by marketing | Apr 10, 2026 | Blog
Like other writing coaches, I have often called out the use of “was” in literary works. Its passivity robs sentences of story impact. The common advice is that writers conduct global search and destroy missions to rid writing of those three letters in favor of...
by marketing | Jan 21, 2026 | Blog
Michael J. Coffino shows how to keep your readers glued to the page by cranking up the tension. From cliffhangers to character conflict, he shares tips every writer can put to work right away. At a writer’s workshop, my feedback in response to a student reading of a...
by Michael Coffino | Jun 16, 2025 | Blog
The debut novelist grounded her story in a personal battle with trauma, driven by a need to tell her truth—not just to share her pain, but to highlight dangers she encountered and offer a guide for others to avoid the pitfalls and suffering she endured. Her writing...
by Michael Coffino | May 1, 2025 | Blog
The novel opens in the kitchen of a New York City tenement. The husband has returned after an exhausting day manning a newsstand in frenetic Penn Station expecting to decompress first with a cold beer and then a homecooked meal. Instead, he finds his wife seated at...
by Michael Coffino | Dec 11, 2021 | Blog
I have in the past written and spoken about what I believe are the keys to being an effective collaborative writer, aka a “ghostwriter.” They include crafting the client writing voice; building trust within the collaborative relationship; knowing how to ask, when to...
by Michael Coffino | Aug 6, 2021 | Blog
Book promotion is relentlessly exhausting. It requires constant attention, patience, and tons of industry. The challenge is especially exacting if you embark on a campaign of radio interviews and podcasts. Whether they are worth the time and effort is open to debate,...
