As a writing coach, Linden’s job is three-fold:

• To help you, the writer, create a manuscript that works. This involves reading, critiquing and developmental editing (conceptualizing the big picture and how the material fits together).
• To teach you, in the process, about the craft of writing, identifying language and organizational patterns that need work.
• To give you the feedback and encouragement that will help inspire your writing.

Linden is totally dedicated to helping you realize your writing dreams and aspirations, whether you’re a beginner or a published writer. This alliance, which is personalized to meet each individual’s needs, allows you and your writing coach to work on your current project in specific and your writing skills in general.

Linden’s approach to writing coaching involves helping you write your book (or article or thesis or corporate communication or film treatment or whatever else is on your plate). During the writing coaching relationship, she will:

• Critique pages you’ve already written and provide ongoing feedback on the growing pile of new ones.
• Help you organize your thoughts, enrich your work and find your voice—whether you’re just beginning or have a full draft.
• Facilitate your project’s development, including brainstorming story arc, plot, character development and more.
• Help you design a realistic schedule and hold you accountable to target goals and dates.
• Keep you motivated and focused.
• Give you perspective when you become derailed or discouraged.
• Provide writing tips to help you focus as you work on your next installment.
• Direct your rewrite(s)—a fact of life for every writer, no matter how experienced.
• Guide you through the publishing (or self-publishing) maze, including helping you find the right market, and assisting with query letters, book proposals and marketing once your work gets published.

And … she’ll encourage you every step of the way.

In short, instead of writing, editing or revising your project, Linden will teach you to develop it—and then fine-tune it—yourself. Of course, you can always decide to hire her as your editor to polish language, proofread, or even handle major rewrites. But that will be separate from the writing coaching.

As your coach, Linden functions more or less like a personal trainer:  She assumes you are fully capable of strengthening and stretching your own creativity and craft, and will benefit from a little guidance, a lot of encouragement and an incentive that helps you show up. Just as an athletic trainer encourages and trains people to perform at their physical best, a writing coach helps you identify your goals and obstacles, provides ongoing structure and feedback, challenges you, assigns exercises, holds you accountable, and roots loudly for you all the way.