Award-winning writer and editor H. L. BELL is committed to helping other writers make their work the best it can possibly be. Intimately familiar with the thrills and insecurities of the writing process, she empathizes and works especially well with other writers. Clients have praised her as an editor with an engaging manner, a meticulous attention to detail, and a consummate skill with language.
She has edited a broad range of acclaimed fiction and nonfiction titles, including Bonnie Jo Campbell’s American Salvage, finalist for the 2009 National Book Award in fiction. Her own fiction and book reviews have appeared in Jane, Salon,The Women’s Review of Books, and the Chicago Reader.
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.
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.
"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
FAITH HICKMAN BRYNIE specializes in science and
health, especially for children and young adults. She has a
Ph.D. in science curriculum and instruction, and she is an
experienced editor of science activity books, trade books for
middle school and high school, and textbooks K-12. She has
worked for major publishers as writer, substantive editor,
developmental editor, copyeditor, and fact checker. She excels
at communicating complex ideas clearly and simply.
She loves fiction, and has written
three novels, all published by Geneses under a pseudonym. She
has won several contests and awards for her short fiction, which
has been published in such magazines as Thema, Alfred
Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Midnight Zoo, Aberrations, Over My
Dead Body!, Haunts, and others. She critiques mainstream,
science fiction, horror, and mystery manuscripts, helping authors develop
their characters, plot, dialogue, voice, and
style. She also does developmental editing and copyediting of
fiction manuscripts.
Editing (copyediting and developmental)
Rewriting, ghostwriting
Nonfiction: creative nonfiction, scholarly publications, children, juvenile, young adult
JOAN DUNAYER has been a professional editor for more than two decades. She has edited research papers, dissertations, journal articles, magazine articles, and books on a wide range of topics, including psychology, language, literature, education, politics, and medicine.
A graduate of Princeton University, Joan has master’s degrees in psychology, English education, and English literature. She has taught writing to high school, college, and university students. At the University of Pennsylvania, Joan taught classes on preparing psychology reports in APA format. In addition to being an expert in APA style, Joan is thoroughly familiar with Chicago and MLA styles.
Joan also has written professionally. Her articles and essays have appeared in magazines, journals, textbooks, and anthologies. Most of her writing has focused on literature, language, psychology, philosophy, and politics. For example, she has written the commentaries for new editions of twenty-one literary classics.
"Joan did a very thorough review of my dissertation. Her expertise in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and, most importantly, APA formatting was invaluable to me. I would definitely use Joan again."
DIANE L. FOOSE has 20 years of experience as a full-time freelance copy editor and proofreader of books and journals in the fields of medicine and health, engineering, mathematics, law, the environment, and the social sciences. Some of the journals she has worked on are The Journal of Legal Medicine, Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds, Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry, Health Care for Women International, Ocean Development and International Law, Comparative Strategy, Traffic Injury Prevention, and Numerical Heat Transfer. Diane's assignments require an in-depth knowledge of editorial practices, familiarity with specific editorial styles (Chicago, APA, AMA), and an understanding of scientific and technical terms.
Fiction and nonfiction books, textbooks, short stories, scholarly journal articles, symposium proceedings, workshop manuals, newsletters,grant proposals, theses, dissertations
Medicine and health, psychology, environment, education, history, mathematics, political science, international studies, music & arts, engineering
HERBERT M. LEVINE is a freelance writer and editor (nonfiction). His publications include 36 books and more than 75 articles. Subjects include: American government, state and local government, world politics, terrorism, arms control, state and local government, public administration, civil liberties, gun control, illegal drugs, chemical and biological weapons, and immigration. His articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines, journals, and reference books (including an encyclopedia). He served as a consultant for book projects on counterterrorism and evaluated and edited the work of academics and former government officials for that project.
He holds a Ph.D. in public law and government from Columbia University. He taught political science for 20 years at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He has edited numerous doctoral dissertations. He advised dissertation writers on the substance and style of their work and directed them to publishing markets. Dr. Levine is an expert in APA and Chicago writing requirements.
Copyediting, developmental editing
Academic and scholarly topics
Book proposals
Young adult nonfiction
"Herbert Levine was outstanding. His editing comments made it very clear that he spent a great amount of concentrated effort on the project, and he is clearly an exceptional scholar. He returned his comments 3 days before the deadline. I could not have asked for a better experience!" Laurie Sandefer
KAREN SCHADER specializes in fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults, including chapter books, picture books, and educational resources. She has worked as a substantive editor, copyeditor, and proofreader for authors, trade publishers, and educational publishers. With an academic background in child development, she brings an understanding of children to her work, and several of her titles have been recognized with iParenting Media Awards and National Health Information Awards. A client once described Karen's editing as going beyond "simple grammar and sentence structure to style, age-appropriateness, and clarity." She respects readability, grammar, punctuation, accuracy, deadlines—and the importance of preserving the author's voice.
Substantive editing and copyediting
Fiction: juvenile and young adult
Nonfiction: mental health, self-help, and education
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."
Alternates:
2010 at book-editing.com
help2010 at airmail.net
Required:
Submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript (Word/DOC or RTF
attachment preferred). Large files
should be zipped. Attachment not required if writing has not started
(e.g., because you're looking for a ghostwriter).
Along with a sample, the following information is required. Ignore questions that do not apply to your
project (e.g., footnotes).
(01) Word count of complete project (under "Tools" in MS Word):
(02) Put your 100-word (approx) synopsis/description here (or attach):
(03) Describe your genre and topic (e.g., nonfiction/self-help, science fiction,
horror, romance, mystery, Western, young adult, children, poetry, Christian, creative nonfiction, literary):
(04) Deadline date, if any, for return of complete project. (Please be realistic. Remember that professional editors usually have a project in process.):
(05) If you have no immediate deadline, when do you want to start the editing process?: (For instance: within 30 days, within 60 days, within 90 days, 4-12 months)
Copyediting / Proofreading / Line Editing (e.g., English corrections, typos, paragraph and sentence structure, word use)
Developmental (e.g., help with the big picture, such as flow/pacing, telling the story, characterization, structure, style)
Rewriting / Ghostwriting
Critique / Evaluation
(07) Number of charts/tables/pictures (if any):
(08) Writing style/format manual (e.g., Chicago Manual, APA, MLA), if applicable:
(09) Number of footnotes/references:
(10) Do you have a contract with an agent or publisher?:
(11) Do you plan to self-publish?:
(12) What is your budget for the entire project?
$ ________________
(Note: The editors will quote their regular rates, but having an idea of your budget allows the editors to tell you what services they can provide to stay within that budget.)
(13) Your name:
(14) E-mail addresses:
(15) Day/evening phone numbers (required -- in case the response to your e-mail bounces or the editors need clarification
regarding the scope of service needed, deadline, etc.):
(16) City, State, Country (or time zone):
(17) The name(s) of the editor(s)/writer(s) you'd like to contact.
(If no names are selected, your e-mail will be sent to several consultants chosen by the coordinator):
(18) Do you want the coordinator to reroute your submission if you requested editors/writers who (a) are not available by your deadline date, (b) do not handle the type of material you submitted, and/or (c) do not perform the service(s) you want?
(19) How did you learn about our service?:
(20) Attach the first 50 pages of your manuscript (include prologue/preface, proposal, query)
Notes:
No hidden charges
We won't quote you one price and charge you another. When possible, we'll provide you with a per-word or per-page rate so you'll know up front exactly
how much your project will cost. (Of course, we ask that you fairly represent the scope of your project.)
It is a mistaken notion that freelance editors work "on spec" (speculation) with no payment to the editor. It is basically asking the editor to work for free. There's no guarantee that a book will see a profit (or even be published). The editors posted here do not work on spec.
Note: Price quotes and time estimates for individual editors cannot be given over the phone or via chat. This is a network of freelance editors with varying prices and work schedules (see our FAQ). To obtain a price quote please follow the procedures listed on our quotes page.
Contact live support if you do not receive a response within three hours. It is possible that your submission was not received. You may also page the network coordinator by leaving voicemail or sending a fax to 469-789-3030.
Please be as complete as
possible in representing your project's scope and size so you will receive
the most accurate estimate.
Disclaimer: Your agreement, whether oral or written, is with your freelance editor / proofreader / writer, not with the freelance network as a whole or its coordinator.