Work With Me
1:1 Book Coaching, Group Book Coaching, writing workshops & Rekindle Creativity Women’s Writing Retreats
📚1:1 BOOK COACHING
Package 1: Start Your Story
Are you ready to focus on your story idea? Do you want a solid plan before beginning that first draft? Are you starting a new project and want a sounding board before writing? Do you need professional advice about where to start and how to move forward? If so, this coaching package is for you.
During our three months together, we will explore what story you want to tell and how to tell it. This package includes:
An initial 30-minute video call to discuss your writing goals, and your initial story ideas
Bi-weekly assignment deadlines (6 total)
Six 60-minute video coaching calls after deadlines
Completion of Author Accelerator’s Blueprint for a Book
Support and encouragement to reach your goals
By the end, you will have completed the Author Accelerator's Blueprint for a Book, including an Inside Outline for your story, and be ready to start the drafting phase.
Commitment: 3 months
Investment: $2100 ($700 per month after initial package)
Package 2: Write or Revise Your Story
Do you have a clear outline for your story? Are you ready to start the first draft? Or do you have a completed draft and need support to revise your next draft? Do you need accountability to write or rewrite those pages? Do you like having a deadline to meet your goals? Do you want regular feedback as you write or rewrite? If so, this coaching package is for you.
During our time together, you will begin writing a first draft of your book or rewrite your work-in-progress with ongoing support. This package includes:
An initial 30-minute video call to discuss your writing goals and completed outline (if you don’t have an outline, start with Coaching Package1 or 2)
Six biweekly deadlines of 20 pages (up to 120 pages total)*
60-minute video coaching calls after every deadline (6 total)
Bi-weekly feedback on your draft pages with suggestions, questions, developmental edits
Support and encouragement to reach your goals
Option to continue on a month-by-month basis after initial package
By the end of three months, you will have completed up to 120 new draft pages or revised 120 pages of a manuscript with feedback for revisions and next steps.
Commitment: 3 months
Investment: $2100 ($700 per month after initial package)
1-HOUR BOOK COACHING CALL
Do you need help with a specific area of your writing? Book a one-hour call to discuss your work-in-progress, marketing and promotion, pitching, or any other issue you’d like to discuss. We’ll devote the time to finding solutions that you can apply, giving you confidence and practical strategies.
Commitment: 1 hour
Investment: $150
My mission is to empower women to discover their sisu (strength, courage, and determination) in their writing and in their lives.
📚REKINDLE CREATIVITY WOMEN’S WRITING RETREATS
Are you looking to spark your creativity? Join us at the Rekindle Creativity: Women's Writing Retreat at the Lodge at Pine Cove on the beautiful French River for a weekend getaway from May 23-25, 2025. Stay tuned for details about our Fall 2025 retreat coming soon.
What qualifies me to be your book coach?
I’m a published author, certified book coach, and former teacher, and
Author of Like Water for Weary Souls (upcoming Fall 2025)
Author of Hygge and Homicide, Book 1 of the Hygge House Cozy Mystery Series (upcoming Spring 2026)
Author of Sisu’s Winter War (Latitude 46, 2022)
Author Surviving Stutthof: My Father’s Memories Behind the Death Gate (Latitude 46, 2017) shortlisted for Northern Lit Award and published in Finland by Docendo
Short stories and creative non-fiction published in a variety of anthologies and literary magazines
Certified Author Accelerator fiction and memoir book coach
Co-host Rekindle Creativity Women’s Writing Retreats with Dinah Laprairie
Thirty years of teaching experience
Graduate Certificate of Creative Writing, Humber School for Writers
Certification of Creative Writing, University of Toronto
Master of Education, Nipissing University
Bachelor of Education, University of Ottawa
Bachelor of Arts (Honours, English), University of Ottawa
I am also a proud member of the following organizations:
Sudbury Writers' Guild (past president)
Sampo Rhythmic Gymnastics Club
Canadian Gymnastics Federation
Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation
With a combination of compassion, tough love, and proven strategies, I hold writers’ hands through the book writing process. I serve women who want to write a novel or memoir, but are struggling with finding time and energy to do it alone. I'm passionate about finding joy in writing and filling your creative well. I work with fiction and memoir writers, especially those focused on historical fiction, women’s fiction, memoir, and young adult, who are ready to invest in their writing, and themselves.
What do my clients say?
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"Liisa Kovala is a fantastic book coach! She approached the developmental edit sessions for my first draft manuscript as a member of a team. With both myself as author and her as coach we considered the goals and purpose of the project together. She asked specific, pointed questions to guide the conversation. We discussed character development, plot and conflict, considering what was working and what wasn’t and how to move forward with improvements. Liisa’s strength as a book coach is in her knowledge and skills as a writer herself. She applies what she knows and has learned through her own career. She is also, simply put, a delightful person to work with!"
~Emily De Angelis, author of The Stones of Burren Bay
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“Liisa Kovala’s guidance though the first draft of my novel was exactly what I needed. She helped me define my characters, fix gaps in my story, and launch me into the next phase of the novel writing process. Her years of teaching and skills as a novelist make her the perfect coach. I now have a plan and the confidence to continue with my first novel. Thank you so much for your guidance Liisa, it was a pleasure working with you.”
~Thomas Leduc, poet and author of Slagflower, Poems Unearthed from a Mining Town
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“As a book coach, published writer Liisa Kovala is dynamic and encouraging, like a creative process midwife. With her generous feedback, and attention to detail guidance, it was exciting to apply the Blueprint Steps and Inside Outline book coaching tools to my work completing the first draft of my “Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder!” play. Your writing project’s labour pains will be in good hands when you invest in yourself by engaging Liisa for one-on-one book coaching.
~Lisa Coleman-Brown, playwright of Myrrh is Mine, Two Guys on a Wall, Fame and Infamy
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"Liisa sees to the heart of your work. She identifies problems, congratulates you on your strengths, and, most importantly, pushes both you and your writing to the next level. Trust her with your manuscript/WIP and you won't be disappointed in the results."
~ Matthew Del Papa, author of Jerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going to Die
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I was not sure what to expect, but I am so happy I chose to do this. I received insights and advice that I never would have thought of otherwise. The detailed feedback I received was more than I expected.
Emily Andrews, author of Second-Rate Goddess
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It's one thing to write a book, but a whole other cup of tea to communicate its message to a prospective publisher or literary agent. I often find this undertaking to be more challenging than the actual creative process of writing the book. Thanks to Liisa, I was guided through the steps of crafting a query letter as well as a synopsis and, in doing so, I also made new discoveries about the book. I noticed in Liisa's approach an attentiveness to detail, and a thoughtful step by step methodology that did not leave me feeling overwhelmed. I could not have done this without her guidance and expertise, and I am deeply grateful to her.
Eleanor Albanese, award-winning author of If Tenderness Be Gold
📚NEXT STEPS
I only work with a small number of 1:1 clients at a time in order to give the writer and their manuscripts my complete attention.
If you are interested in working 1:1 with me, please book a 30-minute Discovery Call to discuss your book idea, the kind of coaching you need, and discover whether we are a good fit to work together.
I’m looking forward to chatting with you!