Literary fiction, creative nonfiction, contemporary-mainstream-trade, adventure, romance, science fiction, action/military, travel/lifestyle, erotica, gay/lesbian, ethnic culture, literary journalism, memoir/autobiography, New Age, religion, spirituality, poetry, APA Editing
APA EDITING SERVICES
Proofreading for correct seriation (lists of items in a series), smoothness of expression, continuity of presentation of ideas, tone, wordiness, redundancy, word choice, colloquial expressions and jargon, use of pronouns, illogical or ambiguous comparisons, anthropomorphism, bias (gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnic identity, age), verb usage such as passive voice, agreement of subject and verb, pronouns, misplaced and dangling modifiers, relative pronouns, parallel construction, periods, commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, quotation marks, parentheses, slashes, hyphenation, spelling, capitalization, italics, abbreviations, statistical symbols, and numbers.
“James Powell examines the symbols of language the way a biologist examines cells.” New York Times Review of Books
“James Powell assures us that the universe is a silent partner in a dialogue that goes on all the time.” New York Times Review of Books
James edits a broad range of works—novels, short fiction, creative nonfiction and magazine articles—some of which have been adapted into film. He offers meticulous manuscript critiques and evaluations, line editing, copyediting, proofreading, and advice on getting published internationally.
James works with authors worldwide and his editing is informed by his background as a student of comparative world literature and comparative world literary theory, as a story consultant to the film industry, and as an internationally published author whose books have been issued by major houses worldwide: William Morrow, Prentice Hall, Hosei University Press (Japan), Chongqing University Press (China), Pensamento (Brazil), Thassalia (Spain), Hans-Ulrich Möhring (Germany), and Orient Longman (India). He wrote the most successful titles in the For Beginners series, and his Energy and Eros, ignited a sexual revolution in its Japanese translation.
His books include 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 (For Beginners, 1996), Postmodernism for Beginners (For Beginners, 1998), Eastern Philosophy for Beginners (2000), Deconstruction for Beginners (2005), and Slow Love: A Polynesian Pillow Book (Ponui Press, 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, Kyoto Journal, Tahiti Beach Press, the Independent, and Montecito Journal.
James is a former professor of English Literature and holds master’s degrees in both English Literature and Religious Studies.
Some of James’ titles appear below:
BOOK EDITOR REVIEWS
“James Powell is an exceptional editor. Beginner or best seller—no matter how talented or at what stage in his or her career—no writer could come away from a read by this editor without insights into their work. James Powell asks questions that many writers would never have considered and thereby nudges his clients toward a deeper understanding of the, as Pound put it, “unspeakably difficult” art of writing, but Powell does so with deference and grace. His approach is that of the ideal editor: he wishes to bring out as much as possible that which you yourself have envisioned, not what his vision of the work may be. Yet he certainly does have a vision of what good writing should look like and will be glad to impart that—with generous comments and clear suggestions and with his ear always open to any disagreements or reflections that naturally arise in the editing process.” – William Huhn, listed five times in The Best American Essay series and nominated for two Pushcart Prizes.
“His comments were practical and insightful. I felt that he understood my style of writing, he made comments that resonated with me. He also shared other reading materials relevant to what I’m doing. He always answered me promptly, and was generous with his time and his suggestions. His evaluations included overall structure as well as the ‘feeling’ aspect of what I am trying to accomplish. I felt that all of his remarks were sensitive to and respectful of my own writing style and never asked me to try to do something outside of the world of what I am doing —a world which he was respectful of, and understood. He gave me a very reasonable price for his work, based on my limited budget, but I feel he went beyond the minimum in his thoughtful responses. He also asked me interesting questions about the content that I had never thought about, and pointed out connections and ideas I hadn’t seen. These questions and ideas do that wonderful thing. They create a spark– the one that energizes you to sit down at your desk and work. I will definitely contact him again, and often. The experience has been invaluable and exciting. Thank you!” – short story writer Shawna Kent
“James was very helpful to me in the editing phase. He turned around my 69,000 word novel in just four weeks, beating my time expectations. His text edits were thorough, thoughtful, and extremely helpful. His comments on my novel were thought-provoking, and I was able to shore up several points of potential weakness. My book is much better for James’ help.” – Robert Winter
Regarding her book of interviews with women Nobel Peace Prize recipients Malala Yousafzai, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, Tawakkol Karman, Wangari Muta Maathai, Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, and Betty Williams, the following: “James was the first co-editor of my book. Because my book addresses many English speaking countries and cultures (the US, India, UK, Africa) it was very useful to have his US West Coast polishing competencies to balance attractive narrative and writing in a good way.” – Supriya Vani, International Journalist
“James Powell did a wonderful job. He responded promptly to e-mails and any questions or concerns that I had. I was very pleased and hope to work with him in the future.” (On file with Network Coordinator)
“I have very good news. My book was picked up by a publisher! I wanted to make sure you are included in the credits as my editor, if you would like to be acknowledged. Please let me know! I am very excited!” – Gina Bortolussi
“I was impressed by his knowledge of the subject and his insight into spirituality in general. He not only provided constructive critique but also was an expert mentor. He really transformed my book into something beautiful. He does magic with words and, at the same time, is very pleasant to work with.” – Ahmad Javid
“Mr. Powell gave me a helpful and insightful critique of my writing. I could tell by his remarks that he had taken time to understand the merits and the flaws in the sample of my novel I sent him. He was thorough in his attention to matters down to the level of punctuation, and at the same time perceptive in his observations on matters of theme and plot. He provided valuable insight on the reactions of a reader encountering my work of fiction cold. Some of the problems he addressed were already known to me. He did better than point them out, he explained what caused them, something my friends, not being trained in literature and editing, could not do, and so gave me the keys to remedying them.” (On file with network coordinator)
“I am very happy with James Powell’s editing services. He understood my voice, he offered deep insights, and his work was of the highest caliber. His turn around time was ahead of schedule, and his price was very fair. I would not hesitate to use him again or refer him to others.” – S. Bales
“It has been a great experience. I am extremely satisfied with the work of James Powell. Great work, Thanks.” – Maria Lorcasusino, Adjust Professor, University of Miami
“He did a magnificent job with my paper. He completed my paper before the due date. I found that truly amazing. He took the time to clarify details to the manuscript. This has been the second greatest experience with this network.” (Contact information on request)
“The process was seamless, including the payment system. James is knowledgeable and experienced. It is reflected in the results I’ve received (3 examplars)” – George Houston, manager, Center for Creative Leadership
“I was very happy with the professionalism, work, insight and expertise of Mr. Powell. His editing really streamlined my ideas. His knowledge of Asian culture, literature, and history created a great dynamic between us. Essentially, my editor also acted as a collaborator. On a couple of occasions, his editing enabled me to reflect on my writing and re-write (or add) more information to clarify some chapter sub-sections. On another occasion, Mr. Powell suggested that I add some ideas to further support my thesis. His expertise, directed me to a field of research where I quickly found and added information that helped clarify and substantiate the thesis in that chapter sub-section. The writing that I am doing these days is very specialized and requires an editor with very highly developed editing skills who also has deep knowledge of Asian culture. As I am under a deadline and a poor editor of my own work, Mr. Powell’s service offered much needed support.” (Contact information on request)
“Thank you for your work! I have read new version and I really enjoyed it. Hope the readers will feel the same. In future if I would need to make correction I will be happy to apply to you.” – Konstantin Ignatov, Russian novelist
“In December, 2003, James Powell edited a grant proposal for me, a doctoral candidate in Greek Literature. His meticulous editing caught typographical and grammatical errors while improving the clarity of my argument. His changes were extremely effective but in no way altered the style or ‘voice’ of my writing. Moreover, he (thankfully) worked extremely quickly, as I was under a pressing deadline!” – Trinity Jackman
“James Powell’s skills as both editor and proofreader were a valuable asset throughout my undergraduate career. Jim is a published author whose editors say his own books need no editing. He has incredible depth of knowledge, as he holds two Master’s Degrees. He also has an amazing breath of knowledge because for 20 years he wrote abstracts of thousands of academic journal articles in the humanities and social sciences. Thus, he not only knows grammar, but also always has some insight in the content and methodology of the pieces I wrote for my classes. He is precise and reliable, and I can highly recommend him to anyone seeking assistance in the polishing stages of the writing process.”
– Amber Kelsey
“I am half way through my thesis and I can’t believe my eyes!! It sounds fantastic! Thank you so much for taking the time to fix this for me. Hope you don’t mind that I will be holding on to your e-mail for my dissertation when that comes along! Thanks again. I am finally proud of this work. Great job!!” – Mike Lu
“Jim was great! Understood my position and points of view. Extremely professional and most importantly, had patience!” – David Osowiski, Global L&D Communications, United Technologies
“I’m very satisfied with the editing service. The editor had sufficient knowledge for editing. He was familiar with APA style writing, and most importantly, he finished the job in time.” – Hyung-Chul Li, Associate Professor, Kwangwoon University
“Jim’s editing for my dissertation helped me tremendously in formatting and English coherency. Furthermore, he can always work in time. I do recommend him without any hesitation.” – – Xiaowen Yan, University of Florida
“James Powell offered great suggestions. He was very personable and friendly in our email contacts. I would use his services again.” – Michael Beach, M.Div student, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“My editor was great! He was very prompt with my paper. Corrections were received back 10 days prior to when I asked for them! I would definitely use his services again.” – Angela McGovern
“The turnaround time was excellent. The work was fabulous!!” – Nova University student. (Contact info on request)
“The work was returned extra fast and I was very pleased with the results. Even though I had my work checked by a friend for whom English is a first language, Mr. Powell found lots of grammatical mistakes and improved style and grammar of my thesis greatly.” – Violeta Kolundzic, York University
“Mr. Powell has been an exceptional help with my editing/proof-reading and APA style errors. I am going to use his editing for each chapter of my dissertation this year. Quick response time and personable! Very pleased!” – Terri Lechnyr, Psychiatric Social Worker/Ph.D Candidate, Capella University