Hi there, I’m Ruth Shilling. My whole goal is to help authors improve their stories through book coaching and copyediting. I get to know you as an author and what your goal is, then help through dedicated services, depending on where you are in the writing process, to move closer to your desired type of publishing.
Here are a few general facts about me:
- I love reading and read most fiction genres.
- I’m a Jesus follower.
- I love hearing people’s personal stories from all different backgrounds and value systems. There’s a deep richness in each person.
- I love baking, but don’t enjoy washing dishes.
- I’m a wife and mom of a college student.
- My dog is a couch potato and a 50-pound lap dog.
- My husband has been a youth pastor for most of our 20+ years together and is transitioning to working for a homeless shelter.
- I’m an introvert, but was raised in an extrovert household, so I do okay around groups of people.
- Writers are my people. The crazy search histories, talking through scenarios that would send most eyebrows high, and wild imaginations.
- I love getting to know people and hearing about the stories they’re writing.
My writing origin story…
It was a love of reading and literature that prompted me to earn a Bachelor’s degree in English. After graduating in 2009, I was fortunate enough to find a job teaching English to non-native English speaking adults. Each professional position since then has employed my skills in grammar, editing, fact-checking, and writing. Over the last 10+ years, I have worked freelance on a variety of non-fiction and fiction editing projects.
As I was teaching, I heard about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month—the goal of writing 50k words in November) and had a kernel of an idea for a story. On November 6th I signed up and finished the month with 36,000 words on a book club fiction story. I was amazed—writing fiction had never been on my radar. I successfully completed the challenge the following year, feeling on top of the world.
Northern Colorado Writers (now Writing Heights Writers Association), an awesome nonprofit organization, helped me learn more about the craft of writing and storytelling. Attending conferences, workshops, and classes, and being part of a critique group challenged me to improve my writing and revise that second manuscript.
Let me tell you, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I found out that having a degree in English was simply a stepping stone. To better understand what makes a good story and how to have a polished manuscript took a different tactic. Since then, I have studied the craft of writing with the goal of improving my writing and helping others. I’m a lover of learning too, so I will continue to learn and investigate.
The writing process can be long and winding. It’s my goal to help synthesize what I’ve learned in hopes that you make quicker progress than I have made.
I am a life-long student. I do my best to stay curious, always looking for greater understanding and a solution to challenges. The professional memberships that support my habit of curiosity are with ACES: The Society of Editing (originally American Copy Editors Society) and ACFW (Association of Christian Fiction Writers).
I’m a certified book coach…
In 2022 I found Author Accelerator and signed up for their excellent book coaching training. I’ve completed the certification process, and am offering coaching services to authors starting at any point of the writing stage.
For more information, contact me via email (ruth at rseditorial dot co) or fill out this contact form to tell me more about yourself. I’ll reach out to schedule a free discovery call.
**As an Author Accelerator certified book coach, I am qualified to coach writers using Author Accelerator’s strategy, methods, and materials, but I operate independently of Author Accelerator and am not affiliated with them.
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