I’m a freelance book editor with extensive in-house publishing experience. I work directly with authors on most aspects of developing their books, including archival research, crafting eye-catching book proposals, and polishing full manuscripts.
I started out as a Paris Review intern and went on to work at Canongate Books, The Overlook Press, and Open Road Media. The books I’ve edited range from critically acclaimed novels, to Oprah-featured memoirs, to narrative studies of internet culture, sports fandom, and the natural world. Since going freelance, I’ve worked primarily on literary fiction, suspense fiction, and narrative nonfiction, including history, biography, memoir, business, and pop science. I love working with writers and seeing their manuscripts become successful books.
What I Do
Developmental editing: I edit for plot, structure, and voice, with the goal of making the narrative as compelling and true to the author’s vision as possible. I fine-tune pacing and flag areas that need further development, working collaboratively with the author at every step. Over the course of these edits, the author receives in an in-depth editorial letter as well as line-by-line markup of the manuscript.
Book proposal consults: If you are planning to submit your work to a literary agent, it’s important to make sure your query or proposal is as polished and persuasive as possible. The submission process can be tough and suspenseful for a writer, but presenting your work to its best advantage will give you a much stronger chance of connecting with the right agent.
Research: I have done archival research work for authors including Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham (Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power) and political biographer Jonathan Darman (Becoming FDR).
What Writers Say
“Working with Stephanie was delightful because she took both an ‘insider’s’ and an ‘outsider’s’ view, making it possible for her to read the author’s as well as the reader’s mind. Her suggestions were definitely helpful in untying the knots in the manuscript.” —Kunal Basu, author of The Opium Clerk and The Yellow Emperor’s Cure
“Stephanie is one of those gifted editors who can look at a fragmented, interrupted piece of writing and see the whole. We worked together on my second novel, The Forever Marriage, and she made it a tighter, finer book. Stephanie harbored the right suspicions, asked the right questions, and somehow brought my work closer to what I’d intended to say. What’s more she treated my story as carefully as if it were her own, touching only the words she could lift and leaving the rest. She is a deft and supportive writing partner and an excellent literary guide.” —Ann Bauer, author of The Forever Marriage
“Stephanie was my editor on a book project with daunting drop-dead deadlines that I managed to meet only because she was so supportive. When she puts on her editorial hat, Stephanie metamorphoses into the author’s best friend. She offers intelligent critique and suggestions, and in periods of crunch time pulls out the stops to ensure that the work is finished. At the very end, we were emailing back and forth until almost midnight and then again early in the morning, and that included weekends. Stephanie cares about the projects she accepts and takes as much pride in the published work as the author.” —Elizabeth Abbott, author of Haiti: A Shattered Nation and Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman
“If only I’d followed Stephanie’s editorial advice! I’d have a Pulitzer, a newer car, or at least a better book.” —Terry Bisson, author of Any Day Now
___
Rates: I suggest an appropriate fee after reading a sample of each project and discussing the scope of work with the author, rather than having an hourly rate. Please feel free to contact me and start a conversation about your work!