Editors

DEANNA BRADY is a highly versatile freelance writer and editor with more than two decades of experience. She ghostwrites, rewrites, and edits self-help books, novels, biographies, cover and query letters, proposals, articles, essays, scripts, textbooks, business communications, Web content, and literary fiction. Deanna taught in the Continuing Education Department at California State University for a dozen years. In addition to writing several children's textbooks, she is an award-winning author of short fiction and poetry.

For more than two decades, Deanna has written and edited virtually every type of nonfiction literature, including advertising and marketing copy, prospectuses, and training materials, for major corporations, magazines, and publishing firms. She also works with most genres of fiction, including young adult, romance, historical, autobiographical, mystery, adult, horror, and science fiction. She is adept at editing ESL text, dialects, and British language variation and also specializes in subjects concerning spirituality, ecology, alternative healing, and American Indian culture.

• Developmental editing
• Copyediting
• Ghostwriting, rewriting
• Query letters, cover letters, synopses
  
• Fiction: literary fiction, children's / young adult literature, genre fiction, historical, romance, science fiction, fantasy, mystery suspense, psychological, crime, supernatural, action/adventure
• Nonfiction: business, marketing, advertising, web copy, proposals, self-help, self-improvement, how-to, children's textbooks, memoir, personal essay, biography, medical, alternative health, diet, nutrition, religion, spirituality, ethnic, journalism, legal, technical, scientific, screenwriting, novelization, film and television, music, art, query letters, cover letters, synopses

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BETH BRUNO is 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. Beth's editing interests are eclectic and include a delicious mix of fiction, nonfiction, young adult, and children's works.

• Developmental editing
• Writing assistance
• Fiction and nonfiction: adventure, children's books, contemporary, education, humor, memoir/biography, mystery, romance/women's fiction, historical, creative nonfiction, literary fiction

"I want to thank Beth for the spectacular job she did editing my book, which has just been published. When Beth first received the manuscript, she understood what was missing and recognized the changes needed to improve the flow, characterization, plot, etc., of my novel. She had a keen eye for small details. Beth was also always very available to discuss suggestions, and she quickly came up with alternatives to solve the problems we encountered along the way. She guided me through the particulars of my novel to the final polished product. The result: A published book." Oscar Medina

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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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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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KEVIN D. MILLER specializes in editing fiction of all kinds—including screenplays—but he has a particular fondness for science fiction and fantasy. As an editor and instructor of creative writing, Kevin has helped dozens of new and experienced writers hone their craft and prepare their manuscripts for publication. Many of Kevin's clients, such as Spencer Tillman of CBS Sports, have gone on to lucrative publishing deals with Thomas Nelson, Lyon Hudson, Crown and William B. Eerdman's. Clients appreciate Kevin's extensive knowledge of story structure, his attention to detail and his knowledge of the marketplace.

A professional writer, screenwriter and editor for the past 12 years, Kevin has worked as both a staff writer and as a freelancer. During that time, he has amassed numerous writing and editing credits. These include over 40 published books, including: Scoring in the Red Zone (Ghostwriter, Thomas Nelson Publishers; World's Easiest Pocket Guide to Buying Your First Home" (with Larry Burkett, Northfield publishing)

Kevin is also the co-founder of Fresh Wind Press and Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice. He has taught creative writing at various colleges and conferences across North America.

Services:

• Script coverage
• Manuscript critiques
• Developmental editing
• Structural editing
• Line editing / copyediting
• Writing assistance
• Ghost writing
• Market consulting (preparation of query letters, complete book proposals, writing samples)

Genres

• Science fiction
• Fantasy
• Crime/Thriller
• Detective/mystery
• Romance
• Horror
• Literary fiction
• Historical fiction
• Children's/Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction
• Christian fiction (extensive experience in the Christian marketplace)
• Self help/How to non-fiction

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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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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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