Welcome to
The Story Salon.

Where Sound Structure + Smart Revision = Stronger Stories.

I’m Tanya Brooking, Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach and writer. I help writers of all levels bring their stories onto the page with authenticity, momentum, and a real plan so they can finish writing their books with confidence and joy.

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Hello! I’m so glad you’re here.

The Story Salon is the place where you’ll find honest guidance & personal feedback, no matter what level of writer you are. My training and experience brings structure, clarity, and momentum to your writing life so you can complete, revise, and polish your manuscript and move on to querying or self-publishing with confidence.

Whether you need help getting started, untangling a draft, or refining a full manuscript, I’ll guide and support you with coaching that is practical and specific so you can show up for yourself and the story you need to tell.

About You

You love stories.

Something big made you start writing. Let's get back to your passion.

You have a story idea in your head or in your heart and you are ready to write.

Or maybe you’ve already written pages, revised, and polished the opening a gazillion times, but you cannot get past a certain point.

Is it that pesky murky middle? Are you starting in the right place? Does the plot make sense? Perhaps you worry you have wasted time on a story that is not going anywhere. Wherever you’re at in your writing journey, I’ll meet you there.

The special sauce

When a gorgeous sentence sings, when a plot hole suddenly becomes a twist, when the voices in your head become characters with agency: that is what writers live for.”

About Me

Helping writers bring their stories into the light is so gratifying.

I love guiding writers to build strong foundations for their stories so they can construct an unputdownable book.

My mantra is: Sound Structure + Smart Revision = Stronger, Sellable Stories

Often, writers long to tell a story, but they’ve stalled out somewhere along the way. This could be even before words make it onto the page or after they’ve been circling a half-written novel for years. Or they may have a completed manuscript but haven’t found the courage to put it out into the world because they worry something is wrong with their story.

My belief is every writer can write with the right tools & guidance. I am constantly deepening my understanding of craft, with a particular emphasis on characterization & a plot structure that holds, from an attention-grabbing hook to a deeply satisfying The End.

So when we work together, you’ll complete your manuscript with strategy, not meandering. You’ll understand your genre conventions, you’ll create tension, you’ll write with specificity, you’ll create a vivid, immersive world, and you’ll revise and polish until the narrative has a tight, page-turning pace.

Who I’m not: A robot. I do not use A.I. to evaluate your work. I am not totally anti-A.I.; I use it for research & I sometimes write about it in my newsletters because we cannot ignore the giant robot in the room.

More About Me View Pricing Book a Discovery Call

Working Together

Let’s start with a pop quiz! Don’t stress…there are no wrong answers.

Your responses will help you clarify where you’re at in your process so you can get the service you want & need now.

Your name Email What time zone are you in? What’s your story’s status now? What are your most recent favorite books, series, and/or films? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve Googled for this book? What do you most need help seeing clearly?

Success Stories

I’m so grateful for the authors who have trusted me with their stories!

Kudos from some of the writers who have trusted me to help them with structure, revision, query preparation, and the confidence to keep going:

Robin Wilkey Gregory

"It worked. After a few months of querying, I landed a dream agent who rarely takes on new clients."

I worked with Tanya Brooking as my book coach in 2025-2026 as I edited and prepared to pitch my novel. Her guidance was absolutely integral to its success.

It was clear early on how invested Tanya was in my project. Her detailed Q&A helped me narrow in on my goals for both this project and my long-term writing career. Though I’d put off my synopsis, Tanya helped me understand why it was important not only to the pitch package, but to the story itself. After toiling over my query and synopsis for several days, I sent them off with my manuscript and awaited Tanya’s response.

What I received back was nothing short of gold. With a full markup of both the synopsis and query, as well as an incredibly detailed editorial letter, Tanya forced me to look at the story and how I was pitching it in a new light. Tanya’s deep understanding of story allowed me to see the holes in mine and identify where it wasn’t living up to the promise of the pitch package. Tanya noted that my protagonist wasn’t driving the plot and pointed out specific instances where she could do so.

Tanya's feedback was clear and actionable, and my mind was blistering with new ideas after reading it. Writing can be such nebulous and personal work, but Tanya strikes a perfect balance between providing clear and direct feedback while also being your most ardent cheerleader. She spent an hour with me on the phone talking through questions, clarifying notes, and making me believe in the potential of my story.

Her edits to my query letter and synopsis made them tighter, stronger, and thankfully shorter. Finally, she provided a personalized list of target agents, outlining why they were a fit for me and this story specifically, and how to best approach them based on their unique styles and preferences.

It worked. After a few months of querying, I landed a dream agent who rarely takes on new clients. Now, we are working through minimal edits before we go out on submission. I am confident this would not have happened without Tanya’s help. I am forever grateful, and she has highest recommendation.

Robin Wilkey Gregory