Editorial and Coaching
Photo by Tosca Ophelia
I provide artists, writers, and creatives with:
Editorial guidance for literary manuscripts (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and hybrid text)
Creative strategy and writing coaching
Art-specific writing and editing to attain grant, residency, or funding opportunities (for more information about my art writing practice, click here).
If you are seeking developmental editing for a manuscript, writing applications for residencies, fellowships, or funding, seeking gravitational web copy or content, or have another writing project in mind, I’m here. Click on the booking link below to discuss your project.
Maura asked the hard questions and led me to see not only what my proposal needed, but also to have a deeper understanding of what my work was about. Any artist … knows how difficult it is to find that kind of dedication and attention toward their work from someone who isn’t them. This is a testament not only to Maura’s skill as an editor, but as a listener.
– MATTHEW WOODWARD, ARTIST
We might work together on any of the following:
Completing a book project and honing writing craft
Developing writing towards a specific goal, such as a fellowship or funding application, PR for an event, or creating powerful web copy
Identifying ideal approaches to protecting one’s process and creative integrity while working in industries that necessitate regular interface with external influences, such as audiences, agents, curators, and social media
Establishing individual meditation practices that work for you and developing unshakable resilience in the face of industry unknowns and the inevitable ego challenges that come with a creative life
Developing a healthy and resilient relationship to rejections
Strengthening confidence and self-value in relationship to your practice and abilities
read more testimonials here.
Editorial rates vary based on project. Please contact me to learn more.
Coaching is no longer available by single session except for returning or former clients.
CLICK BELOW to schedule a consultation.
Who are my clients?
My clients work in a variety of mediums and seek coaching and editorial support for a variety of reasons.
I work with:
Writers completing book projects
Artists in need of writing support for applications or projects
Galleries in need of beautiful and critical fine arts writing for catalog essays and PR
Collaborative teams in a variety of fields who want to work together with more care and fluidity
Healers and wellness professionals who want web copy that represents their unique offerings authentically, without leaning on wellness industry clichés
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In addition to being an editor and writer for over a decade, I am a trained ritualist and healing practitioner. I bring these skillsets together in my coaching practice, emphasizing different elements according to each client’s needs. My intention is that you leave our sessions with quantifiable improvements to your life and craft, a strong sense of self-trust, and clarified intuition. Clients who purchase coaching packages receive additional accountability, support, assignments, resources, and access to me via email between calls.
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Why do creatives seek coaching support alongside editorial advisement?
Improving writing craft and developing creative process tools that can be adapted and applied to life’s challenges
Energetic and spiritual support when personal difficulties are triggered through creative practice
Individualized exercises, tools, and meditations specific to each client’s needs
Strategies to develop a positive experience of work-life-creative practice balance
Developing the skills to assert healthy boundaries that enable you to maintain thriving relationships while protecting your vital creative life
Advisement around publishing industry knowledge and decision-making when choosing editors, agents, publishing houses, cover designs, etc.
Support in querying agents, choosing agents, and sending work out for publication and review
Tools, support, and advisement around the processes and transitions by which a book or work of art comes into the world
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I struggled for years to bring the various layers of my practice together in one place. I needed my art to be represented with clarity and professionalism in order to help the right clients find me, but I would get lost in the idea of what I was supposed to say about my work, which felt impossible to explain. Maura landed in my life precisely when I needed to form web content on a higher level. Maura gave me writing tools, strategies and exercises that opened the doors to my own creative process to help me write what I needed for my site.
– ALYSSA DUERKSEN, MUSICIAN AND HEALER