Anika Hanisch’s Role, Requirements, and Boundaries

What I am:  Co-writer, editor, and book coach. I help with all aspects of manuscript craft from idea generation and draft-writing to structural fine-tuning and line editing.  I can help you unblock and trouble-shoot your writing challenges.  I also help with evaluating and responding to revision feedback from your first beta readers.  Please review my Services List and my Current Workshop Offerings (PDF), to get a sense of my specialties.

What I am not:  Publisher, literary agent, publishing coach, secretary, therapist, computer/tech trouble-shooter, software engineer, or goddess.

With the above understanding, all my Clients are required to have a few basic components in place before we begin working together…

Client Requirements

• Basic computer competency – You will need to use Microsoft Word in Track Changes mode to work with me as an editor or co-writer.  If you do not have basic computer skills, you will need to take classes to acquire them or hire an office helper or personal concierge who can cover these tasks for you.
• Email Account and Voicemail – If you do not have these components in place, or if you frequently forget to check messages, you will need to secure an office assistant who can cover these tasks for you.
• Family Support – Not every family member may be supportive, but those nearest and dearest need to be.  Your significant other needs to be 100% on board.  I won’t assist with projects that inherently cause friction between spouses.
• Publishing Plan – I don’t require that you have a publisher already secured or a book proposal already written.  Just show me that you understand the vast timeline (years not months) and effort involved in finding a publisher or in marketing a self-published work.  Show me that you know your genre and your main comparative works (your competitors).  The internet is brimming with courses on this process.  Start with reputable venues like the Loft Literary Center’s online classes or Writer’s Digest classes and webinars.
  
• Therapeutic Component – This is a non-negotiable requirement.  You’ll need to demonstrate that you already meet regularly with a licensed clinical therapist.  If your project begins to excessively traumatize you or a loved one in any way, I reserve the right to share my concerns with your therapist.  Take your self-care seriously.

What’s with the “Therapeutic Component”? That seems excessive!

Book-writing can have some positive therapeutic effects.  But, more often than not, it’s just hard work.  And traumatizing.  Writing-to-publish involves receiving repeated critique of your personal thoughts on the page.  You cannot help but take this personally at some point.  It will wear on you.  Whether writing traumatic memoir or contemporary fiction or simple instructional how-to, at some point your ego will be strained.  You will need someone to talk to about the project.  Someone who is not me.

Over the past 20-plus years, while serving over 100 agency-repped or private clients, I have noticed that:

• Every client who had a therapeutic program in place, wound up having a fairly smooth and enjoyable writing process, got published, and found some level of success.  Their book projects were hard work, but energizing and purposeful.
• Every client I’ve worked with who did not have a therapeutic program in place, experienced serious creative blocks or became exceedingly worn down by the publishing process itself.  Their book projects were painful experiences for them.

Soul care matters.  The therapeutic component is required.

Let’s keep transference to a minimum too.  Please don’t deify me or yourself.  Or your book.  I will help you access exciting realms in the creative process.  Because writing increases your level of right- and left-brain unity, you will experience some incredibly strong emotions when you’re with me, or when you’re working on assignments from me.  You might even feel enlightened, like you’re channeling something bigger than yourself.

That’s good and normal; that feeling happens because creativity alters your brain chemistry. (Cool, huh?)  But it doesn’t mean that your book is a transcription of the Divine Voice and won’t need editing.  It doesn’t mean you’re magical, and it doesn’t mean I’m magical either.

Practice heading into these intensely creative zones, and then return to ground floor, ready to critique and edit that raw material.  Practice re-entering with your feet on the ground, and we’ll do well together.

Why so uppity about “knowing the publishing process” before I start writing? Doesn’t that squash my creativity?

Hardly.  It creates a grounded framework and ensures you don’t have out-sized expectations of your book and the book-writing journey.  Book-writing is not a quick money initiative.  Over the years, I’ve seen about a dozen brilliant authors enjoy a writing process abounding with creativity, gusto, commitment, and momentum.  Then, with completed manuscript in hand, they saw the publisher-shopping process ahead… and bailed.  Some in fear of the unknown, some in resentment toward the “book marketing machine.”  All dripping in self-sabotage.

Talk about a force that squashes creativity.  These are incredibly well-crafted and needed books that will never see the light of day, because the author self-destructed.  I’m tired of going through these creative miscarriages.  It’s depressing.  You, the author, are the leader in your book-craft journey, from initial drafts to publisher hunt to ongoing author platform-building.  Have a ground-level awareness of what you’re getting into before we start.

Realize I cannot get your book published for you.  Like any new or emerging author, you’ll need to find a literary agent or connect with a small publisher yourself.  If you don’t already have a publisher lined up, expect a 1 to 3-year process to find one.  Or have a sturdy self-publishing and self-marketing plan in place.

As you head into a publisher hunt or self-publishing process, you will need to make time for several hours of business management tasks each week: sending queries, building a web platform and social media following, booking speaking engagements.  Much of the marketing efforts need to happen before the book comes out–to ensure people know about you, so you have a readership.  I cannot help you with your office, business management, and marketing tasks and cannot ever help with trouble-shooting your computer and tech issues.  It will take a team to get your book off to market.  Please find the professionals you’ll need to fill these new roles in your life.

Wow, you’ve read this far.  Still drawn to that book project?  Still got that bedrock calling to finish and publish your book regardless of the mountain you’ll need to climb?  If so, I’m impressed.  Let’s talk!