(in other words, We Help You Improve Your Writing and Craft)
You and I both know that writing is a craft. It’s a craft we spend all our time researching, perfecting, and creating...yet it somehow never feels finished.
There was one thing I found missing in the world of writing: the camaraderie.
It was the “You & I” part that I mentioned above.
While we know there are other writers out there, doing the same things and dealing with the same endless cycles, it can sometimes feel like you’re all alone.
Our Story
I’m Elisa Doucette, Founder of Craft Your Content. I’m a lover of language, always interested in where words come from and what history is behind them.
I've spent years (okay, almost two decades) writing my own articles and posts, working in the world of content marketing before it was a world we all knew about. As the rough and tumble world of bloggers transformed into a motley crew of professional writers and creatives, the mission to improve began.
Enter the elusive “editor.” Enter the boring grammar rules I didn’t want to follow. Enter the misguided help that resulted in changing my words and opinions into theirs.
I created Craft Your Content because, well, I was over this narrative.
I was tired of hearing frustrated writers at all levels, living in fear that they were getting stripped out of their own writing. I wanted the teamwork, and I wanted to go beyond just being fellow writers. I wanted to build a community, create a safe space (where you may hear the occasional cuss word, just warning you), and help give writers the confidence to finally feel that “ah-ha” moment.
To feel like your time, research, dedication to and perfection of your craft was worth every single moment spent behind your keyboard.
Want to learn more about us? Sign up for The Writing Rundown, and we'll send our best writing resources and content every weekend - straight to your inbox!
What We Do
In a world that is every-(wo)man-for-(her)himself, writing doesn’t have to be.
Our team knows those thoughts swirling around in your head because we’ve been there, too. We know what it’s like to second guess your work, to feel overwhelmed with deadlines and consistency, to wonder if it’s all really worth it, and to feel the surge of anxiety every time you press that “Publish” button.
The thing that Craft Your Content does differently than other editors is that we partner with you.
We want to be creative collaborators who help you to craft content that works for you, is high quality, and lets you release tension rather than live with it.
Our team offers empathy and banter in place of cold-editing and impersonal communication. We offer two-way conversation, not just critiques.
We work with you, not against you.
As a trusted partner in your writing and creative endeavors, we provide two different levels of support to professional writers and entrepreneurs who have a goal of rising above the noise of online content and make their own words, their own craft, even better.
Our first level of support offers:
Courses and Community where you can work alone or in groups to improve your writing and get the results you crave.
Want a more one-on-one approach? We offer that as well.
Our second level of support offers:
Proofreading, Content Editing, Content Management, Content Strategy, and Writing Coaching for those who are looking to achieve their maximum performance, go beyond superficial successes, and dig deep with our team of witty yet talented individuals.
Meet the CYC Team
A collaborative like this does not run on the power of any individual. We have an accomplished team of writing experts and business pros who are at the ready to work with members and clients to make their words exceptional.
We help writers who are looking to bring their writing to "the next level", are in the process of creating a brand, or want to use high-quality content promote a business. We love entrepreneurs, seasoned professionals, and anyone who is trying to upgrade their writing game.
We work with writers who want to focus on the quality and authority of their writing. We don’t offer generic instructions and don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach.
At the heart of it all, we care most about you as a human being.
Our team recognizes that you need to be your most genuine and authentic self, and we are firm believers in helping you do that. Rather than changing your voice or sacrificing your ideas in favor of perfect prose or correct grammar, we help make you (and your own words) even better.
While of course SEO and other “fun” details are important, we believe that they are all secondary when you are able to craft content that is good.
You can read more about our promise to our clients in our Editor’s Creed.
Elisa's advice and counsel as an editor has proven invaluable as she has a deep understanding of both the business implications of content as well as what makes good writing in the first place. Since we started working together, my brand presence has increased by an order of magnitude.
Taylor Pearson
Essayist, Author, Entrepreneur
Elisa and the CYC team have been such a gift to me in my pursuit to tell my business's story. I honestly think if it weren't for Elisa, I would not have been able to get the courage or words to land a writing gig I was excited about, nor the accountability and forward progress to keep it.
Carrie McKeegan
Greenback Expat Tax Services, Columnist at INC
We had a new business meeting with the head of marketing for a huge company and he said that he thinks our marketing/thought leadership (particularly the Medium publication) is some of the best he's ever seen. I attribute much of that to the editing help CYC has given us.
Sam Spurlin
Managing Editor at The Ready
Craft Your Content provides accountability, support, expertise, and gives you our dedication. All that we ask is that you give us your dedication, in return.
Welcome to the CYC family. We’re glad you’re here.
As a bonus for reading all about us, we want to share one of our most helpful starter resources with you. If you find yourself struggling to find your voice and vision, we’re here to show you how.
Our FREE 10-Day Course helps you define what you want to say, and how you want to say it. Like building up a personal resume of the “why” behind your craft.
You’ll also receive our fortnightly newsletter, filled with tips on how to write content that captures your voice.
We may be biased, but this is one you’re not going to want to miss.
As a bonus for reading all about us, we want to share one of our most helpful starter resources with you. If you find yourself struggling to find your voice and vision, we’re here to show you how.
Our FREE 10-Day Course helps you define what you want to say, and how you want to say it. Like building up a personal resume of the “why” behind your craft.
You’ll also receive our weekly newsletter, filled with tips on how to write content that captures your voice.
We may be biased, but this is one you’re not going to want to miss.
Disclaimer: We do make money when you click various links and offers, through their affiliate programs, including Amazon Service LLC Associates. There is NO increased cost for you, and sometimes we're even able to swing some sweet affiliate deals for our audience. It is important you know, we'd promote these resources even if we didn't make money from them. Which is why you can choose to purchase and show us some love, or just do business on your own. No hard feelings.
Elisa has worked for over a decade creating compelling content and writing for various businesses and publications. A frequent contributing writer, podcast guest, and event speaker, her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Forbes, Yahoo! Small Business, The Shine Network, The Huffington Post, and Brazen Careerist among others. She spends most of her time consuming unnatural amounts of coffee, tea, red wine, microbrews, bourbon…pretty much anything liquid and delicious. With no home base, she travels the planet looking for great stories to live, interesting tales to share, and new ways to make words sexy. When she’s not drinking her way around the world, she is likely curled up with her Kindle, devouring a new book.
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: Great writing must be your foundation for popular and authority-building content. Marketing tricks and tactics can get eyes on your site, and you can optimize and analyze for every button and metric – and you should absolutely consider them if you want to be serious about writing online or for an audience. But if what you have to say and how you say it are not well-thought out and presented, your audience will not care.
Location:Aberdeen, Scotland
Most Read Book:The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon and The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Favorite Story to Tell: Up to the age of 30, I had never lived outside the state of Maine or traveled further than Canada. Then, I landed a gig that put me on a one-way flight, with a shiny new passport, to live for six months in Bali, Indonesia. In my first three weeks living abroad, I got into a fight at a club, held hostage in a taxi, was robbed, and finally thrown off the back of a motorbike when we were hit head-on – ending in three surgeries on my knee. I managed to power through and have some badass scars to prove it. Been traveling ever since. This is either extreme confidence or complete idiocy. The jury is still out.
If you want to connect, it is usually easiest to catch me on Twitter or GoodReads.
Erika Rasso - Executive Assistant & Director of Development
Erika Rasso graduated from the University of Central Florida with a B.A. in English and marketing. She has worked as a writing consultant, an editor for a literary journal, and an editor for an academic journal. She’s currently located in sunny Los Angeles pursuing an MFA in Screenwriting at UCLA. She is a cat and dog person, because why should we have to choose? And she spends most of her time pouring over television scripts, either the ones she's written or the ones she hopes to learn from.
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: Even though I love grammar and the strategic ways it is used to convey ideas, I don’t believe that your writing has to be mechanically perfect to be exceptional. If we look back on Nathaniel Hawthorne and James Joyce, their works are filled with run on sentences and misused punctuation, and they are still regarded as literary masters! Besides, grammar is always evolving. A mistake you’ve made in one article may no longer be a mistake a month or two later.
Location:Los Angeles, California, USA
Most Read Book:The Harry Potter series
Favorite Story to Tell: When I was in Paris with my parents, we were taking a bike tour and I was lagging behind. We were crossing a busy street and a bus turned the corner and hit me! I was completely okay, the bus was going really slow, but I was very mad that the bus didn’t wait for me!
Sarah Ramsey holds a master’s in Science, Technology and Public Policy, and has spent the last 17 years working for space-focused organizations like NASA. She wishes she could write space-based, because if she could live anywhere else, Mars would be it. She has written for senior government officials, scientists, and engineers, translating technobabble into English, and creating content and messaging for the best government agency on the planet. She decided to escape the cubicle lifestyle and pursue the other 30 or so things she’s interested in, including more writing for fun.
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: Because I like contradictions, I believe that to write well you must always be thinking, and that you shouldn’t overthink. Writing is like the overflow buffer for your brain – you get your thinking all out on the screen or in notebooks (or on napkins, the back of envelopes, old receipts buried in your purse). But it doesn’t help to overthink while you’re writing. Just write. Do whatever works for you, and worry about perfection on the second draft.
Location:Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Most Read Book:Jacqueline Carey’s first Kushiel trilogy
Favorite Story to Tell:My high school had an exchange program with a school in Germany. During my month-long stay there, we took a three-day trip to Berlin. We were there when the country voted on keeping the still-newly unified country’s capital in Bonn or moving it back to Berlin. Berlin won the vote, and the city went crazy in celebration. Strangers were hugging each other, cars honked, people cheered, there was a massive crowd in the Breitscheidplatz – for a group of kids from a small town in Arkansas, this was like nothing we’d ever seen. We were welcomed to the celebration like we were from there, and that changed the way I looked at the world.
Chris Angelis has a PhD in English literature from the University of Tampere. Besides his academic research in Gothic/horror & science fiction literature, he is also a writer of literary fiction, and the owner of a literature blog, Home For Fiction. Furthermore, he develops Android apps focusing on literature, writing, and texts in general.
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: Writing is not about sales, recognition, riches, or glory. It’s not about pleasing others. Writing is about an attempt to understand the world and, if possible, to dream a better one into being. Ultimately, we all write for ourselves.
Location:Tampere, Finland
Most Read Book:For purely practical reasons (my doctoral dissertation), I must have read Dracula so many times that it’s embarrassing to count.
Favorite Story to Tell: When I was 11 or 12, vacationing at my grandparents’ house, I accidentally drank some lighting fluid that was kept in an empty water bottle. I was terrified, but even more so when I heard a neighbor suggesting I should be taken to the hospital. My grandparents thought there was no danger – they gave me to drink some milk and olive oil. I was fine a few hours later, though my breath smelled like a disintegrating diesel engine for a couple of days. Ah, fun times…
Joaquin is a graduate of Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with a degree in Business Administration. He was a software engineer for many years, working mostly for the U.S. government as a contractor. He has always enjoyed the idea of trying to interpret what people are saying, either verbally or in writing and has always been interested in languages. That’s how he found his way into copy editing and proofreading, which he really enjoys. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling (Utah is a beautiful state) and tries to stay in shape by taking kickboxing classes (He’s a karate black belt).
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: If you want something hard enough, you’ll find a way to get it or get it done. Define your goal, draw up a plan, and execute the plan. Repeat or refine as necessary. This applies to writing too.
Location:Saint George, Utah
Most Read Book:The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Favorite Story to Tell: A friend of mine and I were in Australia many years ago, in the U.S. military. One night, we were approached by a couple of “characters” in a nightclub. They asked us to go somewhere else for drinks. We did. Came to find out, both individuals were from a couple of unfriendly Eastern Bloc countries, trying to get my friend and me drunk and probably looking to get information out of us. We got out of there fast.
D. T. Yates graduated from the University of South Carolina Upstate with a degree in Theatre Performance and a minor in creative writing. He has worked as an actor, editor for a literary magazine, and studies piano in his spare time. His hopes are to one day start his own entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as book publishing.
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: In all that we say, in all that we do, and in all we hope to achieve, if we have not love, we say nothing, do nothing, and achieve nothing. So we must respect and care for others (especially our critics) as love expects of us, for through this practice is the only true path to perfection. In other words, we must write what we love, for those we love, to achieve an overarching goal that we love, otherwise, we ultimately gain nothing.
Location:Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA
Most Read Book:Due to it being a required read/study for almost every class I took in college, Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House is a play I've had to have read 100+ times.
Favorite Story to Tell: During a summer break in college, I spent two weeks acting in London. One night, while walking beside the River Thames with some new friends of mine, we ran into a member of our group sleeping on a bench with his messenger bag resting comfortably beside him. We tried to wake him to take him back to the flats, but he very impolitely told us to "leave him be". So we did. The next morning, when he came strolling around, his bag had been stolen as well as his shoes. He blamed us, but we just thought it was funny. I'm not sure he ever learned his lesson...
As someone whose childhood was spent having books pried away from her at the dinner table, a future working with words was almost inevitable. Giselle studies English at the University of Calgary, and has worked as a writer/copyeditor for a newspaper, freelance proofreader/editor, and piano teacher. She hopes to one day relocate to Central America, but for now is making the most of snowy Calgary by getting out to the Rocky Mountains as much as she can, and spending cozy nights in learning how to play new instruments.
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: To channel James Michener, the best writers are really the best revisers. No one’s first draft is perfect, and it’s far more important to get rough ideas down on paper than to be completely happy with your writing on the first try.
Location:Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Most Read Book: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Favorite Story to Tell: My sister and I were in Nicaragua last summer, and as we were walking to our hostel using the map they had provided, we realized that the path led through a river. There was no bridge in sight, however, and there was a “No swimming — Crocodiles in river” sign posted on the shore. The hostel had failed to mention that they were located across a crocodile-infested river! We survived, but the few minutes spent wading through the water were nerve-wracking, to say the least.
Julia Hess graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a Master of Arts degree in English. She has worked as a college writing tutor and instructor, an editor for DASH Literary Journal, a contributor and editor for a hyperlocal blog in Seattle, and a content and copywriter for a craft beer delivery service (yes, she does get to sample the beer!). Her love for writing and reading began at the age of six; she was writing Harry Potter fan fiction long before she found it on the internet. Her favorite show on Netflix is the one she hasn’t seen yet. The only thing preventing Julia from fulfilling her dream of becoming a stand-up comedian is herself– she prefers telling her jokes sitting down. (*ba-dum, tsss*)
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: You don’t always need a super rigid outline to produce a powerfully written piece. Organization is definitely important, but it can sometimes be easier to reorganize ideas and paragraphs once it’s all been written out, since some of your best ideas may form organically while you’re writing. Making a loose outline is great if that’s your style, but it’s also good to be flexible with your own ideas – they could totally develop in new and exciting ways beyond what you envisioned in the first place!
Location:Seattle, Washington, USA
Most Read Book:A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Favorite Story to Tell: My friend was hanging out at my house, looking for food in my refrigerator. Stealthily, I snuck up on her and hid behind the refrigerator door, then I leaped out from hiding while burping extremely loudly. My friend screamed, slammed the refrigerator door, started running away, and then slipped on the kitchen tiles. We were both laughing so hard that we couldn’t breathe. Needless to say, I learned that day that burps can be dangerous.
Nathan Winfrey graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in journalism and a minor in creative writing. After years navigating a colorful succession of reporting and editing jobs, he took the helm of his hometown newspaper before eventually becoming the copy editor for the largest state agency in Oklahoma.
Nathan spends his free time plunging into the third draft of his novel, systematically exchanging his blood for coffee, bungling through language-learning apps, sitting on sunny patios, secretly binge-reading when nobody’s looking, petting other people’s dogs, and traveling the world with nothing but a backpack and a camera.
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: Writing is one of few things you can get better at without practicing. How? By reading! Audiobooks are wonderful, but as much as possible, read with your eyes, not your ears. Read deliberately. Google every word you don’t know. Keep a running toolbox of words and phrases you like and want to remember. Pay attention to sentence structure. Spelling. Remember the rules the author breaks and why.
Location:Oklahoma City, USA
Most Read Book:I don’t really re-read books unless it’s for reference or study, but I do find myself going back to certain authors just to return to that familiar voice. I go on Stephen King kicks every few years.
Favorite Story to Tell: I was in Istanbul unexpectedly and needed to explain to some teenage kids at the airport that I wanted to hitch a ride in my friend’s prepaid shuttle and just pay when I got to my hostel. Suddenly, a third kid appeared, holding out for me (in a hand lined with visible dirt) a small blue object the size of a peppercorn. I bravely stupidly popped it in my mouth, and immediately the kid yelled, “Ecstasy!” Startled, I spit it back into my hand. And then he said, “Şeker!” (sugar). Of course it was sugar. I put it back in my mouth. “Ecstasy!” he warned again, laughing, and I spit it out a second time. That probably would have gone on all day, but there comes a point when something’s been spat out enough times that it needs to go in the trash.
Yi Shun Lai has worked with words for over twenty years. She publishes and edits the Tahoma Literary Review, a thrice-annual literary magazine, and writes both fiction and nonfiction. She teaches creative writing in workshops and classes at the college level when she’s not working for CYC, and has an irrational fear of earthworms, slugs, and sharks. Her debut novel has been in its fourth printing forever.
I believe in this principle, even though it isn’t always the popular opinion: Someone out there will always be better at what you do than you are right now. Find these people, learn from them, and then teach someone else.
Location:Southern California
Most Read Books:Anna Karenina. And okay, The Wind the in the Willows.
Favorite Story to Tell: In the late 90s, I was a copywriter for the legendary J. Peterman catalog. In other words, I was Seinfeld’s “Elaine” before she was even “Elaine.” And then I moved to a new apartment, which I quickly found out was down the street from where they filmed George Constanza’s parents’ apartment on Seinfeld. Life, imitating, art, yadda yadda yadda.
