Writing Coach Experts
Essay Coaching offers the choice of two writing coaches:
About Essay Coaching’s Debbie Merion
Award-winning author and writing coach Debbie Merion has met many people who find it easier to visit the dentist than to write. With her upbeat passion for anything colorful or humorous, since 2004 she has helped thousands of students, authors and business professionals, and educators learn the secrets for telling their story in a unique and compelling way. Debbie is the founder of Essay Coaching.
Debbie holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree from Solstice Creative Writing Program of Pine Manor College. She is a college English instructor, an author of over 100 publications, a mother of two successful daughters who are using their college degrees, and was apparently a genius for ten minutes, in an WXYZ (Detroit ABC-TV) story called “Mom’s a Genius”
Debbie Merion, John Boshoven and Geri Markel, authors of Solving the College Admissions Puzzle and partners at collegeadmissionsadvisors.com
In 2011 she authored the second edition of Solving the College Admissions Puzzle: A Guide for Students and Families About College Selection, Essay Writing and High-Stakes Testing with co-authors John Boshoven, M.S.W, and Geri Markel, Ph.D. This book is a Gold Medal Winner of the 2014 Global Ebook Awards.
Read Debbie’s revealing story about how U-M admits undergraduates: “Paper Cut – The U-M Picks Its Freshman Class” This is the article that launched Essay Coaching and gave thousands of parents the “inside scoop” on how their application is read!
Read about Debbie’s books here.
About Essay Coaching’s Sarah J. Robbins
Sarah J. Robbins is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based writer, editor, strategist and mom.
She has worked with Essay Coaching since 2020.
Sarah has adapted several memoirs for young adults, including The New York Times-bestselling I Am Malala: My Story of Standing Up For Girls’ Rights. She is the coauthor of the award-winning adult memoirs Keeping Hope Alive and What it Takes, as well as a new memoir, which will be published by Viking Press in Fall 2024.
A longtime magazine editor, Sarah served most recently as editor-at-large with Consumer Reports. Her work has also appeared in Newsweek, Fortune, Glamour, Real Simple, and Publishers Weekly, among other publications. Founder of the Moms Demand Action Book Club, Sarah is the former managing director of the writing and mentoring organization Girls Write Now.
Sarah has a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Northwestern’s Weinberg School of Arts and Sciences, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from The New School.
“I’m excited to work with Essay Coaching students on their essays, because I know that every person has a powerful story to tell. I love helping people find their voice.” — Sarah J. Robbins