About KindWrite Studio

KindWrite Studio is a full-service company providing coaching, expert editorial assistance and personalized guidance for preparing work for submission and publication. In addition to working one-on-one to improve writing and readying pieces to publish, KindWrite hosts writing retreats where writers strengthen their craft, tap into their creativity, and build community with other writers in inspiring, supportive environments.

At KindWrite Studio, we help writers of all levels unlock their creativity and make concrete progress toward meeting their goals. Our small start-up provides the full gamut of everything an aspiring, intermediate or experienced writer might need, bringing our decades of collective experience with a personal touch.

Our philosophy is that everyone who wants to write should have that opportunity. They might just need a little help getting to their personal best.

In all that we do, the KindWrite team fosters safe spaces where writers feel empowered to take risks, share their work, and connect with others. We launched KindWrite because we’re driven to create a different approach. Our focus is creating spaces to help writers who have lost confidence, feel intimidated, and want compassionate and constructive editorial feedback and coaching. Our greatest joys come from helping people start a project, soar through the “messy middle,” finish a manuscript, and get published.

KindWrite team member Diana Friedman coaches writer at retreat

KindWrite Studio Team

Valerie Berton

Val has been holding a pen for as long as she can remember, always wanting to be a writer. After publishing award-winning stories in college, she became a reporter so she could keep at the craft. Then, when Val transitioned into public affairs, she applied her strong writing and editing skills and ability to create informative, persuasive messaging to help organizations tell their stories. Most recently, Val led a communications team at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where she built a reputation for message strategy; using the power of language to craft persuasive speeches; insightful editing; and mentoring colleagues. She has also worked as an editor for The Nature Conservancy, the National Center for Smart Growth and the NoMa (Washington, DC) Business Improvement District.

Val brings that same clarity and editorial rigor to KindWrite Studio, helping writers refine their work with accuracy, polish, and purpose. Frequently told she has a way with words, Val finds it rewarding to lend her skills and eye for powerful language to others. She has been a volunteer teacher at the Washington English Center and now mentors high school students on their college application essays as part of the African Diaspora College Access Program. She’s thrilled to return to her creative roots and partner with her longtime colleague and friend, Diana, to build a studio where writers are supported artistically and emotionally.

Diana Friedman

Diana Friedman is an award-winning author, editor and writing coach whose creative writing has appeared in literary journals, newspapers, blogs, and popular press magazines. Diana enjoys helping writers re-discover and nurture their creative selves through personalized coaching. She facilitates summer creative writing retreats in the Basque Pyrenees of Spain, and winter and spring writing retreats at Zigbone Farm Retreat Center. She writes a newsletter, Under the Red Pen, and is currently co-editing an anthology of short fiction from Maryland.

Diana grew up in a family of authors, where writing was not only revered, but also held to the highest standard. For years Diana worked as a research analyst, scientist, and science writer and editor, but kept her eye out for opportunities to help other writers and develop her own voice. Reclaiming that voice took hard-won personal work and a deep commitment to self-reflection, but along the way to building her writing, editing and teaching career, Diana discovered encouragement and compassion can coexist with rigor. Those years of gaining wisdom have paid off. At KindWrite, which she co-launched with her longtime friend and colleague, Val, she has created a unique way to nurture other creative voices – an approach grounded in empathy, curiosity, and respect. There is nothing she enjoys more than supporting other writers in telling their stories.

Learn More About KindWrite Services

Coaching | Editing | Submitting | Retreats