Services
It is sharing the passion for language with students and literary artists—in a process that encourages their own unique voices to develop—that the most lasting delight of the writing life emerges for me.
Alexandra Burack is dedicated to fostering discovery, creativity, and strength of voice in all those who wish to explore their ideas, feelings, and experiences in writing. The joy of writing is in those thunderbolt moments of insight and realization about the nature and character of our own lives, and the life of the culture in which we participate.
She offers 4 types of professional services related to writing and learning/academic success: Writing Coaching, Manuscript Assessment, Substantive Editing, and Individualized Instruction.
Writing Coaching
A trustworthy and encouraging writing coach/mentor can make all the difference in the attainment of craft mastery and self-confidence. Emerging/student and experienced writers alike will find an ally in Alexandra Burack, who is deeply dedicated to the development of each writer’s unique voice.
Coaching is available for either a one-time “need a boost” start on a project, or recurrent sessions for ongoing development of craft repertoire and confidence. Her coaching assists writers with:
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clarity of writing purpose and intention
focus and development of a central theme or message
repertoire of craft techniques
awareness of genre conventions
increased audience awareness
heightened awareness of style and tone
Coaching is conducted virtually via video-conferencing only. Available for all genres of creative and academic writing.
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Plans & Rates:
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Plan A: Video Coaching sessions only: $45 per hour; one-hour minimum required.
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Plan B: Video Coaching sessions plus monthly email or telephone support: $55 per hour; one-hour minimum required.
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Discounts for 4 or more weekly sessions, prepayment, and referrals. Payment plans available.
Manuscript Assessment
Manuscript Assessment is an overall assessment of the craft and effectiveness of the work as it stands in a current, completed draft. This comprehensive Assessment identifies a work’s strengths, and areas in which revision and rethinking would allow the writing to better express intended meaning and audience engagement.
Assessments are available for individual poems, short stories, collections of poetry and stories, screenplays and plays, multi-genre anthologies; and for theses, dissertations, and academic research articles in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences. Manuscript Assessments provide writers with honest and constructively critical feedback on:
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Thematic Impetus & Orientation
Structural Organization
Effectiveness of Craft Techniques
Revision Strategies
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Critical feedback is provided on the page as well as via a narrative summary document (usually 1-3 pages). Please note the Manuscript Assessment does not include editing; however, substantial discounts are available to Manuscript Assessment clients who need further professional Editing/Proofreading services.
Rates
Individual Poems (up to 2 pages): $30
Long Poems or Groups of Poems (between 3-12 pages): $15 per page
Micro-chapbooks (12-15 pages): $250
Poetry Chapbook Manuscripts (16-30 pages): $450
Full-length Creative Manuscripts (45- 80 pages): $785
Full-length Creative Manuscripts over 80 pages: Please Inquire
Academic Articles for Publication (up to 30 pages): $350
Academic Articles for Publication over 30 pages: Please Inquire
Theses/Dissertations (up to 125 pages): $750
Optional video or telephone conferences available for an
additional fee of $45/hour.
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If you have a writing project not mentioned here, please reach out to Prof. Burack. Discounts available for long-term commitments, prepayment, and referrals. Payment plans available.
Substantive Editing
Substantive editing involves a comprehensive correction/revision of all elements that comprise a completed work: lines and sentences; stanzas and paragraphs; structural organization; grammar and syntax and other writing mechanics, pacing and flow, and thematic or narrative gestures. The best editors are ones who recognize a writer’s true voice and suggest strategies to strengthen the work’s ability to convey that sole voice.
After the intense and thrilling moments of creating a written work, the processes of revision and editing are among the most integral and important journeys a serious writer will take. The process of shaping writing in a way that holds meaning for readers is truly an intensive journey of re-evaluating, re-envisioning, and re-working until the meaning that appears utterly clear in a writer’s mind is equally clear to readers.
An editor is the voice of encouragement to writers, and simultaneously, the voice of your readers, who are themselves invested in the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual experiences in your work. The professional editor is a partner with a writer in the journey of finding the heart of meaning of a written work, and collaborating on the best possible deployment of language to communicate that meaning to readers.
Because the editor is ultimately serving the character and life of the work itself, it is the editor’s duty to be as truthful and professional as possible in working with the writer to re-shape and literally, re-envision, those parts of the manuscript that may not be working successfully.
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Note: Thorough substantive editing usually requires a 3-6 week turnaround. However, Rush Jobs may be possible at an increased rate of $0.08 per word.
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Rates
Individual Poems $30/poem up to 2 pgs.
Individual Poems over 2 pages: $0.06/word
Poetry, Fiction, & Nonfiction Manuscripts: $0.05/word
Masters Theses, Dissertations, & Scholarly Articles: $0.06/word
Proofreading Only: $0.04 per word
Discounts available for long-term commitments, prepayment, and referrals. Payment plans available.
Individualized Instruction
High school, college, graduate, and adult students can benefit from one-on-one virtual sessions designed to provide gold-standard strategies in learning how to learn. Prof. Burack emphasizes confidence-building practices and academic success strategies so that the foundational educational skills—reading, writing, and critical thinking—become more understandable and applicable to students’ classroom work. Individualized instruction is available for all academic work involving reading, writing, critical thinking, and research (excepting mathematical/scientific computation work), in English and at the beginner-level in French.
Rates
High School/Undergraduate, standard curricula: $45 per hour
High School/Undergraduate, AP and Honors: $50 per hour
Graduate & Adult Education: $55 per hour
High School & College Test Prep: $50 per hour
College Application Essay Writing: $45 per hour (requires an initial 2-hour session; subsequent sessions may be one hour or longer)
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All individualized instruction sessions are held virtually as videoconferences, require a one-hour minimum, and must be scheduled at least one week in advance. Cancellation fee of $30 is charged for each session cancelled or missed without 24 hours’ advance notice. Discounts for 4 or more weekly sessions, prepayment, and referrals. Students under age 18 must have written parental permission furnished prior to the first session.
Dennis S., graduate of Chandler-Gilbert Community College
“Had it not been my luck to enter Alexandra Burack’s class, I certainly would not be published, or be the writer I am today. I fell in love with poetry thanks to her. I was challenged, stimulated, and made curious in ways that extended my thinking capabilities to find that hidden intellectual sense we all have, but need someone to energize us to use and extract it. Her teaching skills are second to none. Anytime spent with this gifted author, poet, and humanitarian would be time well spent.”