Academic Writing and Publication Coaching, LLC

My own doctoral training is in English and I’ve published a monograph, a few articles, and a book of poetry on the life of nineteenth-century social reformer, Sarah Grimke, as well as two edited volumes. Through working with academics in a wide variety of social science and humanistic fields in the last 15 years, I’ve learned much about the writing conventions in those disciplines. But my feedback is not based on disciplinary expertise. That is the role of peer readers. What I contribute is expertise is about writing itself and rhetorical strategies of argumentation and persuasion.

Graduate programs still tend to pay scant, if any, real attention to teaching academics how to write tight, sustained, compelling arguments. And unfortunately, mentoring on those skills—as well as how to navigate the stages of publication—remains very uneven. So, I help writers learn to decode the stated and unstated expectations of journals and university presses. That often involves learning rhetorical strategies, such as effectively positioning one’s work vis-à-vis key debates in the field, organizing drafts, and making effective transitions to help readers see how the sections of an argument advance its overall purpose. In an exercise, for example, I often do with clients, we examine together a recent article they admire in their target journal or analyze how a book author they respect has written a compelling introduction or satisfying concluding chapter. Together, we break down these models into a series of nameable and do-able rhetorical strategies the author can use in her own work. (See the page Writing Advice for links to some my essays on academic writing available online)

Though much of our discussion each week is about the substance of the project—the ideas, organization, and even phrasing—we also spend time on setting realistic short-term goals that help authors reach their long-term objectives. And many of the authors I work with find much relief and support in the confidential, safe space of the coaching dialogue. There, we discuss and figure out how to address concerns and anxieties that so many people experience with writing. Ultimately, my clients build a new writing process that allows them to work with a greater sense of ease and confidence.