It's impossible to proof your own work; you tend to overlook mistakes of all types. Your mind subconsciously fills in what it thinks should be there, and your conscious appraisal is none the wiser.
A manuscript should be noticed for its content and quality. The writer is too close to the material to be objective. A professional book editor can recognize the repetitions, inconsistencies, faulty logic, and other problems that are often overlooked by the writer.
In short, the final part of the writing process is having a professional book editor and proofreader (not your neighbors or your kid's English teacher) polish the manuscript before it is offered to an agent or publisher.*
No editor can guarantee publication, but if you want your work to have the best chance of being read and considered seriously—and if you are open to other opinions about your work—we'll be glad to help you work toward that goal.
Note:
See technical, medical, and business for specialized editors and writers.
See book submission for composition of book proposals (cover letter, query letter, synopsis)
Sarah Anderson is a freelance editor and writer, experienced in fiction and nonfiction. Her work has been called outstanding, and she was solely responsible for editing the three most successful romances published by Banbury Books and distributed by Dell. Her nonfiction projects include a psychologist's spiritual autobiography, which she developed from existing material and transcripts, and a book on marriage. She is an acknowledged contributor to The Wisdom of The Enneagram, published by Bantam. She has self-published a relationships handbook, Relationships Made Easy: How to get along with all kinds of people, and has written articles on the psychology of personality. Clients love her flexibility and her personable style.
Carrie Andrews is an honors graduate with a BA in English. She has worked in the publishing industry for several years as a project editor, copyeditor, and proofreader, with specialties in fiction, entertainment, and college-level textbooks. She works with companies such as Reader's Digest, Random House, Inc., Kensington Publishing, and Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. A bibliophile her entire life, Carrie has a natural talent for language. Her avid reading has helped her develop a sharp eye for detail and has honed her sense of flow. While copyediting, she strikes that delicate balance between maintaining an author's voice and making the language clear and vibrant. She is also a meticulous proofreader and fact checker. Clients have called her work "superb" and "astute." Authors enjoy Carrie's personable style and find her easy to work with.
Bruce Bortz is a journalist, book editor, ghostwriter, and literary attorney. He also assists writers with contract negotiations and book marketing. His clients are unpublished and published authors, and agents. Besides offering manuscript critiques as a starting point, he edits for structure, content, and grammar. He can assist with marketing plans and book proposals. He knows how to get the attention of acquisition editors. He can create and put together a proposal package that includes materials such as a query letter, book outline, author biography, polished chapter samples, marketing plan, and any other ancillary materials that will help close the sale of your book.
Beth Bruno is a columnist, author, and book editor. Hundreds of her articles have been published in print and online, and her first book, Wild Tulips, came out in 2001 and went into a second printing in 2002. Beth's proximity to New York and her position as President of the CT Authors and Publishers Association give her unique access to literary agents and publishers in and around New York City. Several of the authors whose manuscripts she has edited have been published in the mainstream, thanks to her referrals on their behalf. Beth's editing interests are eclectic and include a delicious mix of fiction, nonfiction, young adult, and children's works.
D.J. Bruno works closely with authors to develop, liven, and perfect their books and articles. She provides manuscript critiques that offer extensive feedback on every aspect of a narrative, as well as ghostwriting, developmental editing, copy editing, proofreading, and marketing (proposal, query, and synopsis development and agent contact).
A fiction writer herself, she was an editorial assistant and reader at Ploughshares, had her fiction published in various literary magazines, taught literature and grammar, and edited a range of material from memoir to erotica, biography, short fiction, poetry, travel writing, personal essays, and literary and commercial fiction. She specializes in film and photography, food and wine, nutrition, travel, psychology, memoir, and literary fiction.
Connie Buchanan, editor of Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, has edited and ghostwritten 200+ titles for publishers that include Time-Life Books, Brassey's/Macmillan, and Island Press. She performs everything from evaluations to basic copyediting and complete rewrites. One of Connie's priorities is helping authors communicate in concise, engaging prose that will attract the attention of agents.
Areas of expertise include memoir, literary and commercial fiction, environmental issues, public policy, health/nutrition, U.S. and European history, military history, and art history.
Connie has English degrees from Princeton and Oxford universities. Her book reviews and prize-winning short stories have appeared in the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Times, and the Journey Prize Anthology, among others. Says former Speaker of the House Jim Wright, author of Worth It All: My War for Peace, "Connie's editorial improvements are absolutely outstanding! I wonder why I didn't think to say it that way in the first place."
Michael Carr has edited or copyedited 300+ fiction and nonfiction titles for major publishers and authors. Notable nonfiction authors include Bernard Goldberg (NY Times best-seller Arrogance),CNN anchor Lou Dobbs (Exporting America), Rev. Al Sharpton (Al on America), and CNN Crossfire host Tucker Carlson (Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites). Michael edits most fiction genres but specializes in literary and historical, crime/mystery, drama, fantasy, and science fiction.
Notable authors include Brad Meltzer (#3 NY Times best-seller The Zero Game), NY Times Notable Book of the Year author Archer Mayor (The Surrogate Thief, Gatekeeper, The Second Mouse), crime grandmaster Donald Westlake (the Dortmunder series), and the fantasy master Michael Moorcock (The White Wolf's Son).
Michael has also edited eight published volumes on world affairs and some twenty self-help books (medical, psychological, personal growth, and business) and has translated a dozen novels and other literary works from Spanish to English.
Jeannette Cezan is passionate about language. As a freelance writer and editor, she blends grammatical correctness with scintillating prose for projects as diverse as documentary and educational videos, articles and magazine columns, business plans, press releases, patent applications, technical documentation and business manuals, marketing collateral, Web site copy, brochures, advertising campaigns, and academic work. Edited fiction projects include mainstream, historical, mystery, romance, and speculative fiction manuscripts.
Virginia Clark has been an editor and proofreader of fiction and nonfiction for many years, working on more than 200 titles. She specializes in literary and popular fiction, detective/crime fiction, biography, self-help, history, music, and the visual arts, especially film. She was a staff copyeditor for Simon & Schuster in New York starting in 1989 for five years and has continued to freelance for them ever since, as well as for other presses including Algonquin; Duke University; Farrar, Straus, & Giroux; and the University of California. Fiction she has copyedited includes Richard Condon, The Emperor of America; Quinn Dalton, High-Strung; David Freeman, A Hollywood Life and It's All True; Kem Nunn, The Dogs of Winter; Kate Walbert, The Gardens of Kyoto and Our Kind; and Meg Wolitzer, Surrender, Dorothy. Detective/crime authors include Jan Burke, George C. Chesbro, Nick Gaitano, Alison Glen, Philip Harper, David Osborn, Ian Rankin, and Jan Roberts. She has copyedited autobiographies including Miles Davis, Miles; Faye Dunaway, Looking for Gatsby; Charlton Heston, In the Arena; and Neil Simon, Rewrites: A Memoir; as well as biographies such as Joseph McBride, The Catastrophe of Success: Frank Capra and McBride's Steven Spielberg. She has also worked on large collections including The Companion to 20th-Century Music, Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide, and The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. In addition, she has been proofreader/copyeditor for October Magazine since 1989, as well as for various other magazines such as for Condé Nast publications.
Esther David-Roland is a writer and editor whose experience includes writing and editing in technical and non-technical subject areas. She has worked as a journalist, writer, and editor for more than 25 years and brings her many years of experience to each project. As a freelance copyeditor, Esther has worked with major publishers, businesses, and individuals, and has worked extensively with authors whose native language is not English.
* Book editing (nonfiction)
* Developmental editing (nonfiction)
* Manuscript copyediting and proofreading
* Technical, medical, and scientific copyediting
* Website copyediting and proofreading
The award-winning writing of Karen Davis prompted one of many loyal clients to call her his "secret weapon in attaining communications supremacy." She earned magna cum laude degrees in English and history and world-class journalism credentials from the London Times and Regional Newspapers. Since 1976 she has been an international correspondent and author of hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles; publishing house editor (several books won American Library Association Outstanding Reference Source awards); acclaimed advertising writer (First Place in the Pacific Northwest, direct mail campaign) and technical writer ($10,000 First Place in North America, engineering paper); director of publications and marketing; author of style manuals; university lecturer in writing; and published lyricist and poet. She brings clarity and conciseness to confusing language and organization to chaos.
Alice Day has been an editor since 1988. After earning a graduate degree in creative writing at Brown University, she has worked at the book publishers Henry Holt and Company and Carroll & Graf Publishers. Writer Don Smith, whose awards include 19 regional Emmys, said of Alice Day, "She's the kind of editor every writer should be so lucky to have." Alice Day is an award-winning poet with four collections of poetry that have been published by nationally-recognized publishing houses. Kathleen Wakefield, whose novella won the 2008 Cleveland State University novella contest, said "that [Alice] has been an editor at a major New York publishing house gives her insight into that complicated world; that she is a poet, I believe, gives her the sensitivity to find the beauty of a writer's individual work." Alice Day has the skill and experience to focus on a writer's vision and help the writer realize it. She's a hands-on editor who's not afraid to cut words and offer insights. And she has a poet's sensitivity to language.
Alice Day's specialty is fiction editing. She has worked with numerous award-winning authors (authors who have won the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, and the PEN/Faulkner Award, as well as first-time novelists) She does detailed manuscript evaluations, as well as developmental/substantive editing. She is also a skilled copy editor.
Her fiction specialties include short stories, novellas, literary fiction, historical fiction, commercial fiction, women's fiction, chick lit, thrillers, mysteries, and detective/crime novels.
Joan Dunayer has been a professional editor for more than two decades. She has edited research papers, dissertations, journal articles, magazine articles, and books on a wide range of topics, including psychology, language, literature, education, politics, and medicine.
A graduate of Princeton University, Joan has master’s degrees in psychology, English education, and English literature. She has taught writing to high school, college, and university students. At the University of Pennsylvania, Joan taught classes on preparing psychology reports in APA format. In addition to being an expert in APA style, Joan is thoroughly familiar with Chicago and MLA styles.
Joan also has written professionally. Her articles and essays have appeared in magazines, journals, textbooks, and anthologies. Most of her writing has focused on literature, language, psychology, philosophy, and politics. For example, she has written the commentaries for new editions of twenty-one literary classics.
Diane L. Foose has 20 years of experience as a full-time freelance copy editor and proofreader of books and journals in the fields of medicine and health, engineering, mathematics, law, the environment, and the social sciences. Some of the journals she has worked on are The Journal of Legal Medicine, Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds, Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry, Health Care for Women International, Ocean Development and International Law, Comparative Strategy, Traffic Injury Prevention, and Numerical Heat Transfer. Diane's assignments require an in-depth knowledge of editorial practices, familiarity with specific editorial styles (Chicago, APA, AMA), an understanding of scientific and technical terms, and the ability to handle tables, figures, equations, and other materials.
Jennifer Gardner is a proofreader, structural editor, and copyeditor who loves fact checking. Her background is primarily in scientific and scholarly journals and books for publishers such as Taylor & Francis books and CRC Press as well as in soft science publications for such presses as Allworth and Pointed Leaf.
Marlo Garner is an editor, children's author and illustrator. She has been editing children's books and teaching writing for children since the late 1990s. She is on faculty at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Continuing Education and teaches "Writing for Children's Books." Her first book for children Let's Visit Space was recently released by Macmillan McGraw-Hill, and her second Author at Work, Dr Seuss is due later this year. She is currently writing a middle grade series, a YA novel and innumerable picture book texts (which spring forth at the most inopportune times). Marlo is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI).
Marlo believes in not only editing the work of her clients, but in teaching them to become better writers, equipping them with knowledge they will need as they continue on their journey. Marlo is passionate about all sub-genres of children's books, but picture books are her first love. She will happily tackle texts in rhyming verse and is a wizard with a rhyming dictionary and her mental metronome.
Science and medical editor and writer since 2001. Editing, copyediting, and writing of manuscripts, books, dissertations, grant proposals, etc. Topics range from ecology to epidemiology, from biochemistry to biomechanics, from environmental policy to paleontology, from natural products to swine nutrition. Focuses on organization, interpretation, and clear presentation of complex information.
Past clients include professionals and students from Australia, China, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, Venezuela, even the U.S.! Goals are successful completion of specific writing project, and helping clients improve their own writing skills for future projects.
Val’s own work includes more than fifty publications in ecology, botany, zoology, physiology, biochemistry, and mathematical modeling (see her publication list), and one million dollars worth of successful grant proposals.
Over thirty years of teaching experience, including scientific writing courses. Served as advisor and/or mentor to many graduate and undergraduate students.
Past experience as associate editor, editorial board member, and/or reviewer for over two dozen scientific journals, including Science, and government funding agencies.
Anne Greenberg was an in-house editor of children's books for 16 years at Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books, specializing in fiction for readers 5-8, 8-12, and young adult. As a freelancer, she focuses on developmental editing, editing, and copyediting of adult fiction and nonfiction, in addition to children's books (but not picture books). At Pocket/S&S she edited more than 550 books (including all-new Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys titles) and worked with seasoned and first-time authors.
Susan Greenman offers highly personalized editing, long experience, and a diverse range of knowledge and interests. She has worked in publishing for nearly twenty years -- from management, acquisitions, and developmental editing to copyediting and proofreading. Susan works on a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction and has a special interest in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. She has worked for highly regarded publishers of speculative fiction such as Ace, Baen, Bantam, and Random House Spectra, and she was a managing editor at Macmillan Children's Books.
A writer as well as an editor, Susan participated in the highly-regarded Clarion West Writers Workshop and has published nonfiction children's books as well as short fiction, poetry, plays, interviews, and technical articles. She has also been heavily involved in producing award-winning CD-ROMs for Microsoft.
She believes her role is to offer feedback and tactful editing that help bring the writer's vision into reality and maximize the story's chances of consideration. Says one client, "I've come to rely on Susan for that gift the very best fiction editors have for recommending that one small change that dramatically improves the whole work"--an editorial ideal Susan strives to consistently meet.
Tim Grundmann is an author, playwright and TV scriptwriter and story editor with 25 years of experience. His books in the Doug Chronicles series are published by Disney Press. He was part of the creative team behind Pee-wee's Playhouse on CBS (for which he wrote the show "bible"), and developed the HBO comedy Norman's Corner with Seinfeld creator Larry David. As head writer and story editor for the Disney Channel's New Mickey Mouse Club and Nickelodeon's Doug, he guided scripts from concept to final draft. He's written episodes of Allegra's Window and Welcome, Freshmen for Nickelodeon, and was developmental writer for Mowgli and His Friends and WaysideSchool for the Disney Channel and ABC-TV. As house writer for Broadcast Arts in NYC, he wrote scripts, proposals, treatments and show bibles for TV shows starring Gilbert Gottfried, Madeline Kahn and others. Recently he wrote scripts for the PC game My Scene Goes Hollywood for Vivendi Universal Games.
Carol Hegbergedits, rewrites, critiques, and proofreads speeches, short stories or collections, articles, essays, poetry, and book manuscripts. Her specialties lie in juvenile/young adult fiction, Christian manuscripts, non-fiction, and poetry. As a journalist, she has worked in various jobs on newspapers. As a freelance writer, she has had several published articles, plays and scripts, anthologies, essays, poems, and a novel, Pen Pals. Her pictorial history book, Rochelle, Illinois, was published January 2007. The Today Show selected a client's CD children's book as one of the top ten Christmas gifts under $10 for 2005. Her professionalism includes integrity and dedication to clients and their needs and deadlines.
As a freelance editor, half of her clients have published their edited manuscripts.
Bonnie Hill is a writer-friendly editor/mentor who has helped numerous authors break into print. She teaches workshops for Writer's Digest Online Workshops and speaks at writing conferences across the country. Her workshop members have won awards (such as the Hackney Literary Prize for fiction) and sold everything from novels to nonfiction books, essays and cowboy poetry to top publishers such as Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan, Writer's Digest, Story Line Press, Santa Monica Press, and Simon & Schuster.
Linda Hines ghostwrites, rewrites, and edits novels, business manuscripts, self-help books, short stories, essays, articles, biographies, literary fiction, proposals, and cover and query letters. She has edited over 100 fiction and non-fiction works and wrote and produced articles as managing editor of a subscription-based, B2B newsletter. She specializes in subjects such as humor, mystery, business, current events and politics, psychology, holistic healing, organic gardening, nature and the environment, weight loss, fitness, health, diet and nutrition, spirituality, alternative healing.
Kate Johnson is a developmental editor and rewriting specialist. She has edited nonfiction books, textbooks, encyclopedia and journal articles, technical manuals, conference proceedings, newsletters, and online publications in a wide range of topics for professional, academic, and lay audiences. She especially enjoys working with medical, biological, and other natural science materials. Kate earned her BA in psychobiology from Yale University and did post-graduate coursework in anatomy at CCRI. She has worked with students and professors--including many for whom English is a second language--to refine research articles, grant proposals, and dissertations. She is literate in scientific and medical terminology, familiar with various style requirements (such as Chicago, AMA, and GPO), and adaptable to authors' or publishers' preferences.
Stavra Ketchmark has edited more than 200 fiction titles while working for major publishing houses, as well as numerous medical, technical, and scientific trade, academic, and professional titles. She specializes in a variety of fiction genres, including romance, historical, mystery, suspense, crime, horror, fantasy, science fiction, and young adult. Her nonfiction specialties include all medical disciplines, nursing, allied health, alternative health, political science/politics, history, journalism, religion, parenting, and cooking.
Stavra has also helped a broad range of corporate clients fine-tune their annual reports, advertisements, websites, and other marketing materials to achieve the image they are seeking.
Her edited manuscripts have been published by Wadsworth, Mosby, Signet, Roc, NAL Trade, Thompson Delmar Learning, and Onyx.
She is an expert in electronic editing using Microsoft Word, and is proficient in WordPerfect, PageMaker, and QuarkXpress. She has a working knowledge of HTML and SGML.
Jo-Ann Langtree writes and edits books, stories, and articles in the following fields: business, medical, insurance, health, holistic health, spirituality, religion, psychic phenomena, young-adult fiction, children's books, mystical experience, self-help, New Age, nutrition, diet, exercise, saints & masters, gurus, theosophy, Christianity, homeopathy, vitamins & minerals, herbs, and food supplements. She was a writer and editor for Aetna Life & Casualty. As editor of Life NEWS, she had sole responsibility for finding, developing, writing, editing, and proofing all articles. Topics included new products, sales campaigns, insurance-agent interviews, accolades, seminars, Company acquisitions and policies. Jo-Ann also edits personal and business sites.
Floyd Largent specializes in history, natural history, anthropology and the sciences on the non-fiction front, and speculative fiction(science fiction, fantasy, horror, and allied fields) otherwise. He's published his own e-book on fiction marketing (100 Great Places to Sell Your Short Stories, Both On and Off the Web), and is intimately familiar with technical writing, having worked as a technical writer and editor for ten years. He's also been published in most of the popular American history magazines, including American History, America's Civil War, Old West, and True West. Mr. Largent can provide publishing assistance (especially with short stories and journal articles), content development, manuscript evaluation, and mentoring services, supplemented with advice concerning manuscript mechanics,query letters, book synopses, and proposals.
Herbert M. Levine's publications include 36 books and more than 75 articles (written or edited). Subjects include: American government, state and local government, world politics, terrorism, arms control, state and local government, public administration, civil liberties, gun control, illegal drugs, chemical and biological weapons, and immigration. He served as a consultant for book projects on counterterrorism and evaluated and edited the work of academics and former government officials for that project. Dr. Levine is an expert in APA and Chicago writing requirements.
Lorna Lynch has over twenty-five years of editing, copyediting, and proofreading experience, and has worked on more than a hundred books to date. She also co-owned a monthly newspaper for seven years, where she wrote and edited hundreds of articles. She has a tremendous instinct for what "works" and what doesn't in both fiction and non-fiction, and has guided numerous authors to publishing success. Her primary goal is to see that writing with some potential becomes writing with great potential, and she works closely with authors to achieve that goal.
Her area of expertise is character-driven fiction; however, she has edited books of all stripes, including political commentary, how-to books, humor, mysteries, romance novels, children's books, young adult fiction, detective novels, and psychological thrillers.
Pulse-pounding high adventure, painstaking attention to detail, carefully drawn characters who step off the page and into your life. Stephen and Anne MacEachern are the authors of over eighty internationally published novels (with sales in the tens of millions of copies) and numerous short stories. Excitement, realism, and profoundly personal involvement with the story's outcome are the hallmarks of their fiction. Stephen has also written over a thousand articles, columns, features, and interviews for magazines and newspapers. At one time, he served as associate editor of two national magazines, one a trade publication. Stephen is currently writing columns each month in three national magazines and has a blog on Down Range TV. He has written, produced, and performed over five hundred radio programs, these at one time syndicated across the Southeast.
Anne cut her writing teeth working on the house organ of one of America's largest and most influential corporations. Thousands of Anne's color and black & white photos have appeared in a wide range of magazines in the United States and in Europe. Anne, assisted by Stephen, has produced and directed informational videos, magazine format videos, and a music video which was broadcast on the old Nashville Network. Stephen, alone or in conjunction with Anne, has appeared as a guest on various radio and television call-in and interview programs. They have frequently appeared on panel discussion groups, covering topics as diverse as writing, futurism, firearms and social philosophy, as well as their books.
They were commissioned by Dino DeLaurentiis to write two screenplays (un-produced). Their Horror Writers Award nominated short story, "Silent Pace," was twice optioned as a film property and - the third time the possible charm - they have just inked another option deal for this property.
Their books continue to be quite successful as downloadable E-Books and as audio books. The newest of these latter are fully dramatized and soundscaped audio.
Stephen has interviewed Arnold Schwarzenegger, Roy Rogers, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, John Bianchi, Steve Kanaly, Louis L'Amour, and vampire researcher Dr. Stephen Kaplan.
Stephen is considered a leading expert on concealed carry techniques, personal small arms, and personal edged weapons. He has lectured extensively before general audiences, police, civic and writing groups on these and various other topics.
Their books have been published in English (USA, Canada, Great Britain), French, Japanese, Spanish, German, Serbo-Croatian, Russian, and Portuguese, as general fiction, adventure, science fiction and fantasy. They have published one non-fiction book and are completing a second.
Stephen and Anne were high school sweethearts. Married in 1968, they are the parents of two grown children and have five grandchildren. Natives of Chicago, Illinois, they have resided in northeast Georgia since 1978.
Suzanne Manness is a college professor specializing in technical and business writing. She has written and edited technical manuals, informational brochures, business proposals, and grants. She has also written computer user manuals and technical instrumentation directions. Additionally, she has edited many medical textbooks and medical articles on such subjects as heart transplants, pain management, and anesthesiology. She is an expert in all documentation systems such as Chicago Style, Harvard, APA, American Anthropological Association, and MLA. Her specialty is taking complex material and translating that material into a clear, concise, audience-friendly document.
Ron Marmarelli is a specialist in nonfiction, especially biography, history, and literary journalism, with expertise in scholarly writing and documentation (MLA, Chicago/Turabian, APA). He also is experienced in editing fiction manuscripts, especially historical fiction and literary fiction, and can assist in preparation of book proposals, synopses, and queries. He is a published biographer and historian, a former newspaper journalist, and a university professor who also has been a freelance editor since 2000. He has taught university courses in writing and editing for more than 20 years, has written more than 20 biographical articles for reference works, and has written articles, essays, and book reviews for anthologies and journals. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism and has done doctoral work in American studies.
Jim McDonough has edited books on such different subjects as translations from Greek and Latin prose and poetry, Roman history, Catholic schools, Jews and Gentiles in the ancient world, Martin Luther, World War II, the Bible, foreign phrases used in English contexts, and biography. He has also edited a medical dictionary, a historical novel on the First Crusade, and encyclopedia articles. He prefers the Chicago/Turabian style. When he receives a manuscript with great idea but less than ideal presentation of these ideas, he takes great delight in helping the author give form, organization, and polish to the work so as to increase its chances of publication and of getting the author's ideas across effectively to the public.
Holly Monty, a professional copy editor, holds a M.A. in linguistics from Rice University and a B.A. with honors in nonfiction writing from the Johns Hopkins University. She has worked as a copy editor within the scientific/technical/medical peer-reviewed journal industry for over 5 years and has extensive experience copyediting scientific and social science texts ranging from articles to theses to book manuscripts. Ms. Monty's copyediting expertise extends beyond the word level to encompass figure, table, and mathematical and chemical equation editing. Ms. Monty specializes in the APA and Chicago editorial styles.
W. Reed Moran worked as writer on the staff of four network drama series: Simon & Simon (CBS), Sidekicks (ABC), MacGyver (ABC), and Hollywood Detective (A&E). Reed also wrote and sold a number of network drama pilots, feature and TV movie scripts and animation, as well as episodes for such series as Star Trek: The Next Generation,Swamp Thing, Baywatch, Renegade,Silk Stalkings, The Watcher, and Hollywood Detective. He was nominated for a CableAce Award (Best Writing On A Dramatic Series) for his work on Hollywood Detective.
His professional screenwriting work includes the genres of mystery, science fiction, action adventure, dramatic comedy, family drama, children’s programming, and animation.
Reed has published over one hundred articles as a medical journalist for USA Today online and many for other publications. In that capacity, he has interviewed scores of public figures in politics, entertainment, and professional sports, including: Gerald Ford, Norman Schwarzkopf, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Maya Angelou, Art Buchwald, Christopher Reeve, Andy Garcia, Jeff Bridges, Edward James Olmos, Joe Montegna, Mick Fleetwood, Charlie Daniels, Anjelica Houston, Angela Lansbury, Danielle Steel, Patricia Heaton, Mandy Moore, William Shatner, Kelly Ripa, Brooke Shields, Matt Groening, Della Reese, Katherine Heigl, Carl Lewis, Bruce Jenner, Donovan McNabb, and Wayne Gretzky.
He teaches creative writing in Los Angeles and English literature in the summer program at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College and University of Virginia Law School, he served on the screenwriting faculty at California State University at Long Beach in 2007.
Karl Morgan is a book editor, script doctor, and writer. He has written for Epicurious, nerve.com, and Whole Foods, among many other companies and publications. In 1997, Boston University named me its Helen Deutsch Fellow—a free ride to the school's renowned Master's program in creative writing that at the time included study under Nobel laureates Saul Bellow and Elie Wiesel. My award-winning short fiction ("Valve" and "A Day") has been read at Borders Books and on KUT public radio. I have worked with screenwriters whose work is shown regularly on Cinemax, Showtime, and the Sci-Fi Channel and film industry professionals who are featured speakers at film festivals the world over. Books I've edited have been singled out by the Chicago Review Press and Independent Publishers Group and have been praised by the likes of Deepak Chopra and David Zucker (writer/director of Airplane! and Naked Gun).
Dorrie O'Brien
focuses on mysteries,
science fiction,
fantasy, thrillers,
adventure, and horror
titles. She has
considerable experience
with trade non-fiction.
As Editorial Director of
her own publishing
house, Dorrie published
almost 100 titles,
garnering several awards
in "Best Of" categories.
Almost half of the
titles were bought for
paperback reprints, and
two were optioned for
TV/movies. She has
invaluable knowledge
about the industry, the
type of people who run
it, how to work within
it, and tips for getting
your foot in the door.
She's reviewed,
evaluated, and edited
thousands of manuscripts
through the years, and
uses that knowledge to
help her clients produce
results-driven
manuscripts, query
letters, and synopses.
She works particularly
hard at staying in the
author's "voice," making
sure the facts and
dialogue match the time
period in which the book
is set, and "losing"
excess verbiage. She's a
good mentor, hard
worker, and in many
cases, has ultimately
become a good friend.
Mark Orrin has authored ten published books, scores of articles and poems, and taught writing on college and university levels. A seasoned publications editor, he has also mentored numerous successful American and international authors and poets. During a career in fund raising, Mark was considered one of America's leading copywriters, copy chiefs and creative/strategic consultants. He has been listed in Who's Who In the West, Who's Who In America, Who's Who In Entertainment and The Dictionary of International Biography. His services include mentoring, critiques and evaluations, substantive editing and content development; submission materials (synopses, book proposals, query letters); ghost writing; line editing; and help with "self-agenting" your own work. His fiction focuses are sci-fi, fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, Westerns, mysteries, adolescent and children's books, action-suspense; non-fiction includes memoirs, inspirational, public issues, self-help. Mentors projects into royalty-paying (non-"subsidy") print in the general book market.
Geoff Popp has been editing poetry for 20 years. He teaches writing and literature at a few universities in the Seattle area where he has also edited various copy for Microsoft. Geoff graduated from the University of Iowa, where he was an editor for the International Writing Program. His poetry has appeared in many magazines, journals and anthologies, including Christianity and Literature, Chronicles, Cornerstone, Radix, Voice of Many Waters: A Sacred Anthology for Today, and The Penwood Review.
James N. Powell. As an editor of fiction and non-fiction, he views manuscripts with a broad, comprehensive vision and an eye for detail-for "the right word in the right place." Powell's editors will tell you that his books need no editing, as Powell is, himself, an editor. He will read your fiction with and eye to making it believable and your non-fiction with a knack for making it both convincing and engaging. James N. Powell is "a good literary surgeon," as one of his accomplished clients noted. His books and short stories have been translated into many languages and are known throughout the world. His list of publications includes The Tao of Symbols (Morrow 1982), Energy and Eros (Morrow 1985), The Prentice Hall Global Employment Guide (Prentice Hall 1983), Mandalas: The Dynamics of Vedic Symbolism (Sterling 1980), Derrida for Beginners (Writers and Readers 1996), Postmodernism for Beginners (Writers and Readers 1998), Eastern Philosophy for Beginners (2000), and Deconstruction for Beginners (2005). His short story "The Silence of the Hummingbird" was published in Spanish in Revista Katharsis. in Malaga, Spain and his journalism has appeared in the Santa Barbara Independent and Montecito Journal.
Arlene W. Robinson has developed and edited 200+ full-length manuscripts in a variety of genres since 1996. Her clients include women's fiction author Angie Daniels, sociology professor Joyce Tang and college-success guide author Josh Richardson. The true crime memoir The Twelfth Man Standing received Turner Broadcasting Network's Trumpet Award in 2002, and 'PRESSIONS: Memoirs of a Southern Cat by Edith M. Holmes, won the YOUnity Reviewers Guild Top Honor Award. Arlene welcomes new or published authors as clients, and enjoys helping journalistic, business and academic writers transform their writings into marketable, polished products for mainstream readers. She also takes pride in helping non-native-English writers produce topnotch fiction and nonfiction works.
While not a professional humor writer, she could be. Arlene lives in the Deep South with her probation officer/journalist husband and two almost-adult sons, and looks forward to the day when her human offspring venture into the world as independently as she envisions her writings springing onto bookshelves.
Karen Schader specializes in fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults, including chapter books, picture books, and educational resources. She has worked as a substantive editor, copyeditor, and proofreader for authors, trade publishers, and educational publishers. With an academic background in child development, she brings an understanding of children to her work, and several of her titles have been recognized with iParenting Media Awards and National Health Information Awards. A client once described Karen's editing as going beyond "simple grammar and sentence structure to style, age-appropriateness, and clarity." She respects readability, grammar, punctuation, accuracy, deadlines—and the importance of preserving the author's voice.
A. J. Sobczak is an editor, proofreader, and writer (business writing, business methods, business history, communication, literary analysis, fiction in various genres) with more than 18 years of experience in the publishing industry. He has edited nonfiction work, both articles and books, in a variety of fields, including various social sciences, technical research, and medical research. He has edited dozens of books and journals in the social sciences, research methods, mathematics, political science, psychology, business and management, history, and health and medicine, among other topics, and also has worked on several successful doctoral dissertations.
He is an expert in
APA and Chicago styles
and is on several
publishers' lists of
"go-to" editors for
manuscripts with heavy math content. His fiction specialties include science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and young adult.
Sara Wilson has worked in the publishing industry both in-house and as a freelancer for nearly ten years as a project editor, copyeditor, proofreader, and more recently, developmental editor with specialties in entertainment, nursing, and college-level textbooks. She works with companies such as Random House, Inc., Pearson Education/Prentice Hall Health, Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, Augsburg Fortress, and Chelsea House Publishers. Sara also edits and proofreads for magazines, nonprofits, and businesses.
Copyeditor, developmental editor, project manager
Proofreader, writer
College-level textbooks: history, communication, criminology, world politics, psychology, philosophy, computer science/programming, nursing, medical terminology, massage therapy
Non-fiction: human rights, self-help, education, psychology, memoir, world history, world politics, religion, feminism and women's studies, animals, education, children's biographical
Entertainment: video-game strategy guides (in multiple genres such as historical, military, fantasy, sci-fi, thriller/suspense, action), theater, behind-the-scenes, pop-culture
Magazine articles: women's issues, personalities, community development, politics, health, mainstream and alternative medicine, nutrition, exercise, spirituality, pop-culture, arts, food, design, home and garden, entertainment, education of children and children with special needs, and more
*Note: The editors in this network will turn down your manuscript if they do not see a way to improve the material. In this case, however, they might offer mentoring as you learn the craft. They will also decline to edit your manuscript if they determine that your work is in such good shape that paying a freelance editor would be a waste of your money. Although they believe that every manuscript should be read and critiqued by someone other than the author, it may not be necessary to pay a professional to find the few flaws and kinks in an excellent manuscript.
6. Describe your project: (e.g., book, business document, dissertation)
7. Describe the level of writing or editing required: (e.g., copyediting, proofreading, content editing, fact-checking, ghostwriting, formatting)
8. Current word count of document:
9. Your deadline date:
10. Required manual of style, if any: (e.g., Chicago Manual, APA, MLA, AP, AAA, CBE/CSE)
11. Number of charts, tables, and pictures:
12. Do you need charts, tables, pictures edited/formatted?
13. Do you have a budget for the project? (Please be specific.)
14. Number of footnotes and entries in reference list:
15. Do you want to contact a particular writer/editor?
16. How did you learn about our service?
16. Attach a sample chapter/section or other important documents related to your project. Please zip large files (max 1MB)
YOUR NAME MUST BE IN YOUR SAMPLE DOCUMENT OR IT CAN BE THE FILE NAME (e.g., johnsmith.doc).
The network coordinator will forward your submission (plus any attached files) to the consultant(s) you select. If no selection is made, your submission will be forwarded to several consultants who might be a good match. Final choice of consultant is yours.
If you do not get a response within 3 hours (M-F) of submission, send a follow-up e-mail to:
Coordinator @ Airmail.net
and/or
EditingNetwork @ gmail.com
You may also use the chat button and/or leave voice mail for the network coordinator: 469-789-3030.
Allow a longer response time if you sent your submission during the weekend or after U.S. business hours.
All of the consultants listed on this site are freelance. They are located throughout the U.S. The coordinator cannot answer cost/timeframe questions for each consultant. You must go through the submission process to receive direct responses from the consultants listed on this site.
ls in what it thinks should be there, and your conscious appraisal is none the wiser. 
