Nicole

Van Den Eng

Speculative Fiction Book Coach

Nicole is an extremely skilled writing and developmental coach and editor. Her guidance had a profound impact on the quality of my writing. She approached the job with professionalism and dedication of the highest caliber. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone seeking her services!

I wish I had hired Conquer Books years ago. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Nicole taught me every skill I was missing to write great stories. The editing she provides is also spectacular.

Nicole possesses a ceaselessly probing and fascinating mind: she’s looking for answers where others aren’t even asking questions. Her work challenges, engages and enlightens. Best of all, Nic has vision—she approaches her own writing with a clear idea of what she means to accomplish and she respects and champions the vision of other artists.

Nicole is a great critique partner. Her feedback is insightful in ways that I never expect, and she always presents her comments in a way that inspires me to think about my work from a new angle. Her passion for the written word is clear in her devotion to the writing craft and her thorough feedback, regardless of the genre, of whatever she reads.

Nicole is efficient, reliable, polite, and professional. What I like most about working with her is her efficiency, work ethic, and integrity. She’s focused on quality and doing the best job possible. Nicole is very knowledgeable about books. It’s delightful to talk to her about different authors and titles. I highly recommend working with Nicole!

About Nicole

They say, “If you want to be an expert at something, teach it.”

My goal is to have such a deep understanding of story that it becomes intuitive because I believe that to write an incredible book, you first have to understand what it’s supposed to look like when it’s complete. That sounds simple, but it is a lifelong endeavor. Some people take decades to fully understand story.

At a very young age, I decided I wanted to commit my life to the workings of books and stories. Since then, I have written millions of words, was awarded the Silver Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future Contest, have been a magazine columnist and senior editor, helped found my area’s first science fiction and fantasy convention, taught workshops, gave speeches, and helped other writers make great strides in their skills.

For almost a decade, I worked at a used bookstore which provided me with intricate knowledge of the publishing industry, functional cover design, and market trends. It also allowed me to build a huge personal collection of science fiction and fantasy books. Thanks to these experiences, I have highly specialized knowledge on the genre and I know what makes speculative fiction tick.

This has all led me here, to Conquer Books, where I work with my sister Rebecca coaching other writers to finished stories. I greatly value the skills I have gathered and my job is now to pass them onto you.