About Me
Hi! I’m Kerry and I love books. Seriously.
My Goodreads to-read list currently has 1,181 books on it and at my current rate of about 100 books a year, it would only take me 11 years to get through them all. But it won’t stay at that number, since I’m constantly reading about new books and thinking, oooh, that sounds good!
I started reading and writing very early and have never stopped. My mother used to think that I was deliberately ignoring her when she called me to set the table for dinner or mow the lawn--I wasn’t (promise, Mom). I was so wrapped up in whatever place, whoever’s brain I was inhabiting at that moment, that the real world around me dropped away and I disappeared into the story. To me, there is no magic like book magic.
As a writer, I know how scary and exhilarating it is to put your work out into the world. There have been times that I’ve panicked (seriously: heart racing, tunnel vision) when I share my pages. While I’ve been lucky to not have had a devastating workshop experience--all that panic for nothing!--I know that is not the case for many. That’s one of the many reasons I believe in the power of book coaching.
My Professional Life—Writing and Otherwise
“Published” my first story in second grade. It was about a boy who went into the sea to live with octopi.
Got my BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College and an MS in Journalism from Columbia J-school. My story about a Coney Island circus school was picked up on the AP newswire.
Worked for the last 16 years as an editor and project manager for educational publishers and a digital marketing agency
Author Accelerator Book Coach—Certified in 2020
Women Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) Mentor
Author Accelerator Coach Mentor
Currently revising the umpteenth draft of a historical novel about a badass female pirate
Other Things I Love
Hedgehogs
They are sweet yet sassy, goofy, and nocturnal. They might be my spirit animals. I follow way too many on Instagram.
Wine + Cheese
My husband owns a store that sells mainly these two things and someone has to do quality control.
Cooking, Baking, and All Things Food
Goes well with wine. Though I think I’ve killed my sourdough starter.
We had a good run.
What Motivates Me
Reading and writing are fundamental to making us good humans. To be able to do these things is to be able to put yourself inside someone else’s head and see the world from their perspective. Most of us will never be Thomas Cromwell, a slave boy disguised as a girl in 1856, or a trans girl finding her people in the mystical Street of Miracles.* But through the transcendent power of story, we can, for a brief moment, try to understand their worlds.
*Some of my recent favorite books: The Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel, The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, and Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom.
Stories Can Change the World
I also believe that women must be given more space in the world, and specifically in the publishing industry, to share their words. For too long, women-identifying and non-binary voices have been ignored or treated as less important. I aim to do my small part in correcting that, through my own writing telling stories of unknown but amazing women in history, but also as a coach who feels deeply that bringing forward unheard voices is fundamental to achieving real inclusion and equality.
As a cis-het white woman, I understand that I have been the recipient of privilege in so many ways, some of which I am still working to identify and learn from. This is work that will never be done. But I believe that gives me a responsibility to use that privilege to make a difference. How I can do this:
Continue to learn about how my (and other white peoples’) privilege permeates our writing and work to correct and eliminate those issues
Amplify other voices: promote and discuss published work (mostly fiction, as that is my focus) by authors from underrepresented communities
Support and encourage writing by people whose voices have traditionally been marginalized by sharing resources generously, including offering coaching services at discounted rates
During a year when everything else seemed immaterial, and writing seemed at best frivolous, Kerry’s work as a writing coach helped me keep focus on the merits of writing – and writing well. I had never worked with a writing coach before but the title is apt; despite several setbacks on my part, Kerry offered unflagging support throughout the entire process, challenging my work to meet her strict deadlines with clean, polished prose. In her responses, her comments ranged from incisive sentence-level suggestions to insightful conversation on the scope of the project, encouraging a dialogue in which we both enthusiastically discussed possibilities and revisions. And as a writer herself Kerry knows the feedback writers want to hear, but – more helpfully – gives the feedback we need to hear. Regardless if you are a writer who works individually or in a writing group, you recognize the joy of sharing your work with someone who appreciates the process as much as the material itself. Kerry is a writing coach who delights in the work, and I am indebted to her and her coaching for offering consistency and accountability during the time we worked together. Thank you, Kerry!"
—Andrew Burlile