Writing Coach and Editor
I'm an experienced writer and editor who can coach you through the process of
starting, finishing, or editing your writing project. I have experience helping clients with:
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Business and professional writing
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Memoirs and personal essays
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Academic papers, theses, and dissertations
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Fiction and poetry
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Arts reviews—books, films, and music
My own essays, reviews, creative non-fiction, and poems have been published in The Los Angeles Review of Books, Senses of Cinema, Reading in Translation, BOMB, The American Poetry Review, Raritan, All About Jazz, New York Review Books, and elsewhere. I'm an editor at Indie Books International and a contributing editor at The Los Angeles Review of Books.
My approach is supportive and collaborative. I can help at any stage of the writing process. I’ll help you find and hone your writing voice.
I meet with clients via Zoom and other online platforms.
Testimonials
As a professor of Comparative Literature, I have worked with Eric on several literary and scholarly projects, relying on his superb intellectual acumen, creative thinking, and copyediting skills. Eric is a reliable, organized, and dedicated collaborator who brings a thorough understanding of literature, writing, and literary analysis coupled with a profound knowledge of cinema and film criticism. An avid reader, an engaging, informed writer, and a hard worker, he elevates any project and makes it stand out.
—Stiliana Milkova, Director of Comparative Literature, Oberlin College, author of Elena Ferrante as World Literature, and editor of Reading in Translation
Eric Gudas is a rare find—an editor who generously brings his keen intellect and literary gifts to bear on another writer’s work. His wide-ranging background in teaching and coaching writing, publishing his own essays, book reviews and poetry, reading the classics, and mastering The Chicago Manual of Style makes him an invaluable resource. My first experience with Eric involved developmental and copy edits on a 24-page memoir. On every page of my document, he suggested changes that supported my meaning and improved my piece as a whole. I was so pleased with his in-depth and sensitive notes that I enlisted his help with a larger project. He edited all the content on my new website, Beyond Ben Graham, he and continues to provide incisive comments and edits on my latest posts. I find him to be reasonable in price, honest, prompt, smart, and big-hearted in his approach. I highly recommend Eric Gudas to anyone wishing to ready a piece of writing for submission or publication, whether it be a short article or a book-length manuscript.
—Charlotte Janis, author, BeyondBenGraham.com
Eric Gudas’s thoughtful and intelligent editing skills will keep your own voice front and center even as he improves your writing. Eric knows the craft of writing inside and out.
—Matt Selman, Executive Producer, The Simpsons
Eric Gudas is a superb editor. He knows all there is to know about structure, grammar, punctuation — all those things that can drive people crazy when they don’t know. Even more important, Eric understands people’s intentions. He can turn any piece of writing, from the non-profit sector to business and technology, from promotional to literary material, into the very best it can be. He works quickly and effectively. He is currently editing a book manuscript with which I’m involved, so I’ve had a chance to see his editorial acumen first-hand, He has my highest recommendation.
—Janet Sternburg, Author, Editor. Books include The Writer on Her Work, Volumes 1 & 2 (W. W. Norton) and White Matter: A Memoir of Family and Medicine (Hawthorne Books)
Eric Gudas transformed my manuscript from a rough and unsteady draft to a solid, publishable product. What most impressed me working with him was his patience and incredible skills as a writer and editor. But here’s where Eric really distinguishes himself from other would-be editors and writing coaches: he knows how to suggest changes without insisting on them. After working with Eric, I felt as though I was still the chief creator of my project, while he was only too happy to take on the role of the gentle aid that guided me towards its completion.
—Alejandro Escudé, author of My Earthbound Eye (2012 Sacramento Poetry Center Press Book Manuscript Award winner) and
The Book of the Unclaimed Dead (Main Street Rag)
Eric Gudas and I have worked on many projects together, and he is a capable and committed writer. His prose is clean and compelling, he’s responsive to shifting client needs and feedback, and he’s an all-around pleasure to work with. I can’t recommend him highly enough.
—Ross Mudrick, Ross Mudrick without Associates
