I love working with writers! (and those who want to write!)
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As Your Mentor I Can Help You:
- Become the writer you know you are
- Make what’s meaningful to you meaningful to future readers
- Overcome resistance, clocks and doubt
- Journey with you as your personal mentor
- Challenge those inner demons that keep you from writing
- Live the active writer’s life (within the context of your daily life)
- Write from your unique voice
- Discover the heights of your writing abilities
- Help you get your book to publishing stage
- Listen to your ideas and dreams
- Be read
You have two options to choose from:
Option One: Come As You Are Mentoring Sessions
For Writers Who Are Ready to Begin or Continue Their Journey
Do you have a collection of notes, journals filled with stories, or an idea that won’t leave you alone? Perhaps you’ve written quite a bit but don’t know what to do next. Come As You Are is an invitation to embark on your writer’s journey with the support of a skilled mentor and author.
What’s Included
This one-on-one mentoring relationship is tailored to your unique intentions. Together, we’ll set writing intentions at the start of our six months and work closely during live, weekly Zoom sessions (three sessions per month).
How We Work Together
Each session is crafted to help you move forward with your writing intentions and deepen your connection to your writer's voice.
During these sessions, I will:
- Provide suggestions, writing prompts, and techniques to create meaningful narratives.
- Use evidence-based practices to nurture your creativity, overcome challenges, and bring your stories to life.
- Help you work through writer’s block and process difficult parts of your writing journey.
- Not let resistance stop you for finishing your project.
- Offer in-session consultation on up to 5 pages per week (15 pages per month—alone a $125 value).
BONUS: Email Support
Stay connected to your writing goals and your Writer’s Sherpa (me!) with email support between sessions. Send questions, updates, or a few paragraphs for input to keep your momentum going.
BONUS: Writer’s Support Group
Join a Live Zoom Writer’s Support Circle for just $20 per session (a discounted rate from the regular $37). These circles are dynamic and supportive spaces where you’ll connect with other writers, gain inspiration, and grow your craft.
Circle Schedule:
- 2nd Tuesday of each month: 5:30–8:30 PM CST
- 2nd Wednesday of each month: 6:00–9:00 PM CST
Why Choose This Program?
This personalized approach, paired with a supportive mentor relationship, fosters profound growth and transformation in your writing journey. Writers consistently find this process both fulfilling and productive.
Let’s Start Your Journey
Begin with a free 20-minute Zoom consultation to explore how this program can help you achieve your writing dreams.
Option Two: The Final Stretch with your Manuscript
Transform Your Manuscript into a Publishable Masterpiece
Have you written a significant portion of your book—or even completed your manuscript—but feel unsure about the next steps? My personalized mentoring program is designed to guide you through the process of refining your work and preparing for publication.
How It Works
This six-month program provides a balance of hands-on feedback, strategic guidance, and encouragement to help you achieve your pathway to publication.
What’s Included:
- Manuscript Review: I’ll read and provide detailed feedback on three chapters per month .
- Focused Mentoring Sessions: We’ll meet three times a month for 30-minute sessions to review my notes of your chapter, answer your questions, and explore next steps.
- Creative Inspiration: Receive tailored writing prompts to spark creativity and refine your work.
- Publication Pathway Guidance: As you hone your manuscript, we’ll also work on key elements for publication success, including your book proposal, platform development, and a personalized agent or publisher search strategy
What Makes This Program Unique?
With decades of experience, I offer expert insights on manuscript refinement and (if you want) the book proposal process. While I won’t write the proposal for you, I will be your guide, providing clarity and confidence as you craft a professional and compelling submission package. Our focus will be on whatever is most helpful for making your manuscript and proposal ready for publication.
Investment
The program costs $350 per month, with a total six-month commitment of $2,100. Flexible payment options are available:
- Pay in full.
- Or split into two installments of $1,050 (billed every three months).
Is This Program for You?
This approach is ideal if:
- You have a significant amount of writing or a completed manuscript.
- You’re ready to invest in your growth as a writer and take the next step toward publication.
- You want expert guidance in crafting a book proposal and developing your author platform.
Let’s turn your manuscript into a work that’s ready for the world.
Get a free initial consultation then Sign up and pay online
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"I have had the great pleasure of working with Julie. First with her online Initiated Writer’s course, then with her Sherpa Mentoring program. Julie’s feedback and tips are always insightful. She skillfully helped me to distill and express the truth that is in my heart. She is kind and intuitive, direct, and honest. Initially, I resisted writing about my cancer story. I did not want illness to define me. Julie kept nudging me in that direction. Eventually, I trusted her and am glad I did. Julie helped me to see that my life is not defined by cancer but by the wisdom I have to share. Julie helped bring wholeness and authenticity to my writing. She is a gifted guide, writer, editor, and a kind human being. I recommend her whole-heartedly to anyone who has a story to share.–Corinna Stevenson, B.ED, MA – Author of Ravenwood, The Healing Forest: Indigenous Wisdom, Life Threatening Illness, and Awakening the Heart
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World into Word…

Living the writer’s life is an invitation to explore our inner world, create new ones, and share the wisdom we uncover through the written word. Writing often begins as a journey inward—meeting our deeper selves and discovering truths through the act of writing. From there, it becomes a bridge to future readers, offering profound stories that connect and inspire.
Check out my Substack newsletter and community: The Initiated Writer (and the Dangerous Old Woman)--a space for creativity, courage, and connection.
There’s no single formula for writing or getting published, but you can create a structure that supports your craft and build a life that nurtures your writing. While there are no universal rules, there are principles that can guide you toward writing with purpose and clarity.
As your Writer’s Sherpa, I help you transform your meaningful experiences into impactful stories. Whether you're journaling for self-discovery, developing a book idea, seeking to amplify your creative energy, or navigating the path to publication, I’m here to guide you every step of the way.
Check out my Substack newsletter and community: The Initiated Writer (and the Dangerous Old Woman)--a space for creativity, courage, and connection.
There’s no single formula for writing or getting published, but you can create a structure that supports your craft and build a life that nurtures your writing. While there are no universal rules, there are principles that can guide you toward writing with purpose and clarity.
As your Writer’s Sherpa, I help you transform your meaningful experiences into impactful stories. Whether you're journaling for self-discovery, developing a book idea, seeking to amplify your creative energy, or navigating the path to publication, I’m here to guide you every step of the way.
Get a free initial consultation then Sign up and pay online
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"I am a professional editor (clerestorybooks.com) and in this capacity I’ve had the distinct honor of working with the very gifted author, mentor, and writer’s sherpa Julie Tallard Johnson for almost twenty years on a variety of written projects that have morphed into wonderful books. Given Julie’s wizardry with words as an author, as Writer’s Sherpa she is a shining light of inspiration to those creative individuals seeking her wisdom and guidance as they navigate the writing of their own works. Julie has the rare ability to really see into the words on a page, to ascertain their true essence and bring that essence to the fore. Her creative guidance is relayed in a positive and loving way wherein the writer feels incredibly safe and completely supported, enabling the writer’s best work to issue forth. I can’t recommend Julie highly enough; she brings grace and a special touch of magic to every book she works on." –Anne Dillon, editor
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LISTEN TO MY UTUBE on MEMOIR WRITING, offered through the Oregon Public Library: Memoir Writing
"Julie has been my writing sherpa in the classroom and in a writing circle for 2 years. Under Julie's guidance, both my writing and my confidence have grown. Julie is a wonderful guide, mentor, teacher, counselor. Her circles are part writing critique and part therapy. Julie creates an ideal space to harness all your writerly gifts. Recently I did a one-on-one consult with Julie and I can't believe I didn't sign up sooner. In the hour and a half, we focused on a chapter of my book and I left with very clear goals for revising and improving my manuscript. Sometimes I feel like I am just writing, but after my consult with Julie, I feel like a soon-to-be author. Julie's expertise in the publishing world as well as her helpful, honest, and friendly guidance, make her consults effective, productive, and inspiring. I walked away with a plan, and am at the next level." –
–Molly Chanson is a teacher, writer, and entrepreneur, inspired by yoga as a path to healing. Molly is one of my success stories, she now has her book published, Fallen Star: A Return to Self through the Eight Limbs of Yoga for your consumption click on book cover. Publisher: Shanti Arts/Nine Rivers Imprint |
"Julie is a compassionate and masterful writing mentor. Both gentle and tough, she helped me overcome tremendous resistance and doubt. Since working with her, I have learned so much about writing and so much about myself. I now have a variety of tools that I continue to use as I write. Julie helped me accomplish more than I ever imagined. Because of her, I successfully launched a blog of non-fiction stories and the blog has been as rewarding as she predicted. Julie is a true writing sherpa." Barb Kane
–Barbara Kane, nonfiction writer. Her blog here: feelingthepath.com "My work with Julie has been transformative for me. Her mentoring style is deeply insightful and she has patiently guided me to find my inner voice. As my stories developed, Julie would notice the pivotal moments, (better than I could ) and coax more of that. That style made me more confident and trusting to the process. I’m a better writer now, because of her encouragement and nurturing feedback. I’m grateful for what she gave me." –In appreciation, Bob, 2019-2020, Sherpa-mentoring |
FREE WRITING SEMINARS through Oregon Library:
The program is made possible through funding from the Friends of the Oregon Library.❤️
Fictionalizing your Autobiographical Writing LISTEN HERE
This is an invitation to play with some fiction writing in your memoir or other autobiographical writing. Where can we make things up and still call it non-fiction? How can we describe a sky or building we don’t remember? And turning your nonfiction into an autobiographical novel.
Embodied Writing LISTEN HERE
Somatic writing is writing from the body, the emotions, and sensual experiences. This is also transformational writing, where the writer transforms difficulty on the page and therefore transforms their future readers. You will leave with the ability to identify and write about your theme using somatic writing.
The Larger Story in Autobiographical Writing LISTEN HERE
Explore what the contextual themes that surround or hold your single story. The larger story is really another story, what I can also be a a Sister Story, — that accompanies your single story but as a Larger Story may hold or frame your single story. You will leave with ideas on how to discover, choose and write about your Larger Story. To prepare for this class, it is recommended that you watch The Danger of a Single Story.
The program is made possible through funding from the Friends of the Oregon Library.❤️.
The program is made possible through funding from the Friends of the Oregon Library.❤️
Fictionalizing your Autobiographical Writing LISTEN HERE
This is an invitation to play with some fiction writing in your memoir or other autobiographical writing. Where can we make things up and still call it non-fiction? How can we describe a sky or building we don’t remember? And turning your nonfiction into an autobiographical novel.
Embodied Writing LISTEN HERE
Somatic writing is writing from the body, the emotions, and sensual experiences. This is also transformational writing, where the writer transforms difficulty on the page and therefore transforms their future readers. You will leave with the ability to identify and write about your theme using somatic writing.
The Larger Story in Autobiographical Writing LISTEN HERE
Explore what the contextual themes that surround or hold your single story. The larger story is really another story, what I can also be a a Sister Story, — that accompanies your single story but as a Larger Story may hold or frame your single story. You will leave with ideas on how to discover, choose and write about your Larger Story. To prepare for this class, it is recommended that you watch The Danger of a Single Story.
The program is made possible through funding from the Friends of the Oregon Library.❤️.
"My first one to one consult with Julie went beyond my expectations. Julie identified areas that fell short of good communication with the reader. She massaged and enhanced my clarity of message in numerous ways. I left expanded about what was possible for my book and filled with ways to improve my writing. And, I felt I had a true ally in my quest to write well and publish." –Rev. Jody Whelden, Board Certified Chaplain, Retired, Speaker & Author: Heart Centered Intuitive Living. www.jodywhelden.com
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"I want to give voice to my profound gratitude to you, Julie. You have seen me as a being, as a writer, and I know, even in my most self-doubting times, that I have grown a lot as a writer working with you. I know I also have 'miles to go before I sleep!’ My manuscript really began its materialization and manifestation as its own piece of writing under your mentoring. It also grew both in volume (# of pages!) and in its shape and contours. I felt deeply affirmed, always; and challenged frequently. Often, it was as if you revealed a wide open door into the mystery of writing--and of being myself. " –Jacob Shefa, Ph.D., PLC (Psychosynthesis Life Coach). Over the past quarter-century, Jacob has worked with over 6,000 middle and high-school students, offering Individual Mentoring, Attention Masters (Mindfulness Training) and Wisdom Writers (Character Education Through Creative Writing). The co-author of The Cry of Merlin and The Blue House: An Elder's Lifelong Search for Meaning and Purpose, Jacob is presently writing an autobiographical novel about a man undergoing a spiritual transformation in the wake of nearly dying from Covid-19.
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"Julie was an invaluable help in getting me started on my memoir. Her concepts, especially that of Pivotal Moments, were especially useful in framing the events of my life into a story that led to successful pitches to literary agents." –Charlotte Mitchell Smith
"I would have given up a long time ago had it not been for Julie." –Richard, 2020 "Julie is the Writer's Sherpa in every way possible. Sometimes the love is tough but I have gotten past a lot of resistance because of her being with me on this writing path." –Sam King, 2021 |
“Julie Tallard Johnson is a master mentor. She is incredibly skilled at pointing you in the right direction at the right time; offering resources that not only help but inspire; helping you find whatever it is you need within your own being; and being true to her own authentic being. Julie walks her talk like no one else I know: her integrity is impeccable. I’ve used her books for guidance, participated in her workshops and courses, been mentored, and had individual sessions with her. All of them helped me immensely in getting to know myself, being true to my soul’s calling, living an authentic existence, and even loosening up! I don’t know what I did in a former life to get to work with Julie, but I am just grateful I didn’t pass up the opportunity. I give her my highest recommendation.”
~ Prudence Tippins, poet, teacher |
"Thank you so very much for your comments and suggestions. They are so valuable and so appreciated. I hadn’t realized that I was writing a memoir, and maybe that’s the reason I got stuck. I didn’t want to revisit my experience with Peter ad-nauseum, which is why I put it aside. But if I reframe this as my story as you suggest, he’s only one part of it. The thought of it blows me away. Thank you again, dear Writer's Sherpa. Amy, Write-by-the-Lake, 2019
More testimonies by writers and authors upon request. |
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©2024 Julie Tallard Johnson, MSW, LCSW
Mentor, therapist, citizen
Transformational & Embodied Counselor & Mentor
Most rights reserved. Admin
Mentor, therapist, citizen
Transformational & Embodied Counselor & Mentor
Most rights reserved. Admin