First off, no one died*. 

[*No writing teachers were harmed in the making of this website!]

But I understand the sentiment behind the question, and I am glad you asked!

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I have a B.A. in Creative Writing with some graduate work toward a Masters in Rhetoric and Composition. Over the past 15+years since college, I've done a bit of everything: ghostwriting, copywriting, co-writing, editing, formatting, publishing--both on fiction and nonfiction projects, for myself and for paying clients. I've self-published on major retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Scribd, Google Play, Kobo, and Apple Books (just to name a few). I've also sold short stories to professional magazines and anthologies, written paid content for choose-your-own-ending game apps, and more. I even had a story go viral on Wattpad (1.5 million reads), got invited into the Wattpad Stars program, and won two Watty awards there!

These days, I primarily specialize in writing novels and serials (n Kindle Vella), and in building a sustainable, engaged readership base through various forms of indie publishing (including launching my own, subscription-based online reading platform). Over the past almost-a-decade that I've been focusing on indie publishing, I've steadily built a loyal readership for my writing, and have a proven track record with good reviews and ratings on my books--and also on my first Kindle Vella serial, which stayed in the Top Faved ranks on Vella for the majority of the two years it was posting.

I have the hands-on experience, but I also love teaching. Over the last fifteen years, I've taught freshman comp at two colleges, worked as a writing/publishing coach for multiple clients, and taught a variety of writing and literature classes for home education students ranging from elementary to high school... and I've always dabbled in writing blogs and making videos to share what I've learned while writing and publishing.

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 Now, I want to take that to the next level. 

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I am passionate about story and its power to impact hearts and minds. It's why I fell in love with writing as a child, why I majored in Creative Writing in college, and why I'm still an author today.

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Ever since I decided to go all-in with writing and publishing in 2015, I've relentlessly worked to improve my craft and to steadily grow my writing and my writing business. I've trained under mentors** to improve my writing, taken workshops and attended virtual conferences, studied writing craft and the publishing industry endlessly, and networked and learned from so many other indie authors along the way.

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Now, I want to help other, beginning authors understand and harness the power of story: how stories work, why they work, how to apply those principles to their own writing, and how (if they choose) to get those stories out into the world.

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**A lot of writing elements are "common wisdom" in the industry, but certain terminology or approaches belong to a particular expert/mentor/etc. My mentors' proprietary teachings are not part of my planned courses (because they aren't mine to share), and if/when I mention teachings I learned from a mentor/workshop/particular source, it will be with proper crediting and a simple overview so that you can pursue that source for more info if you choose. (I'm not an expert on everything--plus if I learned a particular thing from a source, that source is the best place for me to send you!) Where appropriate, I'll also share some curated "helpful resources" posts here on my site or in my courses that refer you to other sources for deeper info on certain topics.

My plan for these upcoming Writing and Publishing courses is to share my own take, based on what I've learned these past fifteen years of studying, writing, teaching, editing, and publishing--what works for me, why it works, and how I think it can help you.

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If this sounds like something you're interested in, be sure to subscribe to my notification list using the form above!