia, MD

Let’s Figure Out How I Can Help