Open Roads
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersClaysburg, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
Open Roads firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Open Roads
- Legal name
- Kimberly McElhatten d/b/a Open Roads
- Website
- https://openroads.life
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Open Roads is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Claysburg
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Open Roads business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Coaching for Writers: Writing coaching offered as a 6-month, 18-session commitment (3 sessions per month, 30-45 minutes each). The Intensive tier provides 3 coaching sessions per month plus all Writing Circle community benefits. Coaching addresses inner critic work, goal setting, craft mastery, and publishing guidance.
- Writing Circle Membership: Tiered community membership with 6-month ($597) and 12-month ($1,164) passes. Includes biweekly cowriting sessions, weekly writing salons, monthly wellness coaching calls, weekly check-ins, guest speakers, and publishing support.
- Editing Services: Developmental editing and manuscript evaluations for creative nonfiction, memoir, literary fiction, and poetry. Pricing is project-specific and quote-based, with 50% upfront, 30% at midpoint, and 20% upon completion. Line editing available for works under 20 pages. Concierge matching service for proofreaders.
- Copywriting & SEO Services: Hourly-rate copywriting, SEO strategy, and branded content for small businesses and agencies. Services include website copy, email campaigns, landing pages, branded style sheets, and content calendars. Monthly retainer options available. Payments via PayPal, Venmo, debit, and credit cards.
- Free Cowriting Community: Free cowriting accountability group held twice weekly (Tuesdays 8am ET, Thursdays 12pm ET). Serves as a lead magnet and community-building funnel into paid programs. 90-minute sessions with centering, 70 minutes of focused writing, and checkout.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Writing Circle 6-month pass — full access to cowriting, writing salons, wellness sessions, and publishing support for six months. |
| Subscription | Annual | Writing Circle 12-month pass — complete access to all Writing Circle features for one year. |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Writing Circle Mentorship tier — Writing Circle community plus monthly mentor/editor sessions. |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Writing Circle Intensive tier — 3 coaching sessions per month plus Writing Circle community access. |
| Unit Pricing | Monthly | Page review add-on for coaching — additional editorial feedback on manuscript pages. |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Editing Services — manuscript evaluation or developmental edit. |
| Subscription | Monthly | Copywriting & SEO — hourly rate with project estimates or monthly retainer. |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Open Roads product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Open Roads is a sole proprietorship that provides one-on-one writing coaching, developmental editing, and manuscript evaluation services to individual authors and writers, and copywriting and SEO services to small businesses. It also operates The Writing Circle, a tiered paid membership community for writers, supplemented by a free cowriting group and The Writer's Edge blog/newsletter.
Product overview
Open Roads is a coaching and editing services company offering a tiered product portfolio centered on The Writing Circle community (with Writing Circle, Mentorship, and Intensive tiers), supplemented by free cowriting sessions. Core service lines include developmental editing, manuscript evaluation, copywriting and SEO services, and coaching for writers. The Writing Circle provides writers with cowriting sessions, writing salons, publishing support, wellness coaching, and mentorship, while editing services offer developmental edits, manuscript evaluations, and line editing. Copywriting services target small businesses and agencies with website copy, email campaigns, and SEO strategy. The company also publishes educational content through The Writer's Edge blog and newsletter.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Writing Circle: A supportive writing community providing coaching, cowriting sessions, writing salons, publishing support, and wellness coaching for writers across genres including self-help, children's books, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and essays. Available in 6-month and 12-month membership tiers.
- Writing Circle Mentorship
- Writing Circle Intensive
Products and services
- Writing Coaching
- Developmental Editing
- Manuscript Evaluation
- Copywriting Services
- SEO Services
- The Writing Circle
Quantifiable outcome
- 50% business growth for copywriting client
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Open Roads
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Open Roads technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Open Roads partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Open Roads competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Reedsy: Marketplace and education platform connecting authors with vetted editors, designers, and marketers, plus a large free educational content library. Compared to Open Roads, Reedsy covers the same writer services category at much broader scale, but is portfolio/horizontal where Open Roads is bespoke/vertical.
- Scribendi: Large-scale online editing and proofreading service for academic, business, and creative writing, with thousands of freelance editors. Overlaps with Open Roads on the editing axis but operates at a marketplace scale with no coaching or community layer.
- BookBaby: Established self-publishing services provider offering editing, design, printing, and distribution for independent authors. Overlaps with Open Roads on the editing and publishing-preparation axis but operates as a much broader, packaged-services incumbent.
- Writer's Digest: Long-running media and education brand for writers offering writing competitions, conferences, courses, and editorial resources. Overlaps with Open Roads on writing education and craft guidance but at a much larger, horizontal-media scale.
Direct peers
- Story Grid: Methodology-driven writing education brand offering craft training, editing tools, and coaching for novelists and nonfiction writers. Compares to Open Roads in delivering structured craft and editing services to writers seeking to complete publishable manuscripts.
- The Novelry: Online novel-writing school offering structured courses and coaching from published authors. Comparable to Open Roads in that both deliver paid writing coaching via online courses and coaching sessions for aspiring authors, primarily in the fiction and memoir space.
- Jane Friedman: Publishing consulting and author education brand offering courses, workshops, and one-on-one guidance on the business of writing. Compares to Open Roads as a solo-expert brand monetizing industry-insider knowledge through courses and high-touch author services.
- Helping Writers Become Authors: Author coaching and craft education business (K.M. Weiland) offering writing courses, books, and freelance editing/coaching services. Directly comparable to Open Roads as a founder-led brand combining craft teaching, coaching, and editing for aspiring authors.
- Jericho Writers: Writing school offering editing, agent introduction, and coaching services to writers across genres, with both self-paced courses and one-on-one support. Closely comparable to Open Roads' combination of editing, coaching, and publishing guidance for writers.
- Sterling & Stone: Story-centric writing education and services brand providing courses, workshops, and editorial/developmental support for fiction writers. Closely comparable to Open Roads on coaching + editing + community services for novelists and other genre writers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Open Roads social profiles
Digital presenceOpen Roads financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Open Roads leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Open Roads funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Open Roads M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Open Roads
What does Open Roads do?
Open Roads is a sole proprietorship that provides one-on-one writing coaching, developmental editing, and manuscript evaluation services to individual authors and writers, and copywriting and SEO services to small businesses. It also operates The Writing Circle, a tiered paid membership community for writers, supplemented by a free cowriting group and The Writer's Edge blog/newsletter.
Is Open Roads a public or private company?
Open Roads is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Open Roads founded?
Open Roads was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Open Roads based?
Open Roads is headquartered in Claysburg, United States, in the North America region.
How does Open Roads make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Coaching for Writers are the primary driver. The others are writing Circle Membership, editing Services, copywriting & SEO Services and free Cowriting Community.
Who are Open Roads's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Reedsy, Scribendi, BookBaby and Writer's Digest. Direct peers are Story Grid, The Novelry, Jane Friedman, Helping Writers Become Authors, Jericho Writers and Sterling & Stone.
Does Open Roads have an API?
No public API is recorded for Open Roads.