Services For Writers
I provide editorial and coaching services for writers at all phases of the creative process. I also provide individual and group workshops to develop your creative gifts and habits. If you are unsure which of these services would be the best fit, please contact me.
Manuscript Development and/or Assessment
This service is for you if you have a partial draft of a manuscript, or a rough draft about which you’re unsure. This service focuses on key issues including choice of theme and topics, narrative arc, and structure. It can be helpful especially if you are considering which direction to take your work. For this service you will receive:
- A 3-to-5-page editorial letter, detailing big-picture strengths and weaknesses, with constructive criticism to move you forward.
- Two follow-up sessions of half an hour each, to discuss questions and comments, to be scheduled at your convenience.
“Poet Rebecca Rolland was knowledgeable, inspiring and accessible.”
– Judith Partelow, at the Cape Cod Writers’ Conference
Manuscript Critique
This service is for you if you already have a full manuscript developed and want support to revise it for an agent or a publishing house. For this service you will receive:
- A 3-to-5-page editorial letter, detailing strengths and weaknesses, with constructive criticism to help you move forward.
- Specific line-edit commentary on selected pages, looking at elements of craft that are working well and less well for you.
- Two follow-up sessions of half an hour each, to discuss questions and comments, to be scheduled at your convenience.
Proposal Development (Nonfiction)
If you have an idea for a nonfiction book project, or if you have a proposal in development, I can work with you to flesh out your proposal and to prepare it for agents and editors, to industry standards.
Ongoing Creative Coaching and Creative Development
In these sessions, I work with you on an hourly basis to achieve creative goals and push through roadblocks. This can be a great help if you are struggling with which direction to take your work or are trying to get started with new ideas.
Workshops For Small Groups
In these sessions, I work with you as part of a small group to make progress on your projects and enhance your craft. This can be a great help if you want to develop skills in a specific genre and are excited by the idea of having a community to share ideas and feedback.
“Rebecca Givens Rolland is strikingly smart, creative and knowledgeable, also very open-minded and kind – I feel completely safe sending experimental “questionable” work to her.
Each manuscript consultation with Rebecca transforms my work (poems end up becoming thoroughly reworked, expanded, deleted and parts combined), and changes my way of thinking (relearning what works and doesn’t work in my writing, and the possibilities of poetry in general).”
– Kelly Shaw, Grub Street
Popular Speaking Topics
"Managing Time and Technology to Support Your Deep Focus and Creativity"
This interactive workshop is designed to support participants to harness technology and time in the service of producing their most creative, insightful writing; reducing procrastination; and gaining control of their writing lives. Integrating research on creativity and focus from psychology and neurology with my own experience as a clinician and writer in multiple genres, this session is designed to help participants create a tailored plan to support them in overcoming obstacles and meeting creative goals.
“Where’s my cabin?”
This interactive workshop is designed to support participants to harness technology and time in the service of producing their most creative, insightful writing; reducing procrastination; and gaining control of their writing lives. Integrating research on creativity and focus from psychology and neurology with my own experience as a clinician and writer in multiple genres, this session is designed to help participants create a tailored plan to support them in overcoming obstacles and meeting creative goals.
“On writing the hook”
We all want readers to feel drawn to and engaged in our writing from the start. In this session, we’ll uncover how writing a hook can be a meaningful, creative, and fun process, allowing you to distill your work to its essence and reframe it in ways that add intrigue and surprise.
“On writing about children”
It can be a challenge to write about children-your own, or others. Whether you’re writing nonfiction or poetry, there are many questions that can arise: how many personal details to reveal, how to include dialogue, how to find a tone that is neither earnest nor overly sarcastic, and how to get past the tired tropes of parenthood. Through exercises, guided discussions, and readings, this session will get you excited about writing for children, help identify your goals, and pinpoint your strengths and challenges in this area of your writing life.
“How to write striking images: Lessons for poets and prose writers”
Writing striking images is a key way to bring both your poems and prose pieces to life-but too often, when we’re focused on plot, narrative arc, or character, we neglect to focus on the images we create through our writing. But adding such images doesn’t only make your work livelier; it can also bring you new creative directions and ideas. Through exercises and models from both poets and prose writers, we’ll identify how to highlight and enrich the images in your work.
