"Caitlin went above and beyond in every way...offering strategies for how to brainstorm and organize months of reporting into a coherent, engaging piece.  

She understood the complexity of the issue on which I was reporting and talked through ways to build upon my original ideas and introduce new ones.

She brought expertise and valuable insight and introduced questions the audience would want answered. To this day, I implement strategies I learned through my coaching sessions with Caitlin each time I begin writing a new story.  

She treated me as an equal, rather than a student or a beginning-level journalist. I sincerely hope to have the opportunity to work with Caitlin again in the future."

--- MANDY LOADER, JOURNALIST

Are we a potential fit?

I have already helped more than 50 ambitious writers worldwide on a wide range of writing projects: essays, book proposals, pitches and more.

Before starting to coach other writers, I worked as a reporter and feature writer for three major daily papers, The Globe and Mail, Montreal Gazette and the New York Daily News. As a senior staff editor for three national magazines, I assigned and edited a wide variety of stories. As a freelance writer, I’ve also benefited enormously for decades being edited by demanding, high- level professionals, like the 100 stories I’ve had published in The New York Times.

Before we get started, please answer a few key questions to make sure we’ll have a smooth and productive working relationship:

1) What are your specific goals for this piece of writing?

2)  Have you worked with a writing coach or editor before? How did it go? If you were unhappy with the process and/or the outcome, please share how.

3)  How much time do you have for us to work on this piece? If only a few days, I may not be able to do what you need that quickly. I usually book my time weeks in advance.

4)  Are you ready to do more than one revision? What is your limit?

5)  If you could pinpoint the skill you need from me most on this piece, what is it? It is often all three!

Structural editing (the shape of the piece, beginning/middle/ending, pacing. Etc.)
Line editing (making sure it reads well and smoothly)
Copy editing (correcting errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation and common usage.)

My editing and coaching use all these skills and experience.

"During our coaching sessions, Caitlin shared valuable insights and answered my questions with wisdom, candor and enthusiasm. I would wholeheartedly recommend her to any writer seeking guidance on the basics of journalism or the mechanics of freelancing."

--- Kelly Davis, writer and editor 

 

"If you're still hesitating about hiring Caitlin, Don't!  I'm new to the public relations world, so I wanted to learn PR strategies from a writer. Caitlin's class was definitely one of the smartest investments I could have made to grow my career.  In one hour, I learned from her more than I did in a six-month internship. She is the real deal!"

-- Cecilia Burgos, New York City