The author and editor of more than 150 books, DAVID ALAN knows what it takes to get a book published.
“Excellence is his habit,” publisher Les Krantz wrote, and it’s reflected in the numbers: David’s Goodreads.com rating of 4.39 (800-plus ratings) places him in the top 1 percentile of authors/editors.
Civil rights icon Myrlie Evers-Williams, who delivered the invocation to President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, told NPR about Civil Rights Chronicle, which David edited and cowrote: “Honestly, this book is one of the best that I have seen, if not the best. . . . It’s absolutely magnificent. For those like me who say, ‘I’m tired, I can’t do any more,’ you pick up this book and you go through it and you know why you were dedicated and you know why you can’t stop and that you will continue to fight for justice and equality.”
David has authored, cowritten, and edited books for 20 publishers, including Random House, HarperCollins, St. Martin’s Press, Barnes & Noble, Scholastic, and Total/Sports Illustrated.
He has worked with such foreword writers as Walter Cronkite, John Eisenhower, Margaret Truman, Bill Cosby, Maureen O’Hara, Gordie Howe, Ernie Banks, Ozzie Smith, U.S. congressman John Lewis, and U.S. senators Daniel Inouye and Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
The Murder of Emmett Till, which David authored, was assigned reading for journalism students at New York University because of its exemplary journalistic prose. Memory & Legacy, which he edited, was officially presented to President Bill Clinton during the grand opening of the Illinois Holocaust Museum. JFK Day by Day, which David edited and cowrote, was featured on Today with Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira. It was converted into a video-enhanced book that was narrated by Meet the Press host David Gregory.
David has written documentary scripts narrated by Reggie Jackson, Jim Lampley, Joe Garagiola, and Carlton Fisk. He has penned biographies on such individuals as Harvey Milk, Magic Johnson, Malala Yousafzai, Mitt Romney, Eminem, Malcolm X, Alex Rodriguez, and Amy Winehouse.
“David Alan has been working for me and with me for about 10 years on a freelance basis. He’s always on time, and he’s a person of great integrity and honesty. He is in some ways amazing in the quantity and quality of work he can put into a day. He gets right on things, never makes excuses, and frankly never has to. Excellence is his habit, and everybody I’ve teamed him up with (my clients, my authors, namely) loves to work with him. They are very vocal about it. His work ethic and his creativity distinguish him from others I’ve worked with, and I’ve worked with the best. In addition to excellent editorial and writing skills, he’s an idea man extraordinaire. A dozen original and successful books have emerged from him in the last few years.” -Les Krantz, publisher/president, Facts That Matter, Inc.
“You’ve been wonderful to work with. It’s rare to work with an editor who is both thoroughly professional and considerate.” -longtime author Wim Coleman
Substa
ntive editing, copyediting, rewriting
Fiction and nonfiction: literary, how-to, psychology, self-help, crime fiction, adult, young adult, drama, fantasy, sci-fi, true crime, international relations, current affairs, nature and science, military history, forensic science, travel
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 fiction 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.
“As to Michael Carr, what can I say? What he has done with my ms is amazing. At the outset of my project I had thought that my ideas and imagination were enough. Boy was I wrong! What Michael started with was a rough stone that he threw into a tumbler. What emerged was something more shiny and polished. I got so much more than a fine tuned ms; I got knowledge, and expertise that was willingly given. Michael took the time to teach me, to lead me in the direction necessary to become a more effective and efficient writer. I got more than I ever imagined in terms of the finished product. But even more than that, what Michael took the time to impart to me, to coin a cliché, is priceless.”
Nominated for the Army Historical Foundation’s Distinguished Writing Award, 2006 and 2009
Developmental editing, ghostwriting, and book proposals for agent or publisher submission
HENRY DENARD is a writer and editor of commercial mainstream nonfiction and fiction.
Denard co-founded and was editor in chief at a publishing company (distributed by Random House) where he oversaw (and often helped to write) dozens of books.
Denard’s bestselling nonfiction and fiction authors include Chris Wallace, Catherine Crier, Matthew Modine, Brett Favre, Joe Namath, and Steven Pressfield. Denard’s titles have been featured in “The New York Times” (including front page) and on “Sixty Minutes,” “Oprah,” “The Today Show,” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”
Two of Denard’s published books sold to film studios for over $1 million.
Denard recently helped to write, edit and publish The Fiscal Cliff by Ayse and Selahattin Imrohorogolu (2012, Ending Spending) on behalf of Joe Ricketts (founder of T.D. Ameritrade).
Denard has also written for The New York Times Magazine and American Express’ Departures magazine.
On the film side, Denard produced The Conspirator, starring James McAvoy, Kevin Kline, and Robin Wright; directed by Robert Redford; Gone in 60 Seconds (Touchstone) starring Nicolas Cage; The Negotiator (Warner) starring Samuel Jackson and Kevin Spacey; and Citizen X (HBO). He is a member of the Writers Guild of America (WGA, the screenwriters’ union) and uses Final Draft when working with writers of screenplays.
Denard has experience with contract negotiations, film and book production, sales, distribution, marketing, publicity, and subsidiary rights.
He can assist with literary agent and publisher selection as well as the fiction or nonfiction submission package, including query letters and book proposals.
SANDRA JUDD is an editor, proofreader, and indexer with more than 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. Her clients have included university presses, large, mainstream publishers, and smaller presses and professional organizations.
She has edited or proofread over 300 published books, on topics that include politics, history, business, literary criticism, ethnic history, anthropology, science and medicine, industry manuals, memoirs, Christian and inspirational, parenting and relationships, humor, and fiction. She believes every person has a story to tell and she has a real passion for bringing these stories to print.
She enjoys working with action novels and approaches each manuscript with the goal of preserving the author’s unique voice while honing in on the details that bring the plot to life and make the action sequences sing.
Selected titles in the action/military genre include: Opposing Force 1: The God Particle by Anthony DeCosmo (2012); Dimension M by Scott Wyatt (Highland House Press, 2013); Opposing Force 2: The Cannibal Virus by Anthony DeCosmo (2012); The Rook (Revell Books, 2008); and The Treasure of Israel by S. J. Munson (self-published, 2011).
“I truly appreciate Sandra’s effort in editing this work.I had concerns as to whether she could edit keeping the Nigerian culture I had written about, but she did it fantastically. I also appreciate how she helped to bring clarity to the novel yet keeping my voice. What I loved most about her was meeting the deadline.This made me feel she is someone I can count on, and I would not hesitate to contact her for future projects. The network responded to my request professionally and on time. Unlike other networks who had reservations working with me because I am Nigerian, this network was not biased and treated me very professionally.” – Rita Okoroafor
Manuscript Critiques | Substantive Editing | Copyediting | Proofreading
Christian fiction (for both adults and young adults), action, military, historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy, contemporary, mainstream, trade
JOHN DAVID KUDRICK (MA in Journalism, Professional Writing: Fiction).
You are sitting at your computer, smiling, with an incredible sense of satisfaction in your heart. After more hours than you can count, you’ve finally finished your novel – a story from deep inside your soul that you want to share with the world.
But soon the questions start hitting your mind: Is it the very best that it can be? Will anyone even want to read it? Will an agent or publisher want to look at it?
With more than a decade of experience as an editor, John David understands the gamut of feelings that comes with getting your novel from your hard drive onto the shelf at your local bookstore. That’s why he’d love to partner with you in getting your novel to the next level.
- Manuscript Critique – With a detailed evaluation document and page-by-page comments / suggestions throughout your novel, find out exactly how you can make your good story even better.
- Substantive Editing – Receive guidance and hands-on editorial help from John David in reorganizing and revising your story to take care of style, structure, content, plotting, character, story flow, and point-of-view issues. Also includes copyediting and proofreading.
- Copyediting – Got the big-picture stuff down already? Then let John David take care of grammar, word usage, tone, format, and more with a copyedit that will add a shine to your story. Also includes proofreading.
- Proofreading – Don’t let your story get tossed aside because of a misspelled word or misplaced punctuation. Get your novel as clean as can be by allowing John David to read through it and fix typos, inconsistencies, misspellings, and punctuation problems.
- Book Proposal Development – Novel ready for submission? Then you’re ready to develop your book proposal. Together, you and John David will create a compelling, well-crafted document that’s a necessity in getting published.
Titles (sample)
Aboard the Pirate by Veronica Cherry (Historical Fiction/Military)
Aethersmith by J.S. Morin (Fantasy/Military)
Firehurler by J.S. Morin (Fantasy/Military)
Howell Davidson Amongst the Musketeers by Steven R. Culver (Historical Fiction/Military)
Majesty’s Offspring by A.J. Vega (Sci-fi/Military)
The Darkslayer: Vol. II by Craig Halloran (Historical Fiction/Military)
The Peacemakers by Jack Cavanaugh (Historical Fiction/Military)
The Portal by Allen Hively (Historical Fiction/Military)
Battle for Baqubah by Robert S. Colella
In His Shelter by B.R.T. Smith
The Real Deal by Joshua Keesal
THEODORA 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, Theodora 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.
Specialties
- Detailed written critique/evaluation of your manuscript that asks questions, points out conflicts, confused timelines, characterization difficulties, etc., in the manuscript itself so the guide is always there for you to follow as you rework it.
- Mentor you with creative ideas, and guide you through the whole gamut of what’s what in the publishing industry (i.e.: whether traditional or self-publishing is best for you).
- Hands on content edit (aka copy-edit, aka line edit), structural/stylistic edit of your manuscript, doing everything to get your manuscript ready for a traditional agent, a traditional editor, a self-publishing company, or ready for submission to an e-publisher.
- Work with you on a query and/or synopsis when the manuscript is ready for publication, should you want that.
JAMES N. POWELL is “a good literary surgeon,” as one of his accomplished clients noted. As an editor of fiction and non-fiction, he views manuscripts with comprehensive vision and an eye for detail. He will read your fiction with an eye to making it believable and your non-fiction with a knack for making it both convincing and engaging.
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), Deconstruction for Beginners (2005), and Slow Love: A Polynesian Pillow Book (2008).
His short story “The Silence of the Hummingbird” was published in Spanish in Revista Katharsis, in Malaga, Spain, and his journalism has appeared in Spirituality & Health, Tahiti Beach Press, the Santa Barbara Independent, and Montecito Journal.
James is unavailable until June 2014.
Copyediting, proofreading, developmental, substantive and structural editing, fiction book critiques
ARLENE ROBBINS has developed and edited 500+ full-length manuscripts in a variety of genres since 1996. Her clients include women’s fiction author Angie Daniels, London Times best-selling nonfiction author Catherine G. McCall, Bram Stoker Award-long listed Sue Dent, award-winning Young Adult author Hannah R. Goodman, AFCW-nominated Christian fiction author Laura Frantz, and award-winning journalist and Huffington Post contributor Daleen Berry.
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.
“Every writer needs an editor – even someone like me who teaches journalism at the University of Washington and spent a career in newspapers. “Arlene is a gem. She has 20/20 vision for fixing problems such as plotting, character development, spongy writing, you name it. Arlene edits with a balanced hand. By sprinkling laurels among her many darts, she draws a blueprint of what works and what doesn’t. Forget those writing workshops; her detailed critique of my latest novel-in-progress is the best money I’ve ever invested in the craft.” – Paul McElroy, author of TRACON
** Winner of the 2001 IPPY Award **
** Bronze medal for the 2001 Book of the Year Award **
** 2001 Benjamin Franklin Award finalist **