“A year ago, I signed up for the Book In A Year workshop with Susanna. I swear, I believed I’d quit eventually, like I’d quit on myself so many times before. But I didn’t. Susanna, and the other members of our little troupe, picked me up when I stumbled, encouraged me when I doubted, slogged through the messy middle with me, and we came out the other end together. Twelve months later, we’ve handed each other completed first drafts. We’ve done the unimaginable, often driven by nothing more than Susanna’s unwavering belief that we could.”

“Susanna was phenomenally helpful: she provided me with feedback that was wise and useful. I always felt motivated to keep going.”

“I’ve been working on this novel for approximately two years and eight months now. I’m so excited to have a complete first draft, and perhaps more importantly, to have enthusiasm for moving forward and confidence in doing so. I don’t see how I would have arrived in this same place without Susanna.”

“Susanna was instrumental in shaping my manuscript, guiding me to tighten up my long-winded chapters while pushing me to dive deeper and add crucial details where they were needed. Thanks to her support, I was able to consistently produce 25 pages a month for a year—pages that were far stronger than anything I could have accomplished on my own.”

“Susanna Daniel’s perfectly timed support from my first page to deep character work keeps me afloat in the muck of writing a novel. She guides me. She listens and poses questions. Her counsel gives me courage to write my truth, discern the best form, and find my voice. There’s ease in our exchanges. Her feedback helps me declutter my narrative and construct clarity.”

“Your feedback was clear, specific, and actionable. I appreciate how you gave me a variety of things to look at and multiple starting points for revision. I left our meeting excited to dive back into my writing with a clear idea of where to start. I was nervous to share such a large piece of writing, but I’m so glad I did. I will absolutely reach out to you again when I’m ready with another draft. To add, I really appreciated that I walked away with the edited manuscript, feedback letter, and my notes from our meeting - I have so much to draw on for my future work, which is really exciting. ”

“Susanna was critical to the development of the first draft of my novel - I couldn’t have done it without her! Her feedback was always insightful and her intuition spot-on. She often raised thoughtful questions that made me consider my story in a new light and see opportunities I had not considered. She’s also very kind, sensitive and approachable and makes the effort to really listen and understand your writing concerns when you are stuck, leaving you in a place where you feel you can be productive once more. I would absolutely work with her again! ”

“I felt unavoidably compelled to write my story, but I was scared to death to show it to anyone else when I showed up at the first session of Susanna’s Book in a Year class. She put me at ease almost instantly with her encouragement and insight. Susanna has a rare skill for cultivating a workshop environment that is kind and supportive while also providing writers with honest, useful, and concrete feedback from a variety of perspectives. Her own feedback is thoughtful, wise, and always honors the writer’s own voice and intent. My confidence, writing skills, and productivity have grown immeasurably over the course of the class. Susanna has inspired me to take my memoir - and myself as a writer - seriously, while still having fun along the way.”

“Hearing other class members’ reactions to my writing was super helpful in understanding what was/wasn’t landing. And Susanna is really good at giving clear feedback and suggestions—in my experience, she hits it just right, with enough direction to feel like a support without overwhelming me.”

“I felt unavoidably compelled to write my story, but I was scared to death to show it to anyone else when I showed up at the first session of Susanna’s Book in a Year class. She put me at ease almost instantly with her encouragement and insight. Susanna has a rare skill for cultivating a workshop environment that is kind and supportive while also providing writers with honest, useful, and concrete feedback from a variety of perspectives. Her own feedback is thoughtful, wise, and always honors the writer’s own voice and intent. My confidence, writing skills, and productivity have grown immeasurably over the course of the class. Susanna has inspired me to take my memoir - and myself as a writer - seriously, while still having fun along the way.”

“Susanna gave me invaluable advice in a very supportive space cultivated to engender trust and safety. The structure she provided has allowed meet chief my goal of getting my book on paper. Her editing expertise was spot-on.”

“Susanna creates an atmosphere of support and respect while always challenging me as a writer to bring more. Through her workshops, I have learned how to build better work habits as a writer, move from first draft to revision, and to implement big picture insights on structure. Throughout she respects my voice and creative impulse.”

“Susanna has helped me work through some really tough spots in my story that could otherwise have stalled the whole project. The real, critical feedback that I get helps push me forward and keeps me thinking deeply about my work.”

“I’m grateful for Susanna’s keen eye for story and all of the wisdom, insight and encouragement she provided.”

“Susanna has a unique ability to zero in on a manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses and to offer concrete, constructive feedback, always in a cheerful, supportive way. Her suggestions and gentle motivation have helped immensely to move my work forward.”

“Susanna raised my writing from base to credible. I was new to creative writing and held lofty ambitions. Susanna absorbed roles she hadn’t necessarily offered. She became teacher/mentor/editor/supporter and helped craft my story into publishable form.”

“Susanna created a space with just the right amount of accountability and encouragement to help me take myself seriously as a writer and get the words on the page. Her feedback and coaching also fast-tracked my learning about the fundamentals of fiction writing.”

“Susanna helped me out of a creative rut by providing encouragement and specific, actionable feedback. I made huge improvements after just one session!”

“If you have questions about writing, Susanna has the answers. More impressively, she knows the right questions. Susanna’s critiques often include profound questions about my work. It is while contemplating her questions that I find my true writing voice.”

“Susanna continually dazzles me with her quick yet comprehensive grasp of story and craft. Her feedback has been invaluable in meeting my story where it’s at and helping me take it where it wants and needs to go.”

“Susanna is a motivating, honest and supportive collaborator. Her technical guidance coupled with her thoughtful feedback and ideas make her an exceptional partner and invaluable resource at every stage of the writing process.”

“Susanna has been extremely helpful to me as an editor and writing coach. Her expertise has greatly improved my novel and my writing in general. She gives in depth feedback on plot and prose and knows how to motivate her clients to achieve their best!”

“My manuscript went from rank amateur to a polished debut with Susanna’s deft guidance. She zeroes in on those small things that make huge improvements.”

“Susanna is an incisive editor with a fantastic eye for story structure. She’s also passionate about helping writers become better at their craft, which really can’t be quantified and for which I will be forever grateful.”

“For six months, I was banging my head against a wall trying to edit my first draft alone. Now that I’m working with Susanna, the revision process is (mostly!) fun, and with her guidance I’m starting to be able to understand the mind of my future reader and carve away so many unnecessary details, tangents and words!”

“Susanna has helped my writing by always sharing honest and clear reactions paired with achievable suggestions to action. I learned early on this year that I could trust her, that she was paying close attention, and truly cared about our success as developing writers.”

“Susanna gives thoughtful, honest feedback. She has a remarkable ability to speak to broad themes in your writing to help you develop impactful leitmotifs while also shining a light on the smallest of details to bring your story to life.”

“Susanna guides her students with empathy, encouragement, and practical, result-based planning. She identifies the strengths to use to good advantage and the weaknesses to correct or eliminate. She is the most inspiring teacher I have ever had!”