I’M ERIN
Writer, developmental editor, and book coach.
A Passion for Story
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 followed 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 dove back into creative writing. I wrote and published several short stories, began writing my first manuscript.
Then I got stuck. Like, really stuck.
Hitting a Plateau
I had a full draft, but I knew in my heart it wasn’t working. Months and then years went by while I rewrote this chapter, that chapter. But I never made any meaningful progress. I was stuck and frustrated.
I had the opportunity to head to graduate school to earn my MFA in creative writing. When I sat down with my first advisor, I told her I was here to learn how to revise. That I knew how to put words on a page and invent characters and string together a plot, but that I didn’t know how to take all those elements and make them work.
I spent the next two years studying the revision process and working through a (finally successful) revision of my manuscript. So many light bulbs went off. And I finally had a manuscript I was proud of. It was an amazing feeling.
Finding My Calling
Grad school is where I first learned about developmental editing. Developmental editing 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 developmental editor and book coach so I could help writers have the same light bulb moments I did and finally have a manuscript they can be proud of.
I’m proud to be an Author Accelerator-certified coach and member of a community dedicated to integrity and professionalism in book coaching.
The Whole Story Coach Way
My mission: To help writers see their whole story. To understand what they’ve made, or are trying to make. To identify what’s working and what isn’t and why. To articulate that all-important inner core of their story so they can design a plot that will bring readers along for the ride.
Writing from the Inside Out
Successful stories are written from the inside out. That’s why tips, tricks, and formulas often fail to get writers to The End. Unless you know WHY you are writing this story and what it is you’re trying to say and how your protagonist will be changed by the story - AKA the inner core of your story - you’ll struggle to write a story that works.
So that’s where I start. With you. With your Why. Your vision. Then together, we work outward to your Who (your characters) and to your What (your plot). We figure out where your story is working, and where there’s room for development. When you take the time to understand your story at this deep level, you’ll stop…
-Getting lost in the messy middle
-Struggling to figure out if what happens next is what’s supposed to happen next
-Rewriting the first three chapters over and over
You’ll finally be able to weave theme and character and plot together into the story you’ve always dreamed of telling.
Why Coaching Can Help You Level-Up Your Story and Your Writing Skills
Writing classes and workshops and conferences and craft books are 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.
And this is where writers often get stuck.
Revision is a skill that is rarely taught to writers. Because you can’t really capture the heart of revision in the craft book, or teach it in a class. It’s too specific to each manuscript.
This is where book coaching comes in. It’s an individualized, hands-on approach that focuses on the key elements of craft – characters, plot, and theme – and how they’re landing on the page in your story, not a theoretical one.
I don’t have any evergreen, self-paced courses. Because that isn’t what you need right now. You need a partner. 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.
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.
You don’t have to figure all this out alone. I can help.
“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 (listen here).
Ready to work with me?
The first step is to reach out.