If you’re interested in any of these services, please reach out directly by email to essmaxfield[at]gmail[dot]com.

As a teacher, I serve on the faculty of Chris Tebbetts’ Theater Camp for Writers, a creative retreat hosted at The Highlights Foundation campus with occasional additional events elsewhere, including online. I also teach Tarot and hold a 200-hour level certification for yoga instruction.

As a consultant, I offer strategic support and facilitation for various projects primarily for nonprofit organizations, philanthropic foundations, and community organizers. I have over twenty years of experience working in nonprofits in New York City, including at the leadership level, with specific expertise in operations.

As an editor, I’m available for:

• improving clarity, structure, and impact for any project—fiction, business websites, strategic plans, operations manuals, cover letters, etc.
• word-smithing grants and residency applications to fit brutal word-count limits;
• sensitivity reading & editing for disability inclusion (specific context of lived experience provided to serious inquiries).

What folks say about working with me:

• “S is a miracle worker!”
  –Adrienne Westwood
  
  
• “Intelligence. Sensitivity. Professionalism. These are just a few words that come to mind when I think about S Maxfield and our work together on my short fiction. I met S at a workshop called Theater Camp for Writers, and their leadership, perceptiveness, and resourcefulness impressed me deeply. They directed a scene from one of my stories, and the guidance they offered yielded a revision that was a huge leap forward for the piece. Later on, wanting more from our collaboration, I reached out to them for a last-minute edit on my chapbook manuscript, and again, the stories evolved and improved because of their work. Finally, S was open to feedback I had about our process together, a sign of someone who cares deeply about their practice and about their clients. S is a wonderful partner and professional who will help you grow your writing to the next level.”
  –Gail Marlene Schwartz
  
  
• “Working with S has been impactful to our business, as we have grown, and needed to create clear messaging through our emails with customers, information for our website and communication with colleagues. Ours is a unique business that requires careful messaging and S has been a thought partner with us—and consistently delivers well-written, clear information for us that meets our exact needs. At times, S understands what we need better than we do! We emphatically trust S and their partnership has been—and is—integral to our company’s growth.”
  –Becky Thomas
  
  
• “You won’t find a more thoughtful editor than S. I’ve spent the past year working with two editors on my book, and the feedback on the chapter I sent S was light-years ahead of anything I had already received from others. S/he cares about my readers and is a stickler for truth and detail. That was exactly what I needed.”
  –Naomi Vladeck
  
  
• “S Maxfield is an inspired editor.  S/he’s a thoughtful and insightful reader who gives nuanced responses to one’s writing, always in a respectful way.”
  –Lenora Champagne