1-on-1 Academic Writing Coaching for Graduate Students, Scholars, and Nonfiction Authors
Let's Talk About Your Writing
Is This Your Story?
You're educated and driven. You've already achieved so much. You're in a doctoral program, you've published, or you're teaching. Externally, you're thriving. But internally? It's a different story entirely.
◎ You're staring at a dissertation, tenure file, or publisher's contract, and the spark that got you here feels buried under obligations and self-doubt
◎ You're juggling a mountain of responsibilities. Teaching, service, administrative work, caregiving, health issues, and your own writing keep getting pushed
◎ You have powerful ideas that feel muddled in execution, and you're spending more time second-guessing than actually writing
◎ You're caught in the "shiny object" trap, saying yes to too many things and ending up with 50,000 commitments and a paralyzing sense of overwhelm
◎ You feel deeply isolated, writing completely alone without meaningful feedback or a community that understands what you're trying to do
◎ You can't say no, the boundary burnout is real, and you're working beyond your realistic capacity and resenting every minute of it
This was made for you if:
You don't need another piece of advice telling you to "just get your butt in the chair." You need personalized structure and accountability to bring clarity, consistency, and confidence back into your writing life.
You need someone who's been exactly where you are.
Introducing 1-on-1 Writing Coaching
I've been through those writing bootcamps myself. While tools like Asana or a "400-words-a-day" rule can be useful strategies, they're not foolproof methods. Every writer's process is complex and unique, and I honor that.
My approach is deeply personal and pragmatic, combining the clear-eyed precision of an editor with the reflective perspective of a coach. Think of it as a mix of a trusted mentor who's seen some of life's messy bits and a funny, creative friend with a sharp eye for what works. The result? A coaching space that's structured but never rigid, supportive but never performative, and both intellectually alive and deeply humane.
Let's Discuss Working Together →
We meet either weekly or bi-weekly (typically 3 times a month) to dig into your goals, blocks, and progress. These aren't performative check-ins. They're real conversations about what's actually happening in your writing life.
✓ Regular Coaching Sessions
What's Included
Before each session, you'll fill out a brief form reflecting on the previous week. This is a powerful segue into our conversation, helping structure our time and giving you space to process what's coming up for you.
✓ Pre-Session Reflection Forms
Sometimes it's simply spending 45 minutes looking at your calendar realistically. Sometimes it's identifying one section to focus on. It's always about gentle momentum, not more pressure.
✓ Actionable "Homework" (The Gentle Kind)
We continually review your progress, celebrating small wins and building in gratifications to counter the long-term nature of big projects. Because waiting until you defend your dissertation to feel good about yourself is not a sustainable strategy.
✓ Progress Reviews & Small Wins
I provide tools and exercises to help you tackle blocks and reframe your mindset. These are practices that stick with you beyond our coaching engagement.
✓ Reflection Tools You Can Use Long After We're Done
Areas We Can Explore Together
◎ Time & Project Management: Exploring routines that account for your actual life, not some fantasy version where you have unlimited energy and no responsibilities.
◎ Overcoming Blocks: Identifying what's underneath the resistance and procrastination… because it's rarely laziness and almost always something deeper.
◎ Balancing Multiple Roles: Managing the tension between teaching, research, creative work, and life without losing yourself in the process or resenting everything.
◎ Revision & Process: Learning to move between generative and critical modes without losing confidence or rewriting the same section 500 times.
◎ Reflection & Integration: Building habits of assessing progress and adjusting with intention, so you're learning from your process instead of just grinding through it.
◎ Mindset & Self-Trust: Addressing perfectionism, imposter feelings, and scarcity thinking, the stuff that keeps you stuck even when you have the time and space to write.
◎ Reconnecting with Your North Star: Rediscovering why your project matters, plus getting back to the "why" that made you start this in the first place.
◎ Boundaries & Capacity: Protecting writing time, saying no, and honoring your limits, even when the academic culture tells you that rest is for people who aren't serious.
Hi, I'm Verena Hutter
Academic Writing Coach & Editor, PhD
I started this coaching practice because I know exactly what that feels like. All the things I coach on are things I had to learn myself (with the help of a coach), often the hard way.
My whole approach is built on this idea that you can have clarity, structure, and kindness, all at the same time. I'm not offering a one-size-fits-all solution because I've been through those writing bootcamps myself, and I know that while tools can be useful, they're not magic.
My role is to guide, challenge, and hold space for you to shine, not to fix you, because you're not broken.
➔ A Safe, Structured Space
Our sessions will have energy and focus, but also humor. When you're in a vulnerable place, laughter helps you open up more than a lecture ever could.
➔ Humor and Curiosity
We'll work to reconnect you with the "why,” the purpose that made you start this project in the first place.
➔ Focus on Your North Star
Instead of giving you a rigid plan, I help you uncover your own rhythms, questions, and ways of working.
➔ No Imposed Formulas
Every writer's process is complex and unique, and I honor that. My approach is deeply personal and pragmatic, but I always listen with care and kindness.
My Approach: Deeply Personal, Never Cookie-Cutter
Kandyce A.
"Verena was exactly who I needed as I finished my dissertation. When I first came to her, I struggled with vision clarity, and focus in my writing. I was also beat down from imposter syndrome in the academy. Verena took the time to carefully listen to the meaning behind my words and offered revisions and suggestions that were true to the purpose of my work.
It is always so vulnerable to invite someone in the process of writing. Verena is a brilliant, well-rounded scholar, who could connect and push my work forward with in-depth feedback and attention to detail. I would not have finished without her."
I get it. You might be wondering if coaching is really what you need. Maybe you're too busy. Maybe you're uncertain about the process. Maybe you carry romantic myths about writing. Or maybe you're just tired of spending money on things that don't actually help.
You don't need to have it all figured out before we start working together. You just need a space where you can speak freely, be met with care, and explore what comes next without judgment.