Sam is an essayist whose works I deeply admire. Getting the chance to work with her and bounce my own ideas and workshop pitches with her was so pivotal in giving me the confidence to pursue my goal of publishing my work. She’s quick-witted, resourceful and highly motivating. Just like her writing.f
What I have loved most about working with Sam is that she doesn’t shy away from diving deep into your work alongside you no matter the topic. As someone who writes about personal traumas, I was initially terrified to open myself up to critique. But Sam’s feedback encouraged me to write more and dig deeper in creatively meaningful ways. She has done this for me by picking out threads in my work that I didn’t even know were there, pushing me to explore topics beyond the surface idea that brought me to write in the first place. It’s like she allows you to take a few licks of the lollipop and then says, ‘now what if we bite it – what’s in the center of the lollipop?’ Sam’s constructive feedback has helped me turn diatribes and streams of consciousness into tangible, impactful essays. Thanks to her I have been able to tell the real stories that were aching to get out. I also greatly cherish her instincts to suggest an author or piece of writing that can guide me in an essay I’m struggling with or a genre I am looking to fit into. Her knowledge of what is happening right now in the non-fiction space is impressively insightful and invaluable.
Before working with Sam, I never received formal creative writing training. But she made the process of writing — and the possibility of being a writer — feel entirely tangible. In less than a year, I went from dreaming about getting published to changing my life so that I could dedicate myself fully to writing. None of this would have been possible without Sam. What sets her apart isn’t just that she believes in my writing — it's that she got in the passenger seat and said, 'Let’s figure this essay out together.'
Before working with Sam, I never received formal creative writing training. But she made the process of writing — and the possibility of being a writer — feel entirely tangible. In less than a year, I went from dreaming about getting published to changing my life so that I could dedicate myself fully to writing. None of this would have been possible without Sam. What sets her apart isn’t just that she believes in my writing — it's that she got in the passenger seat and said, 'Let’s figure this essay out together.'
Working with Samantha, I got personalized feedback that I was able to apply immediately to my pitches and essays. The framework for pitches she providee is what I go to when I start brainstorming a story. With her help, I was able to publish my first essay with Business Insider!