How I Work

I see author and editor as a team in service to your book and your readers, and that means we are equally committed to making the needed investments and taking the needed time to get the product we’re looking for—with the mutual understanding that whatever road we take to get there is the road we need to take.

I also need my clients to understand that while my autism and ADHD are integral to what makes me so good at what I do, they are also disabilities. It’s a double-edged sword: I’m extremely efficient but also easily burnt out. And being a neurodivergent person in a neurotypical world is exhausting, so I need frequent breaks to sustain my ability to hyperfocus on my work. I’m learning to manage my energy and prioritize self-care, and I cannot work with people who do not also prioritize my fundamental humanity over my usefulness as a service provider.

This translates to things like: I would rather push a deadline than deliver something that doesn’t feel complete, every time. That’s not to say that adherence to deadlines isn’t important to me—respect is one of my core values, after all, and that includes respect for each other’s time, boundaries, and expertise. But speed is not my top priority, and if I don’t feel good about the amount or quality of energy I’ve been able to put into your project, I would rather ask for more time than give less than my best.

I pull no punches in my feedback, but I strive to always be clear, direct, and supportive rather than brutal in my honesty. I will challenge you to be vulnerable and authentic (especially if you are writing memoir or self-help). You wouldn’t be looking for an editor if you didn’t want to share your work, and connecting with others—in any capacity and through any medium—requires willing vulnerability.

I work holistically and intuitively, and I need to see the full picture before I can gauge scope or quote any services. My superpower is the ability to see the polished final product within the manuscript (i.e., your vision), while at the same time seeing through the lens of the reader and identifying the disconnect between what you’re trying to communicate and what the material is actually conveying. And then I help you turn vision into reality. But in order to do that, I have to see the whole picture of what you’re trying to accomplish with your book.

I therefore very rarely provide discrete services (e.g., a single round of a particular level of editing); usually, it is a collaborative, comprehensive, iterative¹ process that could best be described as a mix of book doctoring + content and copyediting. Where that process starts and what it looks like is different for every manuscript and depends on a number of factors. That’s why I start all new clients with the First Date, so I can assess where we are and where we need to go.

1. Meaning there are several rounds of back and forth between us.