My editor's response showed careful reading, great insight, and thoroughness. I was especially grateful for her ability to quickly grasp my project and make suggestions that were in keeping with my voice and vision for it. She provided me with a great balance of encouragement and specific suggestions for how to make the collection work better.”
—Holly Hughes, Author

My editor was thorough and thoughtful. It was especially helpful to know what works in the manuscript, so I can concentrate on the weaker aspects. She has inspired me to delve back into this project and give it another rewrite.”
—Brian Bek, Author

Are you looking for an editor?

Before you get started, you’ll find it useful to consider what kind of editing you’re looking for. Take a look at our resources “Different Kinds of Editing” (pdf download) and “What to Look for in an Editor” (pdf download).

The Author–Editor Clinic has provided more than a hundred authors with substantial critiques in our editorial clinics and manuscript review service. Some authors have gone on to work directly with their Clinic-assigned editors for further editing. All the editors listed below are connected with the Clinic and are available for freelance editorial work. All of us may be contacted directly.

Barbara Sjoholm

Author–Editor Clinic Director

www.barbarasjoholm.com
seaisland@seanet.com
Barbara Sjoholm was the cofounder of Seal Press in 1976, where she was publisher and editor for 18 years, and an owner for 25 years. She acquired, developed, and edited numerous works of fiction, memoir, translation, and women's studies. In addition to supervising projects at the Author-Editor Clinic, she runs a freelance editing practice and has edited dozens of manuscripts in a variety of genres. Many of the authors she has worked with have gone on to publish their books. She has taught writing at the Richard Hugo House in Seattle, and in the summer programs of Haystack, the Port Townsend Writers' Conference, and Flight of the Mind. She has also taught the course in Developmental Editing of Nonfiction in the University of Washington Certificate Program in Editing. Her interest in putting authors and editors together comes from her background in publishing and her wish to help both authors and editors learn to work together as beneficially as possible.

Kathy Bradley

kathy.bradley@comcast.net
As a freelancer, Kathy does developmental editing, substantive editing, and copyediting. She is familiar with the Chicago, AP, and Falcon style guides, is comfortable with both fiction and nonfiction, and enjoys working with authors. Her favorite genres and areas of interest include biography and memoir; history; mysteries; travel; cooking; the Northwest, Canada and Alaska; the outdoors; weaving and sewing; ballet; and natural history. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and the University of Washington Editing Certificate program.

Kyra Freestar

Author–Editor Clinic Administrator

kyra@bridgecreekediting.com
www.bridgecreekediting.com
Kyra Freestar has been providing developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading services to authors, publishers, and nonprofits since 2005. She particularly enjoys editing book-length manuscripts in ways that meet the author's voice and vision. Kyra has a passion for science fiction, fantasy, and young adult fiction; she also has experience with memoir and general nonfiction. She is a graduate of the University of Washington Certificate Program in Editing and an active member of the Northwest Independent Editors Guild.

Pamela Greenwood

pdgreenwood44@earthlink.net
Pamela Greenwood has more than fifteen years combined experience in writing, editing, and teaching creative writing. She holds a B.A. in English from Seattle University and is a graduate of the University of Washington Editing Certificate Program. Pamela provides substantive editing and copyediting for fiction and nonfiction manuscripts; areas of special interest include mystery, memoir, gardening, quilting, natural history, and children's and Young Adult literature. She has published both fiction and nonfiction in the children's and Young Adult marketplace. has edited a number of Young Adult manuscripts and currently teaches writing through the Institute of Children's Literature.

Karalynn Ott

karaott@comcast.net
Karalynn Ott provides developmental, substantive, and copyediting services to authors and publishers. She has been a freelance editor and writer since 1997 and very much enjoys the creative and thoughtful work process each project brings. She reads and edits both fiction and nonfiction but is especially interested in literary fiction, science fiction/fantasy, regional history, creative nonfiction and memoir, outdoor adventure/sports tales, and travelogues. Karalynn earned her B.A. in Journalism from Wayne State University in Detroit, completed the University of Washington Editing Certificate Program, and is a member of the Steering Committee for the Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She is an instructor with the Author–Editor Clinic. Together with Michele Whitehead she runs Seattle-based Verve Editorial.

Beth N. Stokes

editor@hookarcandtwist.com
www.hookarcandtwist.com
Beth offers developmental and substantive editing support to writers of all skill levels and at all phases of the writing process. Though she will read and edit just about anything, her particular interests include literary and commercial fiction, sci-fi and speculative fiction, mystery, children's and young adult fiction, creative non-fiction, and memoir. Prior to working with authors one-on-one, she delighted in organizing and distilling large amounts of complex information for corporations into readable material for a general audience. She has a B.S. in Communication Studies from Boston University, with additional training over the years in creative writing, poetry, long-form creative non-fiction, science writing, developmental editing, copy-editing, and psychology. She is also a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association.

Marta Tanrikulu

info@tanmar.biz
www.tanmar.biz
Marta offers manuscript critiquing, developmental editing, and copyediting services. A former scientist, she has 12 years of experience editing technical and creative writing. Marta particularly enjoys working with authors of novels and short stories in the genres of historical fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, science fiction, fantasy, and young adult, including graphic novels. She can also assist writers of dissertations and other book-length science-oriented manuscripts. She runs TanMar Editorial, a small editing business in Lafayette, California.

Michele Whitehead

Michele Whitehead offers developmental and substantive editing, copyediting and proofreading services. She has a decade of experience that includes feature writing for several Seattle-based publications, proofreading for advertising/design agencies, and freelance editing for business clients and book authors. She earned a BA in English from the University of Puget Sound, completed the University of Washington's Editing Certificate Program in 2004, and is a member of the Northwest Independent Editors Guild. Michele enjoys helping organizations craft and polish their communications. She especially relishes the creative and critical thinking required of substantive editing, and is interested in both fiction and nonfiction manuscripts, particularly literary and historical fiction, travel, essays, and memoir. With Karalynn Ott, she runs Verve Editorial.

Nancy Wick

info@enlightenededits.com
www.enlightenededits.com
Nancy Wick has been a writer and editor for 30 years, working in newspapers and magazines, and has won both regional and national writing awards. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Speech and Drama from the University of Missouri and is a former film and theater critic. She also earned a doctorate in communication at the University of Washington. Nancy loves to read both fiction and nonfiction, and is especially fond of character-driven novels (both genre and non-genre), psychology/self-help books, essays and memoirs. She can also help writers of scholarly articles or dissertations in subjects outside the sciences.

 

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