Our journey awaits!

(Important instructions below!)

I'm so looking forward to chatting with you in our upcoming Story Consultation so you can write your most meaningful stories ever!

Scroll down for a preview of what to expect next, including what emails you should receive.

Please reach out to me at sue@suebrownmoore.com with any questions, concerns, or problems you run into. Rescheduling is no problem as long as I have 24-hours notice, and I'm happy to answer any general questions before we chat.

Important next steps:

Check Your Email Inbox

You should have just received three emails. Look for these subject lines and senders:

Meeting details

From: Romeo on behalf of Sue Brown-Moore <a@zoom.ai>

Subject: Invitation from Sue Brown-Moore - Story Consultation with Sue

Inside: The video link for our chat. The room is live now, but I won't be there until shortly before our meeting time. Feel free to use that link to test out your mic and camera setup in advance (but please don't share it).

Meeting invite/confirmation

From: sue <sue@suebrownmoore.com>

Subject: Invitation: Story Consultation with Sue (followed by your appointment date and time)

Inside: Your calendar appointment confirmation. The invite also shows the video invite link, a rescheduling link (should you need to), and the answers you provided in your appointment booking. Note: There is also a meeting dial-in phone number—please use video instead if at all possible.

Payment receipt

From: Sue Brown-Moore <receipts@suebrownmoore.com>

Subject: Your Sue Brown-Moore receipt

Inside: The receipt for your Story Consultation fee. This should have enough information for any tax purposes, but please let me know if you need an additional invoice.

Don't see one or all of these emails? Check your Spam or secondary folders.

Add my email to your priority list

If any of my emails went to your Spam or secondary inboxes, add my email address and domains (sue@suebrownmoore.com, *@suebrownmoore.com, a@zoom.ai) to your Contact list, or—Gmail users—drag each of the messages into your Primary Inbox and choose "Yes" when asked if you want all messages from me to go there instead.

Modern email can be super cautious about filtering messages, and I'd hate for you to miss out on important information because you didn't see it.

NOTE: Booking this appointment did not subscribe you to my email list. If you want to get early access to my upcoming courses and stay up to date on everything I share on my site, subscribe here. Or download one of the Guides at the bottom of this page.

Prepare your topic notes and story pitch

To help us make the most of our hour together, please come prepared. You don't have to create a story pitch, but being able to tell me your story's overview quickly and concisely will help me zero in on potential gaps.

I won't be looking at your notes, and you don't have to memorize your story overview, so use whatever preparation process works best for you. Try to put together a starter list of 3-5 questions and plan to explain your story in less than 30 seconds. (Hint: Practice and time yourself.)

You'll get a reminder on the day of

My snazzy automated assistant, Romeo, will send you a reminder email day of our appointment. The subject line of the email will be "[Meeting Reminder] Story Consultation with Sue", from sender "Romeo on behalf of Sue Brown-Moore <a@zoom.ai>". Be sure these emails are going to your main inbox so you don't miss them!

If you think you may need to reschedule, please do so 24 hours in advance of your appointment to avoid forfeiting your Consult Fee. By the time you get Romeo's reminder, it'll be too late—we can reschedule, but you'll have to pay the fee again. There is a "Reschedule/Decline meeting" in the reminder email, but please don't use it (I can't remove that feature from the auto-scheduler). If you do realize that you need to reschedule more than 24 hours in advance, there's a link inside your original meeting confirmation that makes it super simple. Or you can email me (sue@suebrownmoore.com).

Please arrive 5 minutes early so we don't waste any of your 60 Story Consultation minutes. If this is your first time using video conferencing (specifically Google Meet), take some time before our appointment to be sure your mic and camera setup works. The video link is in your Meeting Confirmation email and calendar appointment.

Additional resources

Here are a few of my articles and downloads that other authors found useful in preparing for a Story Consultation. Help yourself!

For all indie authors:

Indie authors: Here's how to build your dream team of professional freelance fiction editors

If you're publishing your own work, you need a strong editorial team. And it's up to you to find, vet, and coordinate with your editors.

This free Master Guide takes the guesswork out of what sorts of editors you really need, how to choose them, and exactly when you need to schedule your edits.

For published authors:

The secret to selling more books may not be what you expect. This free download guides you through three fine-tuned strategies you can start using today to zero in on your ideal target audience.

Perfect for published authors who are working on improving their book sales, this 16-page guide is also great for beginners who want to start strong. Here's what other authors loved about the 3 Fixable Reasons guide.

For authors new to dev edits:

Developmental Editing Checklist for romance writers

The Dev Edits Checklist above was created with full manuscript developmental edits in mind, but you might find some of them helpful before a Story Consult if you've never worked with a dev editor.

Note: My Patreon page is not active, so feel free to poke around or even subscribe to unlock what's there, but it won't be getting any new content.