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Literary Coaching and Services

take your story from possible to published!

Is your dream to be a published writer?

Most writers won’t take the leap.

Their stories gather dust.

Unfinished.

Unpublished.

Unread.

Whatever it might be. . .

Lack of confidence. Inconsistency. Writers block. Fear of rejection. . .

They let their stories pile up along with years of regret.

Will that be you?

Or will you take the leap?

Will you make it real?

With Literary Coaching, you will:

– Dust off that first draft and get it ready for publication

– Learn to write consistently, every day

– Never deal with writer’s block again

– Stop redoing your first chapter because you hate it and get to the meat of the plot

– Start believing that you can write your story

– Complete your manuscript. . . instead of adding it to ten others you haven’t been able to finish

– Translate what you have in your head into words on the page

– Keep the story from sprawling out beyond control. . . and reach a satisfying end

– Learn to do research so you can stop rewriting pivotal scenes because you failed to find out how something as simple as fire works

– Learn how to move seamlessly between exposition into Deep POV for your characters

– Learn the difference between First Person, Third Person Limited, and Omniscient POV. . . and which is best for your story

– Learn how to feel good about your sentences instead of questioning every word

And most important:

Get your stories into readers’ hands!

You need a guide

My name is Daniel and I am here to help.

I know the challenges of being a writer.

It can feel frustrating to have a great story but be stuck behind a wall. Maybe, you don’t know how to structure your plot. Maybe you don’t know how to stay consistent. I know what it feels like because I am a published author. . . and I’ve dealt with all of it.
I know what it feels like to be stuck behind writers block.

I know what it feels like to work over a draft and still hate it.

I know what its like to struggle to find new ideas.

I know what its like to doubt yourself.

When I started Whimsyland, I wanted to help writers get past their biggest challenges and live their dream of being published like I have. Over the years, I’ve struggled on my own to understand the mysteries of drafting, editing, and publishing. I searched for someone to answer my questions. Now, you don’t have to.

Whether its figuring out the final scene of your book or editing the manuscript before you send it off for publication. . .

I’m here to help you make it real!

What Other Creators Are Saying

Donavan Walker (Star Warden)

You were prompt, professional, and fun to work with. I appreciate how you went the extra mile to ensure the manuscript is ready for publishing. Every dollar spent on you was completely worth it and I hope to work again with you on other books.

Talitha Y.

I’ve always had a problem with finishing my stories. I would start a book or novella, and I would never follow through. I took a chance with Whimsyland, and it’s been a phenomenal experience! Thank you for coaching me!

S. Kirk Pierzchala

The editing services provided by Mr. Riley of Whimsyland put the final luster on my novel! His comments were professional, thorough, and very helpful. Communication was excellent, and the entire job was completed when promised. I look forward to working with him on my next project!

Paul Frushour

Daniel reached out to me as he saw flaws in the writing on my website and offered his professional editing. He saw my writing was wordy and tone was muffled, which is counter to my objective. I really appreciate that he offered solutions to problems, all in the same breath. It really took any questioning or guesswork out of working with Daniel, which I will continue to do.

M. Anthony Harris -Author of Terminal and Echoes of Memory.

“Daniel does great work in a very timely manner, and is supportive of any and every writing endeavor you may want to embark on. Whether it’s writing coaching, back-end logistics, editing, or in my case, assistance with formatting, I can’t recommend him enough. Plus, he’s just an overall great dude!”

Mr. McG and Company

We have used Mr. McG’s music preschool program for over 20 years at our child care centers, serving thousands of children. We all thought it was time to take it on the road. This new Whimsyland provides everything we need to prepare the program, market, and make it a success in a home learning environment. This was the missing piece in composing, preparing, and marketing our already successful program.

Tom's Piano Tuning

I have always wanted to publish what I’ve learned over the past 40 years of my piano tuning experiences.

Whimsyland provides guidance in preparing the written, audio, and video as well as marketing. I’m excited to get this out to at-home piano tuners ASAP!

Erik Waag (Citadel of Seven Swords)

After finishing my first book, I felt I needed some help to get a professional polish. I took time to look for the right person – someone who understood both fantasy and the indie book scene. Discovering Daniel was a stroke of luck. I asked for a simple polish at the copy/line level. Daniel went far beyond and gave me great developmental direction as well. He showed love for my project as only a true fantasy fan could. The service he provided was well worth every penny.

Milton A. Lane (Hannibal Harken)

As a self published author, I want to put out the best story I can. To accomplish this, I worked with Daniel as my editor. It’s fantastic to collaborate with someone dedicated to making my manuscript the best it can be. His input and corrections helped me add a much needed layer of polish to my novel.

If you need someone to assist you in making your good story a great one, I highly recommend you contact Daniel.

Calvin G. - Underworld Don

Thankfully, the good Mr. Riley had his editorial services readily available and I was only all too happy to work with him. He was professional and punctual in getting me a thoroughly checked rendition of my script back to me. He even visited my website and read my comic in its entirety to get an idea of the messages and scenes I was building with my world.

This was absolutely above and beyond. Not only did he go through the script I had worked so hard on, not only did he read my comic to understand my story better, but he got all of this done within a week. You only get one opportunity for a first chance, and being an independent creator, that first introduction an audience receives to your work is crucial to making a good and lasting first impression. I highly recommend Mr. Riley and Whimsyland, the services he offers can aid you in making that impression a memorable one.

Nikki Root

“Daniel gave me many insights into my writing as he helped me prepare a short story for submission. His feedback is useful and actionable and he understands the fundamentals of storytelling. I appreciated the quick turnaround times and his direct communication style. I highly recommend his services and will definitely be back for more!”

Allison Wade

Daniel P. Riley came to the rescue when I was in need of an affordable proofreading for my book translation. He even went to the lengths of checking it against the original in a language he was not familiar with, just to ensure everything was in order, and that’s what I call dedication.

He was respectful of the source material and his corrections were on point to make the text clear and clean from mistakes. He also offered valuable advice to help the narration flow better and avoid those pesky repetitions. I’m glad there is someone out there looking out for us indie authors!

Julie L.

Just started my journey as a fiction writer, Whimsyland Director Daniel is very organized and methodical. I did not realize there was so much to writing fiction! Real learning experience!

Carrow B

I had the pleasure of working with a novel editor who possesses a unique combination of firmness and attention to detail. Their commitment to ensuring the highest quality of work is truly commendable. Throughout the editing process, he displayed a remarkable level of meticulousness, scrutinizing every character and plot point to result in a polished and refined story. Daniel always maintained a respectful and collaborative demeanor, providing constructive feedback and suggestions that pushed me to elevate my writing and not cater to my ego. His ability to identify areas of improvement while acknowledging the strengths of the work made the editing experience incredibly rewarding. I wholeheartedly recommend Daniel as someone firm and detail-oriented. Their dedication to enhancing the quality of the manuscript is evident in every aspect of their work, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have collaborated with such a talented professional.

Services

Literary Coaching

1. Schedule a Call

2. Make a Plan

We will meet go over the challenges you are facing as a writer. I will take notes, ask questions and come up with a customized plan to help you get past them.

3. Get Published

I will meet with you as often as you need to answer questions and help you get past any challenges. We will meet until the book is done.

Other Services

Editing and Proofing

You’re ready to get eyes on your book. Great! Many times, an Editor costs the Earth and takes months to professionally polish and critique your story. I guarantee the same great effort at a lower price and with a four week return. Period.
I want to help you succeed.

Ghost Writing

Sometimes, getting that story stuck in your head turns out to be a lot harder than you thought it would be. Maybe? You just don’t have the time to write that guidebook or manual yourself. Ghostwriting is a great alternative.

You can write your book yourself or I can do it for you. Either way, we’ll get it written together.

Marketing “Blurb”

If you’ve never published anything yet, you may not be aware that the hard part of writing is condensing your epic story or life-changing manual into four sentences that entices your audience to turn to page 1. Back cover paragraphs, catchy adverts, and engaging synopsis all fall under the category of “Blurb”
Together, we’ll create all the blurbs you’ll ever need.

Short Story Editing

Writers often cut their teeth on short story submissions to magazines, awards programs and anthologies, or write an e-course. To make sure your content shines no matter what, I apply the same rigorous editing and proofing to your short content that I do for full-sized manuscripts at a much lower price. Great for Comics and Graphic Novels!

Is Literary Coaching Right for You?

I’m afraid of criticism

We all have memories of a teacher handing back an essay with a big red letter at the top; with the page all marked up with mistakes. It felt like it was never good enough. Coaching is different. We’ll look at your work together. We will talk through the challenges you’re facing and work on solutions that you can apply the same day.
Coaching is about solutions, not criticism.

I’ve failed so much

Failure can be discouraging. You get so close to succeeding and then you fall down. . . over and over. It makes you feel like you should give up. What you may not know is that failure is GOOD. It’s caused by a lack of knowledge, not because you are a weak person. At Whimsyland, we help you build a bridge over those challenges that have kept you from succeeding.

I’m not sure if I can afford it

We have several pricing plans that we can use to make sure you stay in your budget.

Everything I write is crap

A writer’s worst critic is himself. Everyone has an inner critic, but writers can be savage. Coaching can help you quiet that voice, and soften it when you need it.

I’ll never be as good as. . .

We all have writers we look up to: J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman. It can feel like you’ll never be that good. But don’t forget. . . they were all beginners too, once. . . and more important? They had a guide. Tolkien had his tutor Joseph Wright at Oxford. J.K. Rowling had her favorite teacher, Lucy Shepherd, who taught her structure and precision. Alan Moore taught Neil Gaiman how to write comic scripts. YOU can be as good as anyone listed above, it’s in you to succeed. Coaching will help you reach that potential faster and with far less stress than going it alone.