The Path to The Story Grid

Beginnings

The year is 2015. Shawn Coyne, an accomplished veteran of the New York publishing industry with an editorial background forged in the Big Five houses, has just finished his magnus opus, The Story Grid. It's taken him three years to write it— which is about 2.5 years longer than he'd originally imagined.

The nonfiction volume has been edited by Coyne's business parther, the LA-based novelist/screenwriter Steven Pressfield. They will publish the book under their own imprint, Black Irish Entertainment. It's time to get the word out.

Coyne's problem is doubt.

He's proud of the book— it represents his life's work as an professional editor of an astounding number of successful books. But he's uneasy about how the book's lessons will land. Has he been clear enough, concise enough, impactful? He developed his Story Grid methodology over decades of working with authors, but having given himself the task to write it all out in a manner suitable for complete strangers to read and understand, he isn't so sure. He's an editor, not a teacher.

It's an internet world. He needs a web site to promote the book and has no idea how to create one. He takes a course from a book marketing specialist named Tim Grahl. Coyne creates a web site and begins filling it willy-nilly with content, borrowing heavily from the text of the book. He wonders along the way if what he's doing is useful, if it will actually help people discover the book and embrace his ideas.

The 10 Episode Podcast

A short time later, the instructor of the web site course contacts him. Tim Grahl (an aspiring fiction writer) is hopeful Coyne will agree to spend 30 minutes with him by telephone and answer a few basic questions about writing. Coyne agrees.

The call is scheduled and goes nearly two hours. Grahl later admits the pair never worked though all his questions, but the two men discover a personal chemistry and a real affinity for the creative act of story telling. Later, Grahl, the marketer, can't let it go. He senses strong potential in the relationship, even if he can't delinate it specifically.

Grahl proposes that he and Coyne record a podcast— remember this in 2105— wherein he will host and play the role of "a struggling writer trying to tell a story that works" (which he, at the time, was), while Coyne will serve as expert, guide, teacher, and mentor. (Grahl also commits to doing "everything else" necessary to record, produce and distribute the podcast.) Neither man is convinced of the utility of such an effort and they agree to record ten episodes before assessing anything.

It worked.

The podcast (titled The Story Grid Writing Podcast) runs from Oct 2015 through May 2023, resulting in 292 episodes. It included special guests, panel discussions, writing projects, and guest hosts. Two other podcasts were spun off (Story Grid Writer's Room [152 episodes] and Story Grid Showrunners [35 episodes]) running separately between 2018 and 2021. Not bad for making it up as you go.

The Audience Proves the Market

The impact of the main podcast on Coyne and Grahl's collaboration was substantial. Through the process of educating and mentoring Grahl, Coyne gained invaluable feedback (from Grahl and the listeners) about how his methodology and tools worked for others. Grahl, of course, gained over seven years of weekly, professional editorial guidance. He completed two books (one fiction, one nonfiction, Coyne editing both) while hosting the podcast.

The pair realized Coyne's vision of a Story Grid publishing imprint, producing Story Grid related books and adjacent works for purchase. In addition, they published fictional works (mostly novels) that had been developed or edited using The Story Grid methods and tools.

They began a process of "certification" for nascent Story Grid editors. This activity earned freelance editors— primarily drawn from the podcasts's listeners— a credential or badge signifying they had completed a custom program of editorial training based on The Story Grid.

But the most significant discovery was the audience.

As the podcast grew in popularity, Coyne and Grahl realized their loyal following actually represented an underserved market. First, through delivering live, local events, (ie, conferences), then live seminars (training), and eventually through remote, assisted training delivered in an ever changing slew of formats, the duo distilled their joint purpose down to the notion of educating individual authors using the tools and principles of The Story Grid.

The Public (and Jumbled?) Past

Altogether, it's not necessarily a surprising or exceptional journey.

It has been decidedly public, however, based on an early and consistent committment (mostly driven by Tim Grahl, I suspect) to abide by the entrepreneurial ethic to "build in public". Told through the episodes of the main podcast, through an incredibly wide (and disorganized) collection of sponsored YouTube videos, emails and blog posts, the journey of The Story Grid has been made available to the world.

Over the years, when Coyne and Grahl decided to pivot, they pivoted without necessarily revising or changing their history. A laudable practice (mostly). The early ideas still exist out there, sitting next to the latest.

But that means, the latecomer— unable to determine figure from ground— could become confused and walk away entirely.

That would be a shame. This series is a small attempt to keep that from occuring.

Looking Ahead

In the upcoming posts, I'll share what I've learned about the many faces of Story Grid, its key concepts and components, the resources available, and how to begin to use The Story Grid in one's own work.

I can't claim to be an expert. All I can promise is as clear a perspective as I can give about something that is complicated, analytical, changing, and in its own way, profound.

We'll begin our wholly unauthorized exploration by surveying all the ways The Story Grid presents itself to the world. Let's go!