Welcome!

I am nurturer of people, projects, and plants. The care and guidance it takes to encourage an olive tree to produce a bountiful harvest is not that different from what it takes to encourage you to choose a book idea, commit to it, and bring your book to life. I should know: I farm 150 olive trees on my property in Italy and have coached more than 100 writers to finish their books.

 

Where Have I Trained?

I began writing stories as soon as I could hold a pencil. I began working in magazine publishing in 1990 and co-authored my first book in 2008. That experience led to writing a dozen books and working as a book developer, editor, and book coach. Since 2015, I have helped more than a hundred authors develop their nonfiction book ideas and edited more than 200 manuscripts. In 2021, I became an Author Accelerator Certified book coach in nonfiction, and I have had the honor of coaching Author Accelerator CEO Jennie Nash on two of her own books.

What's My Coaching Style?

honest. insightful. encouraging. reliable.

Those are a few of the adjectives clients use to describe me. I’ve been called Mary Poppins and Fairy Godmother, because I have solutions in my bag and a touch of magic that helps writers see the greatness of their ideas and believe in themselves.

Drawing on experience as both a writer and editor, I facilitate conversations about ideas and process. I take a tough love approach to coaching and help writers clarify and express their ideas, ensuring rich and cohesive content that engages the reader. I intuitively encourage clients to improve both the structure of their work and their writing style, gently and firmly nurturing writers until their goal is reached.

My superpowers are active listening, organization, and being able to see both the whole picture and the steps to go from idea to completion. Whether I'm coaching a writer on a book idea, editing a manuscript, or tending the garden, I bring the same care, attention, and intention to the task.

When I’m not coaching, editing, or reading, I tend an olive farm in southern Italy, where I live with my husband and our dog, Lucy.

“Barbara has walked beside me through all stages of creating two memoirs: developing structure, reading first drafts, fine-tuning language, offering ideas to flesh out content, and supplying publication options while consistently encouraging me to keep growing as a writer.  She is reliable, receptive, resourceful, relatable. I recommend her unreservedly.”

—Nicola Mendenhall, author of Fear, Folly & Freud: A Psychotherapist in Psychoanalysis and Turbulence, Transformation, Termination: Leaving Freudian Analysis

 Take the Next Step!