Literary Services

I've been an editor for more than 35 years and a coach and consultant for half that time. Clients tell me working together has been the best money they ever spent on their writing. I've helped many writers access their creative flow and their authentic voice so they can write with more ease, confidence and power.
I've edited or consulted on more than 300 books since 1988 for such publishers as Forge and Silhouette (New York); Key-Porter Books, Penguin Books of Canada, Harlequin Enterprises and Annick Press (Toronto); UBC Press, Greystone and Whitecap Books (Vancouver) and Sasquatch Books (Seattle). Four have been New York Times bestsellers, many others have attained Canadian and B.C. bestseller status. Two have been nominated for BC Book Prizes; one was named Best Adventure Travel Book at the Banff Mountain Book Festival; another was an International Book Awards finalist.

WHAT'S NEW

Long-time client Patrick Taylor's tenth book in the very popular Irish Country Doctor series is An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea (Tom Doherty, 2015). It is now available in hardcover and is a Globe and Mail bestseller. Patrick and I have worked closely on all of his books since 1995. These books are eagerly anticipated by readers, who wait each year for a new instalment in the series.
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EDITING. The one-on-one experience of working with a sensitive editor is invaluable. Do you have a completed manuscript ready to
submit to a publisher or agent? I can provide two levels of editing: substantive/structural editing (big-picture suggestions for giving the manuscript greater clarity and power through structure, content and technique); and line editing (line-by-line editing that addresses sentence structure, clarity of meaning and organization at the paragraph or individual page level). Let's start with 25 double-spaced pages first. That way you can see if my approach is right for you.

MANUSCRIPT EVALUATIONS. This is a more cost-effective way to work. While I will make some annotations on the manuscript, the main focus of a manuscript evaluation is a multi-page memo to you reviewing the manuscript generally. With non-fiction manuscripts, I offer suggestions for restructuring in more effective and innovative ways and guide you in the use of creative techniques that make non-fiction more compelling. With fiction manuscripts, I can pinpoint possible concerns in your fiction technique (plot, structure, character development, point of view, motivation, etc.) and suggest ways to make these more effective. Again, let me start with 25 double-spaced pages, give you a preliminary evaluation, and we can go from there.