“First, you write for yourself... always, to make sense of experience and the world around you. It’s one of the ways I stay sane. Our stories, our books, our films are how we cope with the random trauma-inducing chaos of life as it plays.”
Bruce Springsteen
Hi, I’m Kirsten Donaghey, a creative writing coach, ADHD writing coach, and editor.
If you live in Vienna, great, we’re neighbours! If not, no worries, we found each other and it's easy to work together via email or through video calls. In fact my clients come from Singapore, Australia, Canada, the US, Mauritius, France, the UK, and of course right here in Austria.
Since 2010, people have been coming to me for editing and proofreading that goes beyond perfect grammar to make your words flow and have impact. My other specialty is coaching - to work one-on-one to assist you in any or every part of your book writing process from clarifying your idea to helping you set goals and manage your time to getting your manuscript ready to send to an agent or publisher.
Take a look around, send me a message, and let’s get your project done!
Why you should contact me
You are seeking the best person for your project. Perhaps you need the content for your website edited so the language sparkles, or you are writing a memoir but feel unsure of how to start writing, or you need a developmental editor to structure your ebook. The point is, you don’t want to hire just anyone. I can assure you, I’m not just anyone. I treat every project, big or small, with my full attention. If you live in Vienna, I’m local. I’m available for face-to-face meetings. If you live elsewhere, let's chat on Skype or Zoom.
You are overwhelmed. You have a project you need edited…yesterday. You need someone you can trust to understand the scope, with no hand-holding. You want a finished product that is free of mistakes, has the right tone and language and flows like the Danube on a summer’s day. You need a go-to person who does last-minute, one-off, long-term, you name it, she does it.
You are curious.You have some spare time and have been cruising around looking for inspiration, someone who will be able to help you finish your book, provide some clarity, get you over your block, someone you can trust and have a good working relationship with. You have questions, and goals, and you want a mentor to teach you what you don't know and show you how to embrace what you do know.
You were referred to me. Referrals are a big chunk of my business and I am very grateful that clients are so happy with my work that they ‘talk me up on the street’. Please, take a look around and let me know how I can best help you!
Do you need help with your ebook ?
If there is one thing I love to do, it's to edit and offer advice on eBooks. Why? Well because they are concise, accessible bursts of information about really cool stuff. I learn something new and you end up with an amazing marketing tool. I get to be creative and efficient and you get a beautiful little book to help you grow your audience.
"Working with Kirsten was a great experience. She helped me wrangle an unwieldy creative non-fiction feature into a shorter, tighter, more sell-able piece. Kirsten was able to see the theme that was missing in the story and her compassionate comments were invaluable in helping me see it, too. I would not hesitate to recommend Kirsten."
Leslie Sinclair
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"I hired Kirsten as a mentor to assist me with developmental editing I was doing for a client's memoir. Kirsten's support and advice was invaluable. She was an excellent sounding board for my ideas, and my doubts, so I was able to move the project forward with much more confidence and direction. Her recommendations were practical and inspiring."
Julia S. Moore
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"Over the years, I have worked with Kirsten on several projects. She has edited my translations of novels, memoirs, academic papers, and screenplays. We also collaborated on writing texts for an art exhibition and editing NGO projects. Kirsten is very easy to work with, she sticks to deadlines and has a wonderfully organic style of approaching a text – her edits are concise and make the text flow more smoothly. But the best thing about Kirsten is that she is very insightful. She enriches any text she touches.
Ida Cerne
Contact me for a free 30 minute consultation. You can ask questions, tell me about your project, talk about price and come away inspired!