Are you a writer?
Are you looking for someone to review a piece you have written, or offer guidance and expert support in developing your writing practice? Does any part of this sound like you?
“I’ve always wanted to write about my childhood.”
“I’ve got some essays I don’t know what to do with.”
“My teenager is obsessed with writing stories.”
“I’m doing a PhD and I’ve lost confidence in my writing.”
“I’ve started a memoir and need someone sensible to talk to.”
“I want to write, but I don’t really know what yet.”
“The current draft of my novel is stalled.”
I’m Jo, a teacher, mentor and coach based in Hertford, UK, with over 20 years’ experience supporting writers. I help authors working in a wide range of genres and styles in fiction and non-fiction develop the skills and techniques needed to write their story.I can support you practically and emotionally to manage the challenges and difficulties that inevitably arise during any writing project. My feedback is shaped around you and your project, and the skills training I offer is detailed and highly interactive. I will sit down with you and help you see what is and isn’t yet working in a chapter or scene, and explain how to make it better.I’ve taught writing in schools and universities, facilitated writing groups, and worked with writers long-term providing one-to-one mentorship. I love doing this work and being an enthusiastic cheerleader for my clients. The writers I work with emphasise my empathy, supportive understanding and insight.
About Me
Joanne Metivier
Between Drafts
I’m an Author Accelerator certified book coach, qualified to use a set of practical tools to help writers write the story that matters to them.I came to this work through long-term engagement with story and with writers. I’ve spent more than twenty years as a writing mentor, working closely with other writers to develop their skills.My professional background has always involved helping writers move forward.I trained as a researcher, completing two Masters degrees with distinction, but left academia after I completed a full draft of my doctoral thesis and found myself unable to use the feedback I was given to help me revise it.That experience shaped my decision to create Between Drafts. I wanted to serve writers in need of a coach experienced in giving personally tailored feedback. I have the necessary skills and training to read and listen closely, offer clear explanations, and deliver them effectively.I’m on a personal mission to help people articulate their story and build a sustainable, lifelong creative practice. I believe it’s more important today than ever.For many years I’ve been helping writers finish projects and build a sense of authorship. Becoming a book coach simply formalised work I was already doing.
Testimonials
Joanne Metivier
Between Drafts
“
You’d be extremely lucky to have Jo at your side in any writing project… She possesses the widest range of talents and abilities – all directly suited to supporting you in achieving your goals. As an experienced, talented writer in many different genres herself, she is more than familiar with the technical and emotional challenges confronting people in their writing projects.Her training as a writing coach and her accreditation by Author Accelerator provide reassurance and have given her the essential professional skills. Alongside this, her empathy, her humour and rigorous commitment to doing the very best make her a writing coach who would be both a pleasure to work with and someone who will make an enormous – positive – difference to the outcome.
— Harriet Spicer, who worked for a long time at Virago Press supporting authors in different ways.
“
I met Jo through a group focused on scene writing and she impressed me with her knowledge of story structure and skill at pinpointing the emotional and technical issues in the story writing. As a book editor myself, I know how difficult it can be to offer guidance and truth-telling while also being nurturing and compassionate for the writer and their personal journey. Jo manages this brilliantly. Writing is not easy, often confronting, and even a skilled editor cannot edit their own work objectively. So, when Jo offered to work with me, and help the outlining process on
my next novel, I jumped at the chance.The Blueprint process and questions Jo asked of me helped me flesh out the the novel from big picture concept to full-bodied story events. She helped me see where I was getting stuck in the outlining process, where the plot holes lived, and where my story structure was not motivated through cause and effect. She was able to show me how to raise the stakes and create a more meaningful cohesion in the narrative and the characters’ arcs. She did all this with vast patience and respect for my unique journey. Working with Jo set me on a new path, by giving me an approach to outline story ideas and flesh out narrative arcs that work.She meticulously guided me with questions and suggestions, but always allowed me to drive my
creative process. Her encouragement—and valuable straight-talk—allowed me to move forward with momentum. While she encouraged me with her gentle and generous approach, she also asked the hard technical questions. She made me a better writer in the process, and a better editor. And because of our work together, I now have a manuscript outline I can build on that works very well, and that continues to take shape in unexpected ways that I love!
— Elizabeth Bartasius, author of The Elegant Out
“
I was fortunate to have Jo Metivier as my mentor/coach for review of my novel as part of her Author Accelerator certification.The entire process was well organized, starting from the initial Mini Blueprint, the review of the first 20 pages of the novel and the final conference call to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the novel.I appreciated Jo’s insights at every step in the process. It is probably challenging to provide critical feedback to an author of a completed draft of a novel, knowing that the author has worked for many years through multiple iterations.Jo provided her feedback in a very professional and above all respectful and encouraging manner, leading me to logically understand potential pathways forward.Her insights suggested that the novel might benefit from a different structure, but rather than feeling daunted by this challenge, I felt refreshed and enthused.
— Elizabeth Brown, Women’s Fiction
“
Jo Metivier is someone you would want in your corner when working on a piece of writing. Whether it’s an article, a novel, or a non-fiction book, Jo is a sage and skilled writing coach and mentor.Not only will she keep you on track and centred with your core idea, she will provide the support and framework to keep you writing. Having known Jo in her professional capacity for over twenty years, I can attest to the combination of compassion and clear, insightful feedback she brings to her work. Her background in creative writing research and mentoring gives her a depth of experience that informs her thoughtful, grounded approach.If you’re a writer embarking on your next adventure, I’d encourage you to take Jo with you!
— Anni McTavish, Creative Arts
Work With Me
Joanne Metivier
Between Drafts
Book Micro-Coaching
A focused 30-minute conversation about one question — £25
If you have one live question about your novel and would find it useful to talk it through with a book coach, I’m currently offering a small number of 30-minute micro-coaching sessions.Your question might be about your premise, story structure, a character or scene, your opening pages, or what to work on next. You don’t need to know what kind of coaching you need.Use the short form below to tell me a little about your project and the one question you’d like us to focus on. I’ll reply within two business days with a few possible times. Once we’ve agreed a time, I’ll send you payment details.During the call, I’ll listen closely and give you my clearest response to the question you’ve brought. There will be time for you to respond and ask follow-up questions. Afterwards, I’ll send you a short summary of our conversation.
Ongoing book coaching
Support over a longer stretch of time
If you’re looking for support over a longer stretch of planning, drafting or revision, click the ‘Apply here’ button below to tell me more about your writing experience, your project and where you are in the process.
Completing the form doesn’t commit either of us to working together.
I’ll reply within two business days.If I think I may be able to help, I’ll suggest a short call to talk about what working together could look like.
Contact
Joanne Metivier
Between Drafts
For general enquiries, or if you’d like to contact me about something that isn’t covered on my Work With Me page, you can use the form below.If you’re interested in booking micro-coaching or ongoing coaching, you’ll find the relevant information and enquiry forms on my Work With Me page.I’ll reply within two business days.
Training and Background
My background in research, teaching, and narrative analysis informs a coaching approach grounded in close reading and structural clarity.I’m an Author Accelerator certified book coach, trained to use a set of practical story-analysis tools developed to help serious writers make clear, informed decisions about their work. My research training, and my experience as a teacher and examiner in research methods and theoretical frameworks, inform how I use these tools in my work: critically, independently, and in service of the writer rather than any single methodology.
How I Came to This Work
My work as a book coach is grounded in long-term engagement with story and with writers, rather than a recent change in direction.I’ve been writing fiction and working with narrative forms for over three decades, across literary, popular, and serial storytelling. Alongside my own writing practice, I’ve spent more than twenty years working closely with other writers in a range of settings, including higher education, adult education, community learning, and one-to-one mentorship.Much of my professional background has involved reading developing work with care, identifying what it is already doing, and helping writers understand the structural choices available to them at a given moment. This includes teaching creative writing, supervising projects, examining student work, and supporting writers at different stages of confidence and experience.My approach to coaching is also informed by my own academic research into how fiction writers develop voice, fluency, and self-trust over time. Rather than focusing on outcomes or shortcuts, I’m interested in how writers come to understand their own work more clearly, so they can make decisions that are sustainable and aligned with what they’re trying to write.Becoming a certified Author Accelerator book coach formalised work I had already been doing for many years: reading drafts closely, offering diagnostic feedback, and helping writers orient themselves within their own projects without taking authorship away from them.
Notes
Joanne Metivier
Between Drafts
February 202624/2: On Repetitive Rhythms
As I sit propped up in bed with a cat, drinking tea and scrolling through updates to conversations I follow, I’m noticing a repetitive pattern that’s starting to dominate my feed.Writing in my inbox is starting to merge into what feels like a monologue. Rhythms are getting super-predictable.Shortening paragraphs to one line to compensate for technological constraints of reading on mobile, for instance.I may be over-sensitive to this pattern of formulaic writing designed to please the algorithm. I don’t want to sound alarmist, or moralising. Copying what works is deeply human. Every writer starts out writing boddice-ripping or sword-fighting fanfiction in class.I’m willing to admit that replicating the strategies of influencers and thought leaders can work. Some people are adept at it. Successful posts set the standard, followers mimic them, refine the technique, the cycle goes on. People will go right ahead and do their thing, as they should.What does matter I think is how the drive to produce algorithm-friendly content can make genuine communication and ordinary participation feel risky or pointless. What’s felt as pressure creates self-consciousness.Now I’ve got that off my chest, I can get moving and start adding things to my done list. I want to start doodling again, but today may be a day for thesaurus sheets. When I’m working up to a scene and in need of a break, collecting words into weird, wacky and adventurous combinations feels soothing in the best way. I love that in 2026, a copy of Roget’s (current one picked up for pennies at a library sale) remains an essential part of the writer’s toolbox. I hope that never changes. I will never not dig the little hit of neurological bliss I get when I stumble across a word that’s off the beaten path.This note’s a little raw, just for fun. It’s all rehearsal.
February 202619/2: St Radigunds Ward, Late summer, 2021
I’d agreed to meet M at the bottom of the steps. I watched her descend stiffly from her front door to the pavement where I was waiting. She was in her green parka, her usual walking attire.This wasn’t our typical socially distanced outing. A few days earlier, in M’s living room, I’d sipped my tea and listened to her tale of woe about the crumbling left-wing alliance in the local constituency Labour party. They needed a candidate to stand for election to Dover town council, St Radigunds ward, urgently. This was late summer 2021. The incumbent had stepped down mid-term, thinking of joining the Greens, apparently. My agreement was secured. (I think the brain fog must have been especially bad that day). “Charlie thinks we should save you for District,” M said, referring to the current CLP Chair. I demurred. I was curious about the democratic process, but something in me shrank from committing to the performance of political ambition.My energy would be tested on the campaign trail as it was. St Rads is a sprawling ward, covering large swathes of hilly 60s council estates, chunky Victorian houses, and endless rows of cramped terraces running along valley bottoms that were once farmland.That Thursday, I smiled at M in greeting. We set off towards the dog-mess-strewn path behind London Road leading to Aldi. The reedbeds of the river Dour would be the backdrop for M’s photograph of me for the campaign leaflet. “Nice jacket,” she said. I took her at face value.“Thanks,” I said, relieved that I’d decided to pair my charity-shop-purchased Burberry navy pinstripe with jeans and a red Uniqlo vest. I’d agonised over what to put on, the pandemic having slightly scrambled my sartorial radar. Like everyone else, I’d spent most of the previous eighteen months indoors. “If you think it’s okay?”“You look like a Tory,” she said. That was the moment I could have walked away.On election night, M accompanied me to the count. When I lost by nine votes, the first feeling was annoyance. I don’t like to lose, even when I’m in the wrong game. The second was relief.Soon after that I stepped back from the CLP and added “getting involved in local politics” to my list of things I wouldn’t be stupid enough to do twice in one lifetime.
Need help?
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