Kathleen E. Krause, MFA

Writing Coach & Editor for 20+ years:

As your kid’s Writing Coach, I encourage their authentic voice, embrace what matters to them, and ask questions to help them own their opinions and risk going deeper. Even my reluctant students who think they are “bad” at writing will join me in getting back to the art of literacy. How? We often read books and write essays on them together. No pressure, no grades. Instead, I strive to create a safe place for students to strengthen and gain confidence in their words and viewpoints. I also have many creative writing prompts that I have created with students as well as culled from trusted sources over the years. I do not do test prep but can recommend workshops that focus solely on this area.

I also work for College Essay Guy (CEG) as a Matchlighter, a volunteer position coaching high achieving low-income students. And I use a lot of CEG’s techniques and writing exercises in my private practice. My course with the Wilson Reading System keeps me keen to learning differences, incorporating visual, auditory, and kinesthetic approaches to the process.

With a Youth Mental Health First Aid Certificate from the National Council for Behavioral Health, I keep a sensitivity and awareness to mental health. I am not qualified to advise or counsel, but I am trained to assess for any risk or need of professional mental health treatment. I listen and give parents resources and information, encouraging appropriate professional help when needed.

As your Editor, I sit with you at your literal and figurative kitchen table digging into your fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. I ask questions and listen to your answers, always supporting your vision and always challenging you to meet your personal goals. Using knowledge I have gained from my certificate in proofreading and various professional development courses, I offer critical feedback, paying attention to the basics like sentence structure and grammar while also helping you to develop your own unique style and celebration of voice. While you will receive straightforward line edits that cover grammar and punctuation, more importantly, you will receive a close reading response that is trained on helping you articulate your subject matter in a way that is in line with your intention and direction. Sensitive material receives sensitive evaluation and review.

I have helped some clients print with major publishing houses like Simon & Schuster and helped others go the self-publishing route. Projects include Stacey Patton’s That Mean Old Yesterday, John Schertzer’s Bellamonia, Soraya Shalforoosh’s This Version of Earth, Maxwell Ryan’s 20 Stories and Because We’re Meant To Be Here, my father David Krause’s Fifty Wexford Sonnets, and others. My years spent as an adjunct English Composition teacher at Berkeley College as well as my work at WordsWorth Associates providing writing skills to business professionals have both added a level of expertise and accountability that I incorporate into all the work I do as your Editor.

How I got here:

In 1994 at age 23, I graduated with a BA in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder, sold all my stuff, and Eurailed across Europe till my money ran out, then moved to NYC without a dime (and no stuff). While I recognize that these were risky steps, I believed, as I still do, that a little bit of risk is healthy. And this is what I encourage in my writers: trust yourself and be yourself by tuning into what excites you and you will find your original voice.

After some fun waitressing gigs, I found satisfying work in publishing (Feminist Press, Parade, Four Way Books, Salonika, Asia Society, to name a few). And then it was time to follow my eccentric dream of earning a Creative Writing MFA in Poetry at the New School. Here I met my fellow-poet and now husband of 22 years, John Schertzer. Then along came our great sons, Liam and Declan. Both attended NYC public schools while one attended The Brooklyn Waldorf School for a while, allowing me the unique perspective of both pedagogies.

I currently live in Brooklyn with my husband and our dog, Rex, while our sons come and go with the wind.

Poetry:

My chapbook “Broth” was published by Linear Arts

Winner of Phoebe’s Greg Grummer Poetry Prize

My poems have appeared in various journals, including:

Agni, Ariel Chart, Bluepepper, canwehaveourballback?, Danse Macabre, Denver Quarterly, The Four Way Reader #2, LIT, Lungfull!, Pennsylvania English, Provincetown Arts Magazine, Really System, Salonkia, S/tick, Terra Incognita, and others.