Editors

ARLENE 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.

• Substantive and developmental editing, copyediting
• Fiction and nonfiction critiques
• Book layout and graphics
• ESL Style Conversions ("Americanization")

"Arlene is everything you want in an editor: thorough, timely and accommodating. If it weren't for her, I certainly would not have landed a publisher for my manuscript. Not only was her editing topnotch, her advice on everything about publishing was very helpful. Arlene really cares about the work she does and it shows!" — Josh Richardson, Ahead of the Pack: Balancing Your Way to Personal Success in College, Thomson Delmar Learning

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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. 

• Substantive editing, copyediting, rewriting, ghostwriting
• 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

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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, whatever stage you may be at after you've written it …

Services:

• Manuscript Diagnostic – A big-picture look at your novel and how to take your story from good to great.
• Developmental Editing – Specific guidance and comments on how you can fine-tune your story.
• Substantive Editing – Hands-on editing help in reorganizing and revising the structure and content of your story for better readability.
• Copyediting – Line-by-line editing and polishing of your story.
• Proofreading – Making sure the smallest detail of your story gets fixed.
• Book Proposal Development – Jointly creating a compelling, well-crafted proposal.

Genre Specialties:

• Christian fiction (all genres – for both adults and young adults)
• Action / Military
• Historical Fiction
• Science Fiction (Sci-Fi)
• Contemporary / Mainstream

As an editor, John David has been privileged to work with some of the best publishers of fiction in the nation, including Whitaker House (where as senior editor he worked on James Byron Huggins' Nightbringer, a book that Library Journal named one of its annual top five Christian novels), David C. Cook, NavPress, Realms Fiction, and Marcher Lord Press.

"You have a true talent, John David, something God-given. All the learning in the world can't give it to you, and nothing can take it away. You comprehend on several levels far beneath the story itself, a rare thing in literature these days. You can have my back anytime."
– James Byron Huggins, Author of A Wolf Story, The Reckoning, Leviathan, Cain, Hunter, Rora, Nightbringer, The Scam, and Sorcerer

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TOM GRANT LEMONS is a successful novelist, editorial consultant, publisher, ghostwriter, and managing editor. His historical fiction has won awards and appeared on bestseller lists, and his novels have been translated and published in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Poland.

Tom is passionate about the written word, and he is eager to bring his passion and expertise to your writing project. Authors Tom has worked with include Oliver North, T.D. Jakes, Bob Hamer, Joe Moscheo, and Hamilton Gayden. The fiction and nonfiction books Tom has worked on both as developmental editor and ghostwriter have been published by major houses including Broadman & Holman, Warner Faith Publishing, Hachette/Center Street, and Greenleaf Book Group.

A skillful editor or ghostwriter can help you refine your words, create a flow that will pull readers in, and still leave the work stamped unmistakably with your unique literary voice. Tom has been able to do this for dozens of books and authors during his writing and editing career. One author told him, “It’s like you were inside my head.” Another wrote in the acknowledgments to his book, “…to Tom … who ‘got it’ immediately, and without whom this book would not have happened.”

• Developmental and substantive editing, both fiction and nonfiction;
• Line/copyediting (including scholarly/academic projects)
• Ghostwriting
• Coaching
• Manuscript critique
• Book proposal development
• Christian, historical fiction, memoir/autobiography, scholarly publications/textbooks, music, nonfiction (general)

“Tom is simply one of the finest men I've ever known and one of the best writers I've ever encountered. His combination of creativity, craftsmanship, integrity, and intelligence puts him at a level I've rarely seen.”—Gary Terashita, Executive Editor, B&H Publishing Group

“Tom is an exceptional editor. An author himself, Tom is meticulous and creative in his work as he expertly brings a writer's best ideas forward. Not only are his editorial abilities outstanding, he is also warm, patient, caring, and thus a joy to work alongside. I recommend him wholeheartedly!”—Edwina Barvosa, Associate Professor, University of California at Santa Barbara

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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 81 internationally published novels (with sales in the tens of millions of copies) and numerous short stories. As a science fiction author, Stephen is best known for his postapocalyptic series, The Survivalist. Their books have been published in English (USA, Canada, Great Britain), French, Japanese, Spanish, German, Serbo-Croatian, Russian, and Portuguese, as general fiction, adventure, and science fiction and fantasy. They were commissioned by Dino DeLaurentiis to write two screenplays (unproduced). 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. Stephen has also written over a thousand articles, columns, features, and interviews for magazines and newspapers. He 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. His articles have appeared in magazines such as Gun World, Satellite Orbit, Writer’s Digest and over 20 more.  

As book editors, they look at the book as a whole and as a series of inter-related parts. It’s not uncommon for a writer to be strong in one area (e.g., character development) and weaker in another (e.g., setting).

• Is the hook at the beginning?
• Is the action shown/lived rather than told?
• Is the dialogue realistic?
• Is each character's motivation logical?
• Are you engaging the senses?
• Is the point of view consistent and clear to the reader?
• Is the plot moving well or do you have places that drag?
• Does each chapter end with a page turner?

The MacEacherns' goal is the same as the writer's: to get the manuscript inside the publisher's door and to get the royalty check in the writer's hands.

When they are not editing books, writing books or writing magazine articles, they are reading books, from biography to science fiction and everything in between. They have interacted with some of America’s most well-known authors and been published with many of New York’s top houses. They’ve been around the block, you might say—but always with a book!  

Specialties: science fiction and fantasy, action/military/adventure, speculative fiction, thrillers/espionage, horror/vampires, detective/crime.

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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.

• Book doctor--fiction. Action-military, contemporary, mainstream, detective, crime, history, literary fiction, mystery, romance, women's fiction, science fiction, horror, fantasy, thrillers, espionage, Westerns
• Copy editing, developmental editing
• Manuscript evaluations, critiques, proofreader
• Manuscript layout (PDF)

"I am absolutely sure I wouldn't have gotten the publishing contract if it hadn't been for Dorrie's evaluation and editing. What an enormous find she was for me!" Shayne Easson, Wrath of Zar.

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MARK ORRIN, M.A., Johns Hopkins (Teaching Fellow, 1971), 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.

• Ghostwriting, mentoring, developmental editing, line editing
• Manuscript critiques and evaluations
• Book proposals
• "Self-agenting" your book
• Fiction: science fiction, fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, Westerns, mysteries, adolescent and children's books, action-suspense
• Non-fiction: memoirs, inspirational, public issues, self-help.

"Throughout our work and rework on my manuscript, Mark was encouraging and kind, and he never made me feel like the rookie I am (was). He never left me feeling like he knew more about the publishing industry than I did — he just continued to teach me in an incredibly thoughtful and gentle way, fine-tuning my work and imploring me to be the best I could be. ... At the moment there are ten agencies and two publishers who have responded favorably to my query (which you taught me how to write, I might add) about my novel. " – Gary Kaschak

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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

"Our nonprofit organization hired Sara Wilson to copyedit a complex and lengthy handbook with a good deal of specialized language, charts, and forms. She did an excellent job not only in catching errors, but also in helping improve the readability and usability of the publication. Her work was thorough and professional, and I would definitely use her services again on future projects."

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