About Chaunce Stanton Author Services
With more than 20 years in corporate marketing, I reached a point in my life where I craved purpose in all of my efforts, and not just a paycheck.
How could I help others?
What did I have to offer other writers in addition to my books and stories?
Then it hit me: two decades of professional experience in creative project management combined with lessons learned from my own author journey give me the skills and experience to guide others toward their own goals.
Beyond a commitment to helping you get your butt in a chair to write, I also help you brainstorm, problem-solve, strategize, and assess your stories, your marketing, and your process. Together we’ll generate a lot of ideas through brainstorming, which is something I love to do.
That’s the fun part.
Not every idea is worth pursuing, however, so we’ll also evaluate which efforts make the most sense to help you achieve your goals.
At the end of our time together, you will be further down the path on your writing journey, equipped with more of your own skills.
Ultimately, I want to help you find your own feet and make sure you’re pointed in the right direction.
My Clients
My focus is on fiction writers who are new to independent publishing/self-publishing.
They have an independent spirit and want to pursue their own success without the red tape and delays and rejection cycles associated with that dinosaur industry known as traditional publishing.
These writers have faith in themselves. They may not always be confident, but they are willing to try.
Does that sound like you? If so, why not schedule a free 15-minute discovery call with me. Let’s see if we’re a good fit for one another.
Genres I Support
As a reader, I favor any story with significance. I wouldn’t be a good choice for the “write-to-market” arena where a writer is trying to churn out quantity over quality. If you are working on a well-crafted tale with solid plot structure, character development, and meaningful themes, then we should chat.
Story is story, regardless of genre. That said, if you want to please an audience dedicated to a particular genre, you’ll need to satisfy their reader expectations. Often this is accomplished through understanding the tropes of a particular genre—those “literary memes”—and sometimes smashing them to create something unique, powerful, and unforgettable.
My Background
I graduated from St. Cloud State University with a bachelor’s degree in English, Creative Writing. My professional life (aka “day job”) led me into the corporate world of marketing and communications where I was able to apply my writing and creativity to help companies turn a profit. This experience with deadlines, time management, team dynamics, and project management gave me a clear understanding of how to get things done. Part of my career was to coach professional architects, engineers, and planners who were trying to win multi-million-dollar projects. I developed a methodology called the Unified Team Approach based on my experience with “herding cats”.
In the meantime, I wrote. Sometimes I was a daily writer, othertimes I was a “weekend warrior”. My first novel, Luano’s Luckiest Day, is in the magical realism genre. My second novel, The Blank Slate Boarding House for Creatives, is a blend of alternate history and dark high fantasy. My third novel, Grave of Songs, is a historical coming-of-age novel with some mythology woven in for good measure.
Currently I’m working on a series of novels set in my home state of Minnesota. I consider it a combination of Sons of Anarchy and Prairie Home Companion.
I am a daily writer, and I actually schedule my writing time.
About Independent Publishing / Self-Publishing
Having taken the independent publishing route, I have gotten my hands dirty in book formatting, cover design, book marketing, author events, social media advertising. (These are among the many “joys” of being a self-published author.)
I can tell you from experience, independent publishing is not an easy road, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Like you, I’m in it for the long haul.
Defining Success
You need to define success for yourself. Are you a journey person or a destination person? During our working time together, we will set expectations for one another, and those expectations will need to be clear. You will want me to help you accomplish specific things, and I will expect you to work hard on your own toward your own goals.