Immersive, instinctual editing & writing coaching for service providers, authors, and academics
Something happens when a writer is invited to speak freely about their work.
Let them talk uninterrupted for long enough, and they start to burn from within. Their eyes glitter; they lean forward in their chair; they lose track of time; they become engrossed in their ideas instead of whatever this call was supposed to be about.
I’ve seen this in academics trying to explain a decade of research to me and what they really believe is missing from their chosen field.
I’ve seen it in authors, spinning out on all the intricate plotlines they have planned for their characters, while I hold on for dear life.
And I’ve seen it with entrepreneurs—service providers, creatives, coaches, consultants, educators, thought leaders—when they finally get to riff on who they do this work for aand why, without the confines of marketing tactics or “being a good writer.”
This spell that comes over you when you're given a captive audience, an attentive listener, the space to ramble—
That’s what makes your writing worth reading.
It’s also why you’re so good at the work you’ve chosen to do. (This is not a coincidence.)
When I meet with a client for the first time, I’m watching for that moment when you lose yourself, when the words tumble out and your eyes start shining.
That’s how I know that:
you’re onto something, even if you’ve felt frustrated about your writing in the past; and
you’ll never run out of interesting things to say.
And when I tell you that it’s my honor to become a student of your work, to be entrusted with your writing, to lose myself in the dense tangles of a paragraph and transform them into an irresistible secret garden…
Nothing makes me happier in this world, and I really fucking mean that.
What (human) editing actually is—and isn’t
Most people think of editing as synonymous with cutting. Kill your darlings; cut away the fluff; trim the fat.
Or they confuse it with the grammar police—proper use of contractions; em dash or no em dash (YES EM DASH), Oxford commas, and other nitpicks.
And sure, there is some of that. But my approach to editing and writing coaching is grounded in what’s there; not what needs to go. How to draw out the version of you that lights shit on fire.
I’m throwing logs in, rearranging how they lie, coaxing air and heat into the biggest flame fucking possible.
I don’t approach your work with a rigid framework or a dripping red pen or a fired-up buzzsaw.
Instead—
I immerse myself in your writing, your voice, your body of work, your questions, your goals, the ultimate purpose of the piece.
I develop my own frameworks on the fly to help you understand what to change and why.
I use metaphors and examples and recommended reading and specific page numbers.
I draw on existing works and methodologies that might prove useful.
One time I told a client to go watch Shrek—and it opened up a whole new idea for the story she was working on.
I show up with attention.
And I respond to whatever you (and the work) are asking for.
How is human editing any different/better than AI editing?
What a gift of a question. Here’s my answer:
In general, AI edits don’t make your writing stronger; they just make it different.
AI will often rearrange your paragraphs for random reasons (or no reason). It will rewrite your sentences and rephrase your words without being asked to—and often just for the sake of rewriting them, not because they necessarily NEED rewriting.
More often than not, this results in a whole lot of words that don't really say much—or don't say anything you haven't already said, or don't say it better than you've already said it. It may look impressive, but once you scratch the surface there’s not much substance.
AI doesn’t have (or use) discernment, and without detailed, intelligent instruction and a nuanced understanding of how it can fit into your writing/editing process, all it's going to do is move stuff around.
AI is good on a sentence-by-sentence level. It can tighten up a sentence that’s lost its way, translate academic gobbledygook into something legible, and ask you reflective, clarifying questions to help YOU hone your writing.
If you’re super clear on how you want it to tackle every tiny branch in its decision-making tree, you can get a decent result from it. But guess what—you need to understand what a human editor does in order to be that specific with it.
AI also doesn't have a body.
It can't get goosebumps when it reads an especially powerful sentence. Its eyes can't well up with tears because it finally feels seen; it will never know the whole-body exhale of relief when a writer is able to articulate something you’ve struggled with for years.
It can't drop into a memory, linger in the sensory details and emotions of that memory, and pour those feelings out onto a page, even if it means having to sit inside trauma, or gratitude, or grief, or joy, longer than most people would choose.
But I do.
And I show up to every single piece of writing with enthusiasm, openness, vulnerability, and decades of experience.
Ready to get to work?
Three ways to work with me…
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Editing Services
Structural edits, proofreading, and developmental edits for academic papers, fiction manuscripts, emails, website copy, and more. I can also help with launch strategy!
I've had my hands on everything from a 500-page, Infinite-Jest-inspired manuscript to a doctoral dissertation on anger at God to a $54k Black Friday campaign for luxury candles that I conceived of, wrote, and built all by myself.
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1-1 Writing Coaching
Writing can be hard, lonely, and stubbornly slow. And when you come up against a sticking point, there’s no feedback loop—no one to offer a gut-check, a word of encouragement, or a gentle nudge to close out that “research” tab and just get back to the page.
What’s missing is a human exchange of ideas. This has always been part the work I do as a copywriter, messaging strategist, academic editor, and developmental editor—now I’m offering it as a 1-1 service all its own.
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The Craft
A 10-week immersive writing workshop for authors, academics, and business owners who want to expand their professional writing skills and deepen their relationship with the creative process.
The Craft will help you master the timeless techniques behind writing that connects, inspires, makes the reader feel something, and keeps them wanting more.
GET thE mixtape
Side A: The Coffee Break (for everyone).
“Cassingle” sized pieces on writing craft and process, plus a monthly deep cut where I share a longer writing sample (from TV, film, literature, or the internet) and break down a more in-depth craft lesson.
Side B: The Tuesday Tastemaker (subscribers only).
Cultural, career, and trend observations from a wizened GenXer who's been writing, editing, and marketing in these trenches for over a decade. Plus a peek at what I’m reading & watching this week.
