Consultation FAQ    

WHAT: A comprehensive 3-day 1-on-1 novel consultation offering a deep dive into your manuscript with editor Greg Michalson, for writers who have a finished or nearly finished draft. 

WHEN: Various flexible dates (3 days & 4 nights) are available throughout the year to accommodate the writer and editor’s personal schedules and Porches room availability.

Am I the only writer you work with during the consultation?

Yes. 

How do I apply?  

Contact Porches about your interest. You'll then be directed to submit approximately 20 pages of your novel. If it seems to be something that will benefit from a collaborative analysis then you'll submit a hard copy of your novel. I'll have read through your novel thoroughly, more than once, by the time we meet. 

How do the novel sessions work during this consultation?

The sessions are one-on-one and they are intense and focused. We work and think hard! Usually there are structural issues and so a lot of time is spent on structuring or shaping the novel and brainstorming about where the novel is going and the best ways it might get there. We may do some brainstorming outside the novel itself to get us going and to illuminate 1) how plot works, and 2) how plot can release literary writing and themes. Toward the end of the consultation we move toward editing individual chapters and evaluating sentence placement for most effective scene development. 

Each novel has its strengths and weaknesses. If we need to work on developing characters, for example, then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll address whatever needs to be fixed or rethought. Some typical challenges might arise because of forward momentum issues and pacing, or point of view inconsistencies and choices, or a miscued point of entry into the novel or troubles with chronological management. But I won’t know for certain until I read your novel.

How long are the sessions?

We go from about 9 to 12 for the morning session. Then there's two-hour break, and then we go again for at least 3 hours or until we reach a stopping place for the day. Sessions are usually around 5 or 6 hours per day. We're pretty casual, but the thing you need to know is that I will do what it takes. If we have to spend more time on the manuscript that day, that’s what we’ll do. On the third day, there is a 9-12 session to wrap up any lingering issues and finish talking through a plan for revisions and rewrites.

When should I arrive for the consultation? 

The consultation begins at 9 a.m. Check-in the day before. 

How far along should my manuscript be?

You will get much more out of the consultation if you are well into your novel.

How polished should my manuscript be?

Keep in mind that you are doing this kind of work because you are already a good writer, a serious writer. You've probably written many stories and you may have published some of them. You may have already published a novel or another kind of book. This will be a deep dive into this particular manuscript. Trouble is fine. It's good, in fact. Your manuscript should be a good mess. And out of this mess will come something much better than if there hadn't been a mess--because true creativity is messy when it starts out.

Is there a page limit?

Yes. 300 pages. Editor will talk individually about length depending on the manuscript. 

Do you help me to get the novel published or find an agent?

Unfortunately, this consultation can't address that issue for you.

Will you reread the manuscript if I rewrite it according to what I've gained in the consultation? The consultation does not include going over future revisions.

I still don't know if the in-depth consultation is right for me or I'm right for it.

Feel free to call Trudy at Porches and talk it over.

How much is the One-on-One Novel Consultation?

Consultation fee, includes four nights at the Porches, is $3,000 

Could you tell me a little bit about your qualifications as an editor and teacher?

Greg Michalson is the co-publisher of Unbridled Books. Previously he was a founder of BlueHen, an imprint of Penguin Putnam, and general editor of fiction at MacMurray & Beck where he developed an award-winning novel series. He also spent twenty years as an editor with The Missouri Review. He recently established FreeRein Press to publish occasional titles of particular interest that might not fit Unbridled’s list. He is the author of short stories and articles, with work mentioned in both Best American Short Stories and Pushcart Prizes, and the co-editor of multiple collections and anthologies, including For Our Beloved Country: American War Diaries; Conversations with American Novelists; and Best of the Missouri Review: Fiction.

He’s best known for having published the debut novels of many prize-winning authors who have won or been finalists for national awards, including the National Book Award, PEN Hemingway and PEN Faulkner awards, a variety of prestigious regional book awards, and other national Indie Lit and small press awards for fiction. Many of his authors’ novels have been named #1 Indie Next Picks and B&N Discover Great New Writers selections.

Among the writers whose debut novels he has acquired, edited and published are Emily St. John Mandel, William Gay, Debra Magpie Earling, Susan Vreeland, Steve Yarbrough, Timothy Schaffert, Nancy Zafris, Peter Geye, Shann Ray, Laura Hendrie, etc. He’s also edited and published novels by best-selling and prize-winning authors such as Margaret Cezair-Thompson, William Harrison, Ed Falco, C.M. Mayo, Jack Fuller and many others.

Novelist Tonja Reynolds writes, “I had high expectations for my intensive novel consultation with Greg Michalson at Porches. Those expectations were exceeded by the first afternoon of the first day. I have been to workshops I described as transformative. Those workshops made me feel like I was wearing new eyeglasses, like I could see one or two things more clearly. This consultation was like lasik surgery. A permanent change for the better.”

Novelist Ed Jacobs writes: “I had the good fortune of spending three days at The Porches in an intensive one-on-one workshop consultation with editor/publisher/writer Greg Michalson. Since the consultation I have had a changed perspective, not just on the novel, but on everything else I am working on and on myself as a writer. I have been enriched and transformed, in ways unexpected, and in ways that now I cannot imagine being without.”

Elizabeth Conway: At this time in my life, it is rare to carve out a window where it is just me and my writing without other distractions and obligations. Porches gave me this gift and a quiet, rich setting where stories wait between the well-trodden floorboards and in the impatient hummingbirds that buzz the property’s gardens. Working one-on-one with editor Greg Michalson was invaluable. I arrived with a broken manuscript that I was losing love for and left with renewed energy for my characters and story. Greg is a skilled listener and knows narrative; he provided honest, thoughtful critique and the kind clarity my manuscript was craving. I was supported and respected – and inspired. We worked together to ensure our time resulted in concrete steps forward to turn my pages of interesting moments into a fully constructed novel. My time at Porches was restorative and transforming; I arrived and left in different spaces. Host Trudy immediately made me feel welcomed and relaxed. Every available nook at Porches is filled with books; you are surrounded by stories and words, reminding writers of our important role in this world, our vast and historic community, and our responsibility to ourselves and our craft. I hope to return soon.

Alan Yount: I worked with Greg in October of 2024. After sending him my manuscript a few months before, we met at Porches for three intense days of feedback and suggestions—two of those days were over eight hours long. It was an exhausting and exhilarating experience. Greg had not only read my story, he had entered into it in a way that I couldn't. He understood my story better than I did, noting that the motives for some of my characters might not be what I had been thinking. This insight, coupled with his knowledge of literature and publishing, made his assessment of and suggestions for my manuscript all the more helpful. I plan to work with Greg again, now that I've done the work he suggested. 

Colleeen O’Brien: When I read on the Porches website "creativity is messy" I felt awash in relief. My manuscript juggled multiple points of view, overlapping timelines, many locations and oodles of subplots. The days I spent with Greg Michalson at Porches proved invaluable. From sentence construction to word choice, character names, timelines, and major story arc, Greg trained his keen editor's eye, brilliant mind and kind heart on my mess. We discussed timing and which character knew what when, which characters could be cut and who needed more time on the page. Greg's attention to detail and close reading of my work astounded me. William Kittredge told us that the writer works in the medium of other people's imaginations. Greg's wisdom, experience, and instincts make the Porches workshop ideal. He possesses the skills to help. My published novel Baited incorporates multiple points of view, plot-critical locations, and delves into multiple subplots. Thanks to Greg's guidance and work, it's on shelves, ready for readers' imaginations.

Martin Zelder: It is a vastly improved book because of Greg Michalson. I am profoundly grateful for the transformation of it he made. I cannot overstate the extent to which the manuscript was improved by Greg’s extraordinarily discerning and comprehensive review, dispensed over three mind-filling days at The Porches writing retreat.