I’M ERIN
Writer, developmental editor, and book coach.
Like a lot of writers, I started playing with stories as a kid. I launched Spot News, the daily newspaper of record on Jupiter. Wrote a book of myths. Rewrote key scenes from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe so Lucy had a sword instead of a horn.
I turned that passion for stories into a career as a documentary television producer and scriptwriter. My job: to watch hours of raw footage shot in the field and find the story. Piece it together into an 45-minute story, or a 23-minute story, or even a 6-minute story, depending on the show. Do it again the next week. Over the course of fourteen years, I worked on shows ranging from PBS to HGTV to the Food Network. Taking in the raw material. Finding the heart of the story. Making it shine.
But my first love – fiction – was calling. I headed back to school to get my MFA. It was there that I first learned about developmental editing. A developmental editor focuses on the big picture. It asks the question, does this story work? And it uses story structure to answer that question. It’s a lot like writing documentary television shows. Take in the raw material. Find the heart of the story. Make it shine. I realized developmental editing was the work I’d been doing my whole career.
As soon as I finished my MFA program, I set out to become a certified developmental editor and book coach. My mission: To help writers see their whole story. To understand what they’ve made, what’s working, and what needs work. To dig into the emotional heart of their stories and make them shine.
The Whole Story Coach Way
If you’ve ever sat through writing classes or workshops or conferences, you know they’re great at introducing us writers to all aspects of craft. How to worldbuild. How to craft believable characters. How to craft sparkling dialogue. How to outline. How to layer in theme. And subplot. And setting.
What they can’t do, is tell you if your specific story is working.
It’s hard for us writers to “see” our stories. We’re immersed in them, in all the decisions we’ve made. And writing involves nearly endless decisions. Who, what, where, when, why. And at every point, we could’ve made a different decision. And that leaves us wondering, did I make the right decisions? Does the story work? Is anyone ever going to want to read this?
This is where coaching comes in. It’s an individualized, hands-on approach that focuses on the key elements of craft – characters, plot, setting, and theme – and how they’re landing on the page in your story, not a theoretical one.
With every deadline, you get detailed feedback on your story that will help you see what’s working, what’s not yet working, why, and what to do about it so you can move forward with clarity and confidence.
Think of me as a set of fresh eyes. A super-reader, with nearly 25 years of storytelling experience under my belt and a deep knowledge of what makes stories work. Someone to wrestle plot problems to the ground with. Someone to brainstorm with. Someone who wants to see you get to The End as much as you do.
“Working with Erin is the single best investment I made for my novel. Erin made the effort to really grasp the larger story I was telling, and guided me through the necessary steps to ‘re-envision’ my novel. Her insightful questions and outside perspective were keys that unlocked all the places I’d been stuck and have allowed me to move into my revision with game-changing clarity and the fresh energy I needed to move forward effectively. I feel so lucky to have Erin in my writing corner!”
My Background
I’m an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach, which means I’ve received in-depth training in developmental editing and book coaching from some of the best in the business.
As an Author Accelerator certified book coach, I am dedicated to integrity, kindness, and professionalism in the practice of book coaching.
I earned my MFA in writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University in 2021, where I received the Herman W. Block Award, judged by Kate DiCamillo, for excellence in writing for young people; the T.A. Barron Award for excellence in fantasy writing; and the Francis and Kermit Rudolf Award for excellence in nonfiction writing.
While at Hamline, I had the incredible opportunity to work with so many brilliant writers, inlcuding Elana K. Arnold, Coe Booth, Laurel Snyder, Eliot Schrefer, Claire Rudolf Murphy and Anne Ursu.
I mentor young writers through the Society of Young Inklings, a non=profit dedicated to helping young artists find their voices and build the skill and confidence to reach their writing goals.
As a contributing writer to the literary magazine Short Fiction Break, I’ve published more than a dozen short stories, including “Blue” which went on to win the Herman. W. Block Award.
Other places I’ve been recently: guest writer for JaneFriedman.com, guest presenter at SCBWI, and guest contributor to the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast.
Ready to work with me?
The first step is to reach out.