"To write is to plumb the unfathomable depths of being. Writing lies within the domain of mystery. The space between any two words is vaster than the distance between heaven and earth. To bridge it you must close your eyes and leap.

Ultimately, to write is an act of faith."

… Elie Wiesel

So long as you write, you are a writer and you probably have more than once closed your eyes, taken that leap of faith, and put words to paper. But you also must know that writing is a craft and like every craft, a writer is a craftsman—no different than a carpenter who requires the proper tools and know-how to construct the building that has been envisioned in his mind’s eye. Even if you’re not concerned about being published, you still want your writing to express what you wish to convey so it may be read with comprehension and enjoyment. 

Over the years, I have frequently been asked by my students to look at their work and critique their manuscripts outside of class; or guide them along the precipitous road to get their work published. Although I sometimes provided suggestions, I never formalized the relationship. Now however, given the ever more daunting challenges in the publishing industry even for the most talented writers, I have decided that with what I have learned in four decades as a writer, author and teacher of writing, I am in a position to help writers at the early stages of their careers. 

But before we go further, I’d like to tell you what I won’t do. I am not a line editor who will charge you as much as $10 per page to edit your work; nor am I a book doctor who will fix your book length manuscript so it is presentable for presentation to publishers and exact a fee of hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars (which, by the way, frequently exceeds anything you will earn even if the book is published); nor do I want to help you revise and rewrite your work and then leave you adrift aimlessly in search of a publisher.

What I have decided to do is to serve as a writing coach to a select cadre of fiction and nonfiction writers. Exactly what I can offer you is described under Services and you should look this over to see if I can be of help. While I can’t make any promises nor guarantee your work will be published, I will tell you that I’ll improve the odds you’ll see your work in print and that when we’re done, you’ll be a better writer.
 

Richard D. Bank

richardbank1@verizon.net (

215-885-3130