Writing schedule
Pages before email. Six mornings a week, 900 words, no exceptions and no rereading until Friday.
since
2009
About the author
A slow reader who writes quickly
I started as a local newspaper subeditor, moved to trade magazines, and published my first novel at thirty-four after four years of getting up at five. Nothing about that route was planned. It did, however, teach me to write to length and to hand things in.
Most of my work now sits in two places. Under my own name there are novels and a run of essays about small towns and the people who leave them. Under other people’s names there are memoirs, founder books and a surprising number of wedding speeches.
I work with three clients at a time, take one commission a quarter, and read every manuscript out loud before it goes anywhere. If a sentence trips me up on the second pass, it comes out.
Nathan Reeve
What I actually do
Long-form fiction
Novels and novellas, written from a settled outline and delivered chapter by chapter.
Ghostwriting
Memoir and business books written in your voice, with your name alone on the jacket.
Editorial columns
Monthly essays and features for magazines, newsletters and Sunday supplements.
Working method
Four stages, no surprises
Dates are agreed at the start and I send a short progress note every Friday, whether or not there is good news in it.
01
Conversation
An hour on a call, unpaid. We work out what the book actually is and whether I am the right person to write it.
02
Outline
A paid outline of eight to fifteen pages covering structure, voice, chapter order and the material still missing.
03
Drafting
Chapters arrive monthly. You read as they land and comment in the margins rather than waiting for a finished book.
04
Handover
Two revision rounds, a clean manuscript, a style sheet, and the files in whatever format your publisher asks for.
09
Published titles
04
Translated editions
17
Years writing
03
Anthologies edited
Praise
Editors, publishers and the people whose books ended up with someone else’s name on the spine.
Before you write in
Questions I get asked most
Usually four to six months for a full manuscript and six to eight weeks for shorter copy work. Assessment reports can often start within a fortnight. If the date matters, say so in your first message.
No. Ghostwriting is a flat project fee paid in three instalments, and the copyright is assigned to you on final payment. It keeps the working relationship simple and it means I have no say in how the book is sold.
Yes, unless you ask otherwise. Ghostwritten work is covered by a mutual confidentiality agreement and I do not list those projects publicly, including on this site.
That is the usual arrangement for memoir. We record twelve to twenty conversations, I have them transcribed, and the transcripts become the raw material. You never have to write a word yourself.
Two revision rounds are included in every quote. If the direction is wrong after the first delivered chapter, either of us can stop the project there and you pay only for the work delivered.
Start a conversation
Tell me about the book
Two or three paragraphs is plenty: what it is, who it is for, and when you would like it finished. I reply to everything within two working days, including the ones I have to turn down.
Email
contact@example.com
Telephone
+1 (000) 555-555
Studio
123 Maplewood Lane Apartment 4B
Springfield, IL 62704 USA