Maria Maelstrom

Writing:

Writing services available for working professionals, businesses, or other applications. Drawing from a diverse background in writing and editing, I specialize in perfecting just the right voice for each piece. I am specifically focused on writing compelling copy without succumbing to keyword density or the most recent SEO trend. Instead, I build strong writing that gets your business noticed, teaches readers effectively, and is still enjoyable to read. 

Ghostwriting:

If you have an outline, but no time to flesh it out, or a book you need to get out into the world, but no space to make that happen, let’s talk.

Your voice, your content, your choices, your name.

Past publications include Forbes, Inc, North Bay Business Journal, Sacramento Business Journal, Washington Post, several novel-length works, and others. Topics have ranged from industry knowledge to fiction to dissertations to resumes, and many fine distinctions in between.

Editing & Proofreading:

Stared at the same document 100 times? Most of the way to the perfect press release, article, RFP response, or instructional documents, but not quite satisfied? Let the Orchard help you perfect your piece.

Well versed in track changes, Google docs, cross-team collaboration, versioning, CMS, and more.

Feedback Reading:

Getting actionable feedback on works in progress is one of the toughest hurdles writers encounter. Commentary can range from “I liked it!” to solipsistic prattle, and neither extreme is very useful.

Respecting the work in progress, the voice, artistic choice, and the viability of a work is all essential to good feedback that actually helps writers improve their work.

This service is provided for trade or pro bono for shorter works (gladly). Please contact me about longer work rates.

Testimonials:

“My writing success I owe, in large part, to Maria Winnie. Her help with editing and adding content to articles have gotten me published in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Inc Magazine, and more. I’m able to send her a rough draft, and she polishes it to perfection without any adjustments from me. She’s always spot-on and creates what I’ve envisioned with little or no direction. She is a mastermind and a one-of-a-kind gem. The biggest project we worked on was my book, From Receptionist to Boss: Real-Life Advice for Getting Ahead at Work, which ended up being an Amazon best seller. Maria helped edit, structure the flow, and added immense feedback that made the book even more practical. I highly recommend her for any writing, editing, brainstorming, and even getting feedback on topics.

“In addition, she’s helped me become a stronger writer. She provides ideas and suggestions to make my writing better and I’m so grateful. She is the best! Hire her now! You won’t regret it.”

– Nicole (Smartt) Serres, President, Star Staffing | http://www.starhr.com/

ORCHARD PHILOSOPHY

Language isn’t universal – it’s subjective and personal. The writer and the reader meet on common ground for just a moment, where the ideal outcome is understanding. Nuance, voice, inflection and timing are a delicate construction in the space between intention and comprehension. We use the same words to mean different things.

What, then, is language? It is a flexible, dependable tool to close the gap between thinker and reader (or listener) with endless room for interpretation.

Tending an orchard isn’t so different. We gauge how this branch reaches for sunlight and remove obstructions. We supplement soil with clarifications. We pick and carefully package the gems that grow, and hungry minds devour them. It is, in this respect, a sacred sort of work.

About me

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live,” wrote Joan Didion in The White Album. “We live entirely, especially if we are writers, by the imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images, by the “ideas” with which we have learned to freeze the shifting phantasmagoria which is our actual experience.” I have been a writer all my life, seeing new ways of understanding my world and the worlds of others. I take special pleasure in helping others express their stories, whether that’s in a business or creative setting.

I started asking hard questions as a child, and I haven’t stopped. Over the years, though, I’ve honed this skill to ask the right questions to get to the right solution.

I’m an unapologetic book nerd and a storyteller, with an aptitude for obeying or disobeying convention, and reaching audiences on their own terms. I grew up mostly in Northern Colorado, where I still live at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

To learn more about me or my services, contact me!