Corbin Lewars

New Offer: Scholarship for Students

For a limited time, I will reduce my rate in half for any student between the ages of 14 and 25. Students needing help with papers or who are interested in pursuing their creative writing and publishing options should email me for an appointment corbin@corbinlewars.com.

All face-to-face sessions will take place at the Carnegie Library, 2026 NW Market St, Ste. 201 or in the Ballard Building, 2208 Market St, Ste 425. Phone and on-line sessions are available as well.

Coaching Philosophy

The largest hurdle most writers face is time. We make time for things we value and we avoid the things that make us feel nervous or inadequate. 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 for yourself 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 weekly meetings or by “gently 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 rather than an editor, meaning I will teach you how to improve your writing rather than improve it for you.On average, this takes three hours.

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. It is is to finsih 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. If your goal is to continue writing for yourself, I will help ensure that you have a system in place to continue doing so.

Clients

My clients vary from lawyers, to acupuncturists, to other writers. Their genres include memoir, historical fiction, spiritual books, Young Adult novels, commercial and literary fiction, childrens stories, science fiction, 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 their offspring, and others for themselves. The main criteria I use when determining if I will work with an individual is do I believe in their writing. In order to be the encouraging and successful coach I strive to be, I have to understand and want to support you in telling your story. 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 over twenty years. Being an author myself affords me substantial knowledge and ties to the publishing industry, both for articles and book length manuscripts. I teach memoir 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, as well as an anthology of parent writers.  

Process

If you live in Seattle, I can meet with you in person at my office in the Carnegie Library in Ballard or in the Ballard Building, 2208 Market St, Ste 425. If you are not local, or prefer to work virtually, coaching and feedback can occur via the telephone and email. My rate is $70 and I offer 4, 8, 12, and 16 hour packages. Email me to set up your first appointment.

 "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

 –Tanya Ruckstuhl-Valenti clinical social worker and writer.

"What I appreciate most about Corbin Lewars' editing style is her honesty, curiosity, and depth. She has the keen ability to focus in on the areas in my writing that I have not fully examined or explored and she encourages me to take my writing to the next level. My work deepens because of Corbin's careful attention and perceptive insights."

— Courtney Putnam, writer, artist, and healer

"You're totally spot-on with the edits. The notes are great!  I'm thinking I get the gist of what's missing and how I need to "tell the reader more." You've done a fantastic job with thorough, thoughtful, critical yet supportive feedback. It didn't hurt one bit. I know it's got a ways to go, but that's what this is about–growing as a writer and giving the stories the weight they deserve."

All the best,

Michael, educator and 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 wont’ 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

Corbin is a very encouraging editor, whose gentle hand has truly transformed my work. I always look forward to her red ink, because I not only learn so much from it, but her help takes my writing to a higher level. 
—Riley, AmeriCorps coordinator and writer