Corbin Lewars

Coaching Philosophy

The largest hurdle most writers face is time. We make time for things we value and we avoid things that make us feel nervous or are difficult. As your writing coach, I will address these hurdles as well as others such as the “does anyone care about my story?” conundrum. The key to becoming a writer is to value your writing enough to devote time to it. I will help you do this.

Once a writing routine is established and you understand your writing process, we will assess your goals. Whether you are writing a blog or hope to become a best-selling author, I can help you formulate a plan to achieve your goals. As your coach, I will hold you accountable for these goals through our meetings or by nudging you via email. Writing takes discipline and confidence, hiring me as a coach will ensure that you will be abundant in both.

Once the goals are established (usually goals are set and hurdles addressed in the first session), you will start sharing your writing with me for feedback. The feedback I offer will be twofold. First and foremost, I will remind you of your writing goals and make sure your writing reflects the story you have set out to tell. Secondly, I will offer feedback on ways to strengthen and clarify your writing. I approach this feedback as a teacher as well as an editor, meaning I will teach you how to improve your writing.

The final stage of coaching is the accountability phase. If your goal is to submit several stories to anthologies, I will hold you accountable to the submission date. If it is to finish a draft of your manuscript and publish it, I will help you get your manuscript in the best condition it can be and then help you find an agent, or editor of a small to mid-size presses to submit your work to. If you are interested in pursuing self-publishing, whether in a blog, e-book, or full-length manuscript, I will guide you through that process.

Clients

My clients vary from lawyers, to acupuncturists, to published writers. Their genres include memoir, historical fiction, spiritual books, young adult novels, commercial and literary fiction, books for higher education, parenting books, and a variety of how-to books. Some clients are refining their manuscripts in hopes of finding an agent or editor at an upcoming conference, others are looking to build their “writer platform,” some are writing for work, and others are refining their work before it is published. The main criteria I use when determining if I will work with an individual is do I believe in and understand their writing. If I don’t, I can’t be the advocate for you I want to be, so I will recommend you to someone else.

Experience

I have been coaching and teaching other writers for nearly twenty years. Being an author myself affords me substantial knowledge of the publishing industry, both for articles and book length manuscripts. I teach memoir, publishing, and personal essay classes through The Richard Hugo House, Whidbey Island Writers Association, and Field's End. I was the editor of Verve, a Seattle-based publication for women, an anthology of parent writers, and the zine Reality Mom for eight years.  

Process

If you live in Seattle, I can meet with you in person at my office in the Centerpeace Healing Arts in Ballard. If you are not local, or prefer to work virtually, coaching and feedback can occur via the telephone and email. My rate is $75 for adults, $60 for youth (14-24 year olds) and I offer 4, 8, 12, and 16 hour packages. Email me to set up your first appointment.

I wanted to thank you for encouraging me to submit to PNWA's literary contest.  I've been selected as a finalist under the category of Adult Short Topic for my piece "Moving Away." I appreciate your support and wanted you to know. Again, a big thanks!

—Star Roberts, Writer

Corbin Lewars has a meticulous eye for detail and a strong sense of overall story. She works from inquiry and her questions have helped me to reexamine and strengthen my work."

—Ann Teplick, Teaching Artist and writer

Corbin, I want you to know how good it feels to be working with you. I feel like you have my back and your support means so much. I am so grateful that you ‘get it’ about what I am doing. I love the way the stories are shaping up and I know it won't be long before I am asking for your help in the publishing part of this project! Thank you so very much.

—Judith, minister, therapist, and writer

 

And thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.  I have taken a lot of writing classes and had a lot of writing teachers, but none have ever been as inspiring and encouraging as you are. You know, fear and lack of confidence is universal, and I struggle with it a lot, but working with you has really started making me feel more courageous about taking risks, trying to go for the things I want, and understanding that I am not alone when it comes to worrying about whether or not I am good enough: we all do.

—Lisa, soon to be sailing the world and writing 

I really appreciated your comments and edits.   More importantly, thanks for the feedback and encouragement.  My confidence swells from “who do you think you are to write a story??!!” to “sure I can do this” after talkign with you. Your support helps a lot!

—Marianne, Executive and writer