CARLY CANTOR is a meticulous hands-on editor who “becomes one” with every project, paying close attention to both the big picture and the small details. For several years, she was an acquisitions editor at Carol Publishing Group, a mid-sized press in New York, where she acquired and edited numerous hardcover and trade paperback titles on a variety of nonfiction subjects, including self-help, social issues, ethnic issues, and psychology.
She currently represents authors as an agent with a well-established NYC agency (Joëlle Delbourgo & Assoc.), which provides her with a foot in the New York publishing world (and access to the current thinking about what is hot and what is not!).
Carly often works with academics, psychologists, and medical doctors on high-caliber material in the social and life sciences, helping to make their writing more accessible to a trade audience. One happy client, a medical doctor, said of her, “She is a consummate wordsmith, with the facility of not only understanding and integrating scientific and technical material but also illuminating arcane and otherwise opaque descriptions.”
Carly has authored two books: Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and The Mexican War (The Child’s World, 2003).
A partial list of ethnicity-focused books she has edited includes the following titles:
- Discovering Black New York
- Fifty Black Women Who Changed America
- Smart Parenting for African Americans
- Soul in Management
- Chasing America: Notes from a Rock ‘n’ Soul Integrationist
- Two Jews Can Still Be a Mixed Marriage
- The Jewish Family Fun Book
- The Jewish Woman’s Book of Wisdom
- The Moses Mystery
- A Thriver’s Journey
- Italian Pride
Substantive 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.
Copyediting, developmental content editing, manuscript critiques
KATHRYN CLAPPER is passionate about partnering with authors to bring their ideas and stories alive. With 14 years of experience editing more than 350 titles and textbooks for major publishers such as National Geographic, Candlewick Press, Scholastic, Prentice Hall, Pearson Longman, and Blackwell-Wiley, Kathryn knows what it takes to convert an idea into a bound book. With every manuscript, she acts as an advocate of the reader while holding true to the author’s style.
Her talents do not stop at developmental editing, however. When performing book critiques and evaluations, Kathryn provides constructive feedback on big-picture issues in both fiction and nonfiction works, including structure, organization, repetition, language use, plot, characterization, narrative pacing, style, voice, tone, and length. Her evaluations encompass both strengths and areas for improvement. As an eagle-eyed copyeditor and proofreader, she relentlessly perfects details while keeping the big picture in mind.
Kathryn is a certified English teacher with a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University (anthropology) and a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (teaching and curriculum). Her areas of expertise include instructional content in the social sciences and humanities, literary nonfiction, memoirs, biography, general-interest nonfiction, and scholarly works.
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 has worked extensively on the topics of ethnic and cultural identities and brings a focus on detail to every manuscript. She strives to preserve the author’s voice while bringing clarity and accuracy to often-complex topics and providing a professional finish to each work.
Selected titles in the ethnic/culture/sociology genre include: Belgians in Michigan by Bernard A. Cooke (Michigan State University Press, 2012); Finns in Michigan by Gary Kaunonen (Michigan State University Press, 2009); Routes of Passage: Rethinking the African Diaspora, Volume 1, Part 1 edited by Ruth Sims Hamilton (Michigan State University Press, 2006); “Look for Me All Around You”: Anglophone Caribbean Immigrants in the Harlem Renaissance edited by Louis J. Parascandola (Wayne State University Press, 2005); Black Eden: The Idlewild Community by Lewis Walker (Michigan State University Press, 2002); “We Are Not Savages”: Native Americans in Southern California and the Pala Reservation, 1840–1920 by Joel R. Hyer (Michigan State University Press, 2001); and Taking Penguins to the Movies: Ethnic Humor in Russia by Emil A. Draitser (Wayne State University Press, 1998).
She has prepared indexes for more than 30 published books.
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
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.
Copyediting, proofreading, developmental, substantive and structural editing, fiction book critiques
ARLENE W. ROBINSON 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.
“You are and have proven yourself to be so much more than a paid editor. I really feel that you are a friend because I cannot believe that an editor would do so much and go far out of their way to give such perfection, love and personal feelings to a stranger’s half-baked manuscript. I shall always appreciate and remember you and your hard work and give great praises about you every opportunity that I might have. The people who have read this book give great compliments and I could not have done it without you.” – Gene T. Reed, Here’s to My Lady
MARIE VALENTINE’s editorial work ranges from conceptual and developmental brainstorming to copy editing and proofreading, as well as the nitty-gritty of print and Web production. She has worked in acquisitions and production for the renowned new age book publisher Llewellyn Worldwide. She has also served as a news editor and writer, business technology editor, poet and small press publisher of experimental works by contemporary writers. Marie will use her knowledge in literature and nonfiction to clarify your thoughts with minimal alteration, but she is also open to experiments and will adapt easily and quickly to your perceived vision and goals. A flexible editor and proofreader with a light touch, Marie will help your prose shine while keeping your personal style intact.
—10+ years proofreading experience (print, web, digital, books, magazines, news weeklies, chapbooks and more)
—6 years business and technology editing experience
—5 years book manuscript editing experience, both fiction and nonfiction
—4 years publisher acquisitions experience – Ruminator (small press), university press (U of MN), commercial press (Llewellyn). She knows what publishers look for in a book.