LISA BALTHAZAR has published over 100 books, including several award-winning and bestselling titles. She is also a publishing executive and editor with over 20 years of professional experience in the industry. She has been Editorial/Publishing Director for Golden Books, Price Stern Sloan-Penguin Random House, Intervisual Books, Gateway Learning Corp (Hooked on Phonics), and other established publishing houses.
Lisa is the lead writer for Writing Children’s Books for Dummies Second Edition (2013). Her latest YA, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz, with Eva Kor, got a stellar review by Archbishop Desmond Tutu; it was released in paperback in 2012 and has been published in numerous languages.
Lisa has edited dozens of novels for publishers such as Tanglewood Books, Simon & Schuster, Merrylane Press, and others.
Lisa has been editing fiction and nonfiction for 20 years—and she’s loved every minute. She has helped hundreds of writers hone their skills in the craft of writing. Her editing, whichever service you choose, always covers plot and storyline, character arc and development, drama and pacing, and writing style. Lisa is a writer’s advocate, mentor, cheerleader, and toughest critic, but you will come away from her with a better book.
You will learn how to fix whatever ails your book. And you will increase your chances of success in the marketplace.
Lisa wants to help you make your book the best it can be. Her editing will make you wish you had found her sooner.
BETH BRUNO
Judge: Indie Book Awards
Developmental Editing, Writing Assistance, Query Letters, Book Proposals, Submissions to Literary Agents and Publishers
After twenty years in education and human services, Beth Bruno began a second career in 1995 as 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. Others have published their work independently, either in print or as e-books.
Beth’s editing interests are eclectic and include a delicious mix of fiction, nonfiction, young adult, and children’s works. Among the 350+ manuscripts she has edited, she has a special affinity for: mystery/suspense, women’s fiction, memoir, psychology topics, romance, self-help, how-to, and both fiction and nonfiction for young adult (YA) readers.
In addition to editing, Beth serves as a judge for the Indie Book Awards, an excellent contest for authors who self-publish. Winners receive cash prizes, publicity, and introduction to literary agents and publishers.
YA Fi
ction
Chicken Legs by Doug Massey
Noah’s Diary and Shoestrings-Paradox by John Benjamin Sciarra
YA Nonfiction
Blonde Today Bald Tomorrow by Stacy Weed
Keep Your Computer Alive and Your Sanity Intact by Dan Uitti
Children’s Fiction
How Harwinton Got His Middle Name by Linda Machado
Beachmaster by John Benjamin
Children’s Nonfiction
The Backwards “S”, Mikayla’s Story by Michele B. Colletti
José: The Little Chihuahua with Big Dreams by Marianne Hillmer
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ROSANNE CORNBROOKS CATALANO specializes in children’s and young adult books, fantasy novels, and Christian/inspirational manuscripts. Prompt and professional, Rosanne works well with any author’s voice, providing clarity and punch while respecting the integrity of the work.
In books for younger readers, every word counts—more than usual! Rosanne has worked with picture books, early reader books, middle grade books, and young adult books in all stages of development. She understands the multiple factors that go into each type of writing: reading level, book length, and age appropriate content, as well as the artistic and grammatical aspects of writing.
She gives each author’s work the care it deserves, drawing on her diverse life experiences and knowledge in many fields like period clothing, genetics, all aspects of theater, Celtic legends, rustic camping, the martial arts, architecture and languages (Latin, French, Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, a little Welsh and Japanese).
Add that to the marketplace savvy she learned working in publishing houses, and you have an experienced editor who can polish a manuscript and get it past that crucial first reader!
Copyediting, developmental editing
Children’s/young adult
Science fiction and fantasy
Christian, inspirational
MARLO GARNER has been editing books and teaching writing since the late 1990s. She teaches Writing for Children’s Books (picture books), Writing Chapter Books for Children, and various other writing and revision workshops. She also works in an editorial advisory capacity, and a copyeditor and illustrator for a number of independent or educational publishers. Her Ginny Giles chapter book series—which contains numerous poems and rhyming verse—was released in 2010, and she is the author and/or illustrator of a number of other published books for children, including a picture book for Internet security giant AVG. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), and received first place in the ‘published’ division of the New England SCBWI 2013 illustration awards. Marlo is currently writing and illustrating a middle grade dystopian graphic novel as well as a picture book, and she blogs about writing, editing, and grammar.
Editing Services:
- Copyediting & proofreading
- Developmental/substantive editing
- Cover letters, query letters (free with contracted service)
- Correct formatting & understanding the submission process
- Critiques, writing instruction & mentorship
- Children’s books: picture books, poetry, magazine submissions, chapter books, young adult, children’s non-fiction.
- Literary fiction, crime, fantasy
- Illustration, illustration critiques and advice for aspiring illustrators.
TED GASNER edited hundreds of award-winning fiction and nonfiction titles during his six years as a supervising editor for Scholastic Inc. Ted developed book series for print, eReaders, and websites, then assigned topics to authors, helped them with their outlines and first drafts, and then took over from there to copyedit the final product.
As a freelance editor, Ted has edited novels, memoirs, marketing and advertising materials, textbooks, research papers, websites and whatever else has come his way. He has a strong background in fiction, history, the sciences, and sports.
Freelance Editor, New York, NY
Editing for Scholastic (short story anthologies and marketing catalogs), Kaplan (textbooks), Ceneveo (textbooks), McGraw-Hill (textbooks), ONCEKids (memoirs and Asian-themed picture books), and other publishers
Supervising Editor, Scholastic Inc., New York, NY
assigning and editing book-length nonfiction manuscripts for middle schoolers
writing sidebars, online copy, and manuscripts
website development (wireframing, designing, and bugging webpages)
program development (creating concepts for whole series of books)
developing eBooks for tablets (bookmapping, layout, assets, functionality)
website management (trafficking digital assets; coordinating between editorial, design, and engineering teams)
LAURA HARVEY is passionate about reading and producing high-quality books, and she is the perfect editor to take a manuscript from rough draft to finished, polished product. Since 2006, she has edited for numerous publishers, including Common Ground Publishing, Mayhaven Publishing, and Northwestern University Press. Her interests include nonfiction, children’s literature (picture books through young adult books), historical fiction, the arts, and education.
Laura has edited technical papers, novels, marketing materials, and legal documents professionally for the last seven years. Prior to becoming a full-time editor, she was an elementary school teacher. After graduating with honors from the University of Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, Laura later added a master’s degree in curriculum, technology, and education reform. Using her teaching background and attention to detail, Laura copyedits and proofreads all manuscripts with eagle-eye precision. No mistake will go unnoticed—from character development to grammatical errors, all aspects of a manuscript will be developed.
CAROLINE HILEY is a full-service editor who specializes in copyediting novels, particularly in the youth categories. She works with both traditional publishers and independent authors to help make their stories shine.
Whether for stand-alone titles or series, she focuses on consistency, accuracy, and clarity, so that authors can successfully connect with their readers (while avoiding any embarrassing bloopers). Because she writes fiction and nonfiction herself, she knows the creative process from both sides and understands how editing can help or hinder.
Caroline thoroughly grooms a manuscript, checking spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting, and style; tracking character traits and story timeline; confirming proper names, dates, places, and other technical or historical elements; flagging any spots that may raise a question in the reader’s mind. Authors then accept or reject the revisions, and move on to the next stage in their story’s progression.
In addition to copyediting, Caroline offers substantive editing (also called line editing), a more detailed work-through of a manuscript without the full immersion that goes with developmental editing. For authors seeking guidance for their own revisions, she also offers manuscript evaluation.
ANA HOWARD is the author of seven well-reviewed and award-winning children’s novels and has helped many others with their manuscripts, including picture books, chapter books, middle grade and young adult novels. After working in public schools for many years, she has now been a part of the publishing industry for fifteen years and provides a creative and supportive environment. She is passionate about children’s literature and offers the following services:
• Mentoring
• Developmental, substantive and content editing
• Formatting and guidance on the submission process
• Query letters and synopses
• Advice for self-publishing authors
PUBLISHING CREDITS INCLUDE:
- Water at the Blue Earth, young adult historical fiction (Roberts Rinehart)
- A Ceiling of Stars, middle grade contemporary fiction (American Girl)
- Nowhere, Now Here, middle grade contemporary fiction (American Girl)
- The Magic of Ordinary Days, adult historical fiction (Viking Penguin)
- Under a Stand Still Moon, young adult historical fiction (Brown Barn Books)
- Call Me the Canyon, young adult historical fiction (Brown Barn Books)
- Nicki, contemporary middle grade fiction (American Girl)
- Thanks to Nicki, contemporary middle grade fiction (American Girl)
She has seen one of her novels made into film (for Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions on CBS) and has won numerous literary awards. She believes that even in today’s tough publishing climate, it is still possible for new writers to enter the business and succeed. Second to writing her own novels, she loves to mentor others to help them achieve their goals. She knows firsthand how writers benefit from the help and support of other writers and/or editors.
Author Feedback
“My novel had lingered in the offices of editors at the Big Six for years. Ana’s editing was timely and skillful and showed an understanding of my work. I used 95% of her suggestions and cut 200 pages from a 600 page manuscript. End result is a book with a clean, compelling narrative that has been called ‘a gripping read’. Reader reviews of my book at Amazon and Goodreads have been very gratifying and allowed me to enter the top 100 for science-fiction/fantasy. Kirkus Reviews selected Prophets of the Ghost Ants as one of their Best of 2011. I would recommend Ana Howard’s services to any author whose work needs an edit. Cost of the service was more than fair and the end result was priceless.” —Clark T. Carlton
KELLY LYNNE is a professional writer and editor with over 10 years’ experience in fiction manuscript critique and over 80 published titles edited. Her fortes in Young Adult and Middle Grade novels include adventure, fantasy, mystery, romance, sci-fi, and stories of psychic or supernatural phenomena.
Empathic about the “feel” of a story, Kelly encourages authors to learn craft techniques they may not yet have tried to bring forward goal, motivation and conflict in the characters and draw young readers into the emotions on the page, all while maintaining the author’s voice. Whether in a critique or a full edit, developmental fiction editing requires an emotional investment in the work—an investment of time and effort that Kelly is happy to make.
Kelly has published over 100 non-fiction articles, three short stories, and two novels. She knows the hoops authors are expected to jump through and helps authors polish their submission packets (query letters, synopses) for traditional publishing or will assist with sales copy and formatting for self-publishers.
Book Editing Specialties:
- Style-sheet to track continuity, character traits, and plot aspects
- Critique of story plot, character believability and setting
- Verifying readability with Flesch-Kincaid mapping to keep Middle Grade stories in the 8-12-yr-old expected reading range for vocabulary and sentence complexity
- Formatting for CreateSpace (Amazon print) and Kindle
CHRISTY MACDONALD has a decade of experience as a freelance editor, and has copyedited over 150 fiction books for publishers including St. Martin’s Press, Tor, Thomas Dunne, and Harper Collins.
Christy is experienced with multiple fiction genres, including mystery, thriller/suspense, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and young adult fiction. Her clients often seek her out for repeat projects because of her careful editing, excellent eye for detail, and for her knack for bringing out the best in each book.
Christy’s repeat clients include: Piers Anthony and Ben Bova (science fiction), M.C. Beaton and Laura Joh Rowland (mystery), Carolly Erickson (historical fiction), Sherrilyn Kenyon (horror), Michael Palmer and Dana Stabenow (suspense/thriller), and Patrick Taylor (the Irish Country Doctor series).
“You polished my labor of love and made it sparkle.” Irete Lazo, Accidental Santera
“Thanks to Christy MacDonald…for your razor-sharp eyes.” Lisa Patton, Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter
“You took my rough prose and made it shine.” Jeremy Robinson, Instinct
“Thank you to Christy MacDonald, whose sharp eye in copy edit has rescued this book from its author’s very personal style of touch typing and his persistent belief that George Gershwin wrote “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” Patrick Taylor, A Dublin Student Doctor
“Thanks to…Christy MacDonald for uncanny copyediting.” Jane Maas, The Christmas Angel
“Thank you to my copy editor, Christy MacDonald, for the spit and polish. If there’s one thing I appreciate, it’s attention to detail, and you have this in spades.” Anne A. Wilson, Hover
Partial List of Books Copyedited/Published
ANGELLE PINGTON has been a professional children’s book editor since 2001. She was an in-house acquisitions/development editor for Penguin Young Readers Group (Puffin/Speak) before becoming a full-time freelance editor of children, juvenile, and young adult fiction. She has edited award-winning young adult novels and series, middle grade novels and series, middle grade nonfiction, illustrated chapter books, and illustrated picture books.
Angelle has a positive, professional demeanor; a straightforward, kind approach to editorial feedback; and a meticulous eye for detail and accuracy. She truly enjoys helping authors shape their work, encouraging them to learn more about their characters, to explore something unexpected with their plotline, and to strive to inspire emotion (of any type!) in even the youngest of readers.
Rosanne offe
rs developmental/substantive editing, line editing, copyediting, proofreading, and manuscript/query letter critique.
Specialties include: young adult fiction, middle grade (ages 8-12) fiction and nonfiction, leveled/early reader (ages 5-8) fiction and nonfiction, picture books, lift-the-flaps, series fiction
ADINA PORTMAN is a published author, columnist, and book editor of numerous award-winning fiction and nonfiction titles. Her editorial role is to help you reach your goals as a writer by bringing your work closer to your ultimate vision. In addition to providing an overall manuscript review, she can offer a thorough developmental edit and critique that gets into the nitty-gritty of how to improve your work. She checks for tone, continuity, word choice, correct sentence structure, and any “author ticks” that emerge. On a larger scale, she can ensure that the narrative is smooth and progresses naturally, pointing out where the story needs clarification or the plot is inconsistent. She will focus on the presentation, structure, and organization of your work as a whole, and will make sure that the content is as coherent and effective as possible.
“Working with Adina was like working with a side of my own brain that I couldn’t otherwise access—her edits identified problems I wasn’t able to see on my own, yet they struck me as intuitive and aligned with the overall goals of my book. Crucially, Esther knows how to tread those sensitive waters of being critical without being disheartening, and being supportive without blowing smoke.” —Robert Martin
Manusc
ript evaluations, market assessment, global reorganization, developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, rewriting, ghostwriting
Science education, childhood education
RACHEL STONE is an experienced publishing executive and hands-on editor and proofreader who has worked at Prentice-Hall, MacMillan, and John Wiley & Sons, among others, where she developed college textbooks in a variety of disciplines. As the science director for Amsco School Publications–which publishes texts and review books for the 6-12 market–she was responsible for developmental editing of her own titles and assessing manuscripts for publication and marketing.
The list of titles that Rachel worked on at Amsco included: Amsco’s AP Biology; Amsco’s Science, Grades 6-8 (a 3-book series); Preparing for the OAA Science; Preparing for the FCAT Science, Grades 8 and 11 (two books); MCAS Science Grade 8; Life Science Work-Text, Revised Edition; and Forensic Science (IP). Along with the books, she also edited, wrote, and rewrote catalog copy and marketing information.
“Rachel was very professional to work with and had a great eye for what the book needed before it could be published. Her editing skills allow you to focus on writing content, not on becoming an editor; she takes it to the next level. Rachel’s editing was accompanied by an extremely helpful list of suggestions and recommendations for improving the book, along with a simple task list for all the detailed things a writer doesn’t always pay attention to – alerting you to partial footnotes, the need for titles and headers, suggestions for callouts, etc. Best of all, Rachel understands the writer’s voice and was able to do thorough content and proof editing while keeping the author’s voice intact. She’s great!” – Chuck Blakeman, author, Why Employees Are Always A Bad Idea
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