Draft by Draft
Coaching for Academic Writers
We empower writers to draft, revise, and publish monographs and journal articles.
Our coaching combines intellectual rigor with kind, process-based writing support. At Draft by Draft, your writing coach—Jess Engebretson, Michelle Niemann, or Julia Dauer—thinks with you about how to revise your drafts, so that you leave each session with clear next steps. We also offer writing groups that provide intellectual community, helping writers develop a steady and sustainable writing practice.
We’ve worked with hundreds of faculty members and researchers in the humanities and social sciences as they drafted and revised books and articles. Our clients have published their books with presses such as Oxford University Press, Duke University Press, and Princeton University Press; their articles have appeared in journals including PMLA, PNAS, and JAMA.
With PhDs in English and experience writing and editing in a variety of fields, we are familiar with the conversations and conventions of academia. But we’re also curious outside readers. Our coaching methodology—listening and asking questions—is also our passion.
We work with writers in a wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, history, literary studies, cultural studies, geography, economic history, the environmental humanities, sociology, demography, public health, and the history of art, design, and architecture.
We work with writers primarily through one-on-one consultations, which last one hour, take place via videoconference, and are held on a regular, ongoing basis. Our flexible coaching process, which is tailored to each individual, helps faculty members and postdocs meet their academic writing and publication goals.
Curiosity, humility, and frankness are the principles that guide our work with writers. We’re each curious about new topics, humble about our knowledge of a given field, and frank about our thoughts. You’ll work one-on-one with a writing coach willing to share their honest critical responses to your drafts and ask the tough but disinterested questions of someone without any skin in the game.
