Welcome to the fold
Where writers come together to get the work done
Fold: noun
A collective noun for writers
You have a book inside you
You have big plans.
You know you’re writing something special.
It’s something you’ve wanted for a long time.
You’ve tried all kinds of things to help you get the work done but you lose momentum when life gets in the way.
“Penny is a book alchemist. ”
Your life is busy.
Between kids and cooking semi nutritious meals, trying not to live in total squalor, spending some quality time (any time!) with a partner, maintaining some kind of basic fitness and earning an income and OH MY GOD is it the school holidays again already?!
You tell yourself….
If I didn’t have to work full time, I’d finish this book.
If I didn’t have kids, I’d finish this book.
If I slept better, I’d finish this book.
If I didn’t have this chronic illness, then I would finish this book.
If I didn’t have to care for a family member, I’d finish this book.
But the thing is, a lot of us have complex lives and big responsibilities. I know I do.
Most authors write books while caring for family, teaching, working in day jobs, managing illnesses, getting divorced, grieving, training for marathons and every kind of beautiful and awful thing we go through as humans.
Do those things make writing challenging? They sure do! But those things also make us the writers we are.
Life has a way of continually throwing curve balls at us and if we wait for conditions to be perfect, we’ll be waiting…. forever.
So what if I told you, you don’t need to wait till things are perfect?
That maybe you don’t need to another writing course or masters degree or an expensive writers retreat. You don’t need to quit your job either (you have bills to pay!) or wait till your children have grown up and left home.
You don’t need MORE things to do.
You need support to get the work done.
Support that helps you write your book in the life you have right now. Not an imaginary, perfect life, but the big, beautiful, busy and completely messy life you have right now.
We might not win any awards for speed. But we can cross finish line after finish line, by putting one foot in front of another.
And we can do it together.
What’s in THE FOLD
A simple and spacious membership to help you get your writing done.
A weekly audio session focused on member questions sent straight to your preferred podcast feed. These sessions will focus on all things publishing, as well as the road blocks, joys and specific issues we face as writers.
A weekly community post to gather together, comment on prompts from the audio session, set intentions and celebrate wins, sent directly to your inbox at the same time each week.
A monthly live online interactive session to inspire, challenge mental blocks and help move the needle on your work, with Penny and other authors and experts, all designed to get you across the finish line. Join live, or watch later at anytime
The Fold Gold Members
Gold members will have all of the above plus….
Quarterly 1:1 coaching sessions with Penny for planning, personalised accountability, brainstorming and individualised support
A writing community without the distractions and heavy time commitments.
No busy What’s App or Facebook groups. No schedule of classes and workshops to trawl through and get overwhelmed by. Nothing to distract you from the important work of getting your book written.
“I owe you the HUGEST thank you - I would never have got to this stage without you. You gave me so much confidence, helped me believe in the idea and myself, and now look! OH MY GOD I AM WRITING A BOOK AND [Redacted] HAVE OFFERED ON IT! Eeeeee!”
Read the Terms and Conditions here
Are you a writer on a low income? You can apply to be a Fold Scholar by filing out this form.
“I knew I needed to get a proposal written, but I was just never finding the time to actually do it. I needed the accountability, feedback and encouragement from Penny (and the fabulous members of the group) to enable me get my proposal over the line. There is no way I would have got my proposal written without it.”
“Hugely energising, practically useful and affirming - you bring such warmth to your screen!”
My desk is never this tidy…
The details…..
The FOLD Weekly
Each week you’ll receive an audio session of around 10-20 minutes either straight into your preferred podcast feed, or on the membership site, which will focus around one or multiple questions from The Fold community of writers, as well as responding to common challenges members (and myself!) are going through with their writing and publishing journey. You can submit your questions at any time.
Alongside the audio session, each week a post will go up in the members area to bring us together to respond to any prompts in the audio session, set intentions, celebrate wins big and small, swap advice and cheer each other on. Think of it as a way to gather and chat, away from the noise of social media.
The Fold Monthly Sessions
A monthly session live on zoom with me and other guest experts, to dig into one particular challenge we are facing as writers. Each month will focus on a different theme, from self doubt to risk taking, to time management, dealing with set backs and calming comparison. There will be at least one guest expert every quarter and each session will provide learning and practical takeaways. This will be a place for us to gather together as a community but you will also be able to watch back later at any time. The Sessions will all live on the membership site for you to watch and rewatch whenever you like.
Gold Members 1:1
Gold members will each be able to book a 1:1 coaching session with Penny every quarter - in March, June, September and December using an online booking form. Each session will include an advance, detailed questionnaire for you to fill out, so we can focus the session on what is most helpful to you. Sessions will last 45 mins and can be used for brainstorming, planning, accountability and personalised support around agent submissions etc.
Please note: these sessions do not include advance reading/editing but all Gold Members will have access to a discounted rate for my 1:1 editing and coaching services. We can however, use those 45 minutes to look at specific pieces of writing such as pitches and outlines etc.
Prices
The Fold Membership - £20 per month or £100 per 6 months
The Fold Gold - £60 per month or £300 per 6 months (minimum 3 months)
FAQs - you’ll find more of the fine detail about the fold here
Read the Terms and Conditions here
Are you a writer on a low income? You can apply to be a Fold Scholar by filing out this form.
About Penny
Penny is a Melbourne born, London dwelling, author and book coach. After 15 years as a freelance interiors photographer, Penny began writing about life as a single parent and unpaid carer whilst juggling a freelance creative career. She has written for Red Magazine, iPaper, BBC Radio 4 and The Telegraph amongst many others. Penny is the author of two non-fiction books Tender (2020) and Home Matters (2024) and her fiction has been published in Harper’s Bazaar.
Penny is a certified non-fiction and memoir book coach with Author Accelerator and has an MA in Creative and Life Writing with Distinction from Goldsmiths. Her work as a coach has been featured in The Author and Psychologies. She is the host of Not Too Busy To Write podcast, which was shortlisted for the Independent Podcast Awards in 2023 and now in its 10th season. Guests have included Kate Mosse, Charlotte Wood, Tessa Hadley, Lindsey Kelk, Katherine May and many more.
Penny is currently working on a novel and of course, never feels like she’s got quite enough time to write…..
“ I’ve been trying to write this for literal years, so I can’t say thank you enough for giving me the push I needed!”