EDITING
My editing service, Executive Editor, is now in its fifteenth year.
I started out by editing academic books (I have a PhD in English) and went on to edit business reports for the Economist Intelligence Unit. Since then, I have edited books on psychology, community activism, the therapeutic use of hallucinogens, and many other subjects. I have ghost-written books "by" famous financiers and written forty pieces for the Novartis intranet. I have given developmental help to many people writing their memoirs.
One such memoir is by a Khmer Rouge survivor who became a scientist and an Olympic runner. Another memoir, Hush-a-Bye: Music, Murder and the Mob, by Al Contrera, cites me in the acknowledgments as "the best editor in the world"!
As a novelist myself, I especially enjoy editing fiction. I recently copy-edited what became an Oprah Book Club selection, and I suggested a new epilogue to a best-selling writer's first young adult book.
I work on shorter pieces, too, and the occasional website. My rates are reasonable, and I charge by the hour or by the project. Please get in touch via the contact page and tell me about your writing project.
SOME RECOMMENDATIONS
"Executive Editor produces brilliantly edited pages at an economical rate. A pleasure to work with."
—Nigel Holloway
Economist Intelligence Unit
"Executive Editor did a wonderful job in restructuring the manuscript and providing stylistic advice. Without her help, this book might not have been published."
—Darius Mehri, author
Notes from Toyota-land: An American Engineer in Japan
"I've been very impressed with the way Executive Editor works with authors. Your editing system—and your style—is friendly and effective. The results have been terrific. I will definitely send more authors your way."
—Frances Benson,
Editorial Director, ILR Press
Cornell University Press
"My editor, Catherine Hiller, took a 500-page manuscript and helped turn it into a readable book. Her professionalism, patience and unselfish guidance were critical to this book's completion."
—Harold DeRienzo, author
The Concept of Community: Lessons from the Bronx
"Damn, you're good!"
—Joan Boyce, Group Publisher
Genetic Engineering News (GEN)
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Executive Editor's clients include:
• Academics
• Artists
• Communications companies
• Filmmakers
• Literary agents
• Management consulting organizations
• Medical publishers
• Memoir writers
• Novelists
• Pharmaceutical companies
• Scholars
• University presses
HOW IT WORKS: Editing
Send me an email about your project, and we can schedule a time to talk about it. On longer projects, if practical, we might also meet.
Or I might suggest you simply attach your Word document to an email. We agree on a price, and then
1. I edit the manuscript, asking where I am uncertain of your meaning or where you should expand upon a subject. Then I send it back to you.
2. You send it a second time, with the clarifications and/or amplifications I've requested — if you agree with them, of course: it's always your manuscript!
3. I give it another edit and send you the final document.
"We do the edit —
You take the credit!"
HOW IT WORKS: Writing
If you haven't yet written your document and shudder at the thought of getting started, send me your outline or notes and I'll do the writing for you.
This process is more interactive than a text edit, and we will discuss the project in detail before I start to write.
I might need to email the document back and forth a few times until you are entirely satisfied.
After the first draft, for instance, you might ask me to abridge or expand certain parts. I might ask you for more information. You might ask that the entire piece be longer, or shorter.
By the end of this process, you will have writing that eloquently expresses your best ideas.