Welcome to The Story Within

 Editorial Services

Eight of my clients have landed traditional book contracts in the last few years: Simon and Schuster, Dover Press, Roman and Littlefield, to name a few. Are you next?



Editing  Manuscript evaluation, guidance, and developmental editing for novels, memoirs, short stories, and essays.Send a description of your project, 10 double-spaced sample pages and a word count to lauraoliver2@yahoo.com for an editing plan recommendation and firm estimate.

Coaching Working together on your manuscripts provides as rich a learning experience as a semester in an MFA program. Detailed edits and consultations in person, by phone or Zoom.

Publishing Proposal editing, queries and publishing guidance. 

Writing Workshops on all elements of craft, privately and at The Writer's Center.

The Power of Words Workshops Writing becomes a tool for moving through grief, getting emotionally unstuck, rewriting (re-righting) your life story and finding the lost self.  



ClientTestimonials:

"Wow, just wow. Your workshops are practical, inspiring, so helpful. I am looking forward to writing this afternoon. First a nap." :) Annie McKenzie

"Thank you for such quick feedback. There is alot there to mull over, indeed. I so appreciate how kind you are in your critique. It is a gift that you have to present a realistic picture with hope." Tina Hudak,  editorial client

"I must tell you how many books I have on my shelf by authors – Zinsser, Caro, McPhee – and they did not give such marvelous advice and tips on settings as you did on Saturday!!"  Elaine Anderson (setting workshop participant)

"Fabulous writing prompts, all of them inspiring! You are always so well-prepared, organized, full of examples and a delight to listen to."-Ann Stewart (Your True Voice workshop participant.)

"Your help has been essential to my growth as a writer." --Barrie Zucal, coaching client.

"You make dreams come true!"--Barbara Pruitt, writing mentee

2021 Spring and Summer Workshops

see workshops page

  LAURA OLIVER, M.F.A.

Laura Oliver is the author of The Story Within: New Insights and Inspiration for Writers (Penguin Random House), named by "The Writer Magazine" as one of the best writing books of the year, and additionally selected by "Poets and Writers Magazine" as one of the best writing books ever published. After 8 printings and being sold in every Barnes and Noble in the country for 8 years, the book is now available online. A developmental book editor, instructor, writer, speaker, and author, Oliver has taught both essay and fiction writing at the University of Maryland and St. John's College.  

Oliver's fiction and essays are published in national newspapers, magazines and top-tier literary reviews (The Washington Post, Country Living Magazine, The Writer Magazine, The Sun Magazine, Glimmer Train Stories, Charleston Magazine, Portland Magazine, The Baltimore Review, Rosebud, Redux, Loose Change and Annapolis LIfestyle to name a few.) Among other distinctions, she is the recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Fiction, an Anne Arundel County Arts Council Literary Arts Award winner, a two-time Glimmer Train Short Fiction finalist, and her work has been nominated for inclusion in the Pushcart Prize Collection. 

Co-creator of The Writing Intensive at St. John's College, Oliver holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Bennington College, a Bachelor of Arts in English from Washington College, and has completed multiple writing seminars in creative non-fiction at the University of Iowa.

Oliver has completed professional education seminars on positive psychology taught by the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania and numerous professional education seminars sponsored by the Maryland Psychological Association. She has taught writing workshops at The Writer's Center, at Annapolis Wellness House, Anne Arundel Medical Center, Ridegly Retreat, and the Life Center of Chesapeake Hospice.

photo by Laura Dobbs

“Packed with new ideas and deeply engaging, The Story Within inspires, instructs and entertains. Laura Oliver is an immensely talented writer, teacher and storyteller. This book is fun to read and will make you a better writer.”

 --Jon Franklin, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism and the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing.

"I am grateful to my writing coach, Laura Oliver, who played a critical role in getting me started on this path by inspiring me to write my memoir. Thank you for the wisdom and loving encouragement you provided during such a vulnerable time in my life."--Michele Pearce, Ph.D author of "Night Bloomers, 12 Principles for Thriving in Adversity." (lxia/Dover Press.)