Editing and Ghostwriting

I am very selective about the new projects I take on. I want to feel my background and experience can bring an additional element to the teamwork. Collaborating with highly accomplished professionals, scholars, and celebrities to produce top-notch final manuscripts is something I’ve been doing for two decades and find especially satisfying. Sometimes it is the more personal projects that gather together an interesting family history that attract my attention. In each instance, I find developmental editing and ghostwriting provide exciting and rewarding opportunities to write and research a diverse range of subjects.

I have worked with authors of more than one hundred books, including mainstream fiction and nonfiction, as well as scholarly works published by university presses. Here are a few samples:

Ghostwriting

Rosemary and I recently worked together on a big, complex six-month long writing project. She is perfectly organized, always meets deadlines, and is a highly skilled writer and editor. Plus, she's convivial, fun, and a fine person. Two thumbs way up!

—Russell Martin, Producer, Director, Writer at Say Yes Quickly Productions

Editing: Mainstream Fiction & Nonfiction

FIRELIGHT: The Life of Angel De Cora, Winnebago Artist
Linda M. Waggoner (University of Oklahoma Press)

Artist, teacher, and Red Progressive, Angel De Cora (1869–1919) contributed greatly to the US arts and craft movement and forged her way against great odds in a world of racism and sexism. Waggoner, an independent scholar, brings De Cora her long-deserved recognition.

I worked with Rosemary Carstens, the copyeditor of my dreams. Rosemary’s clear direction, thoughtful suggestions, our inspirational discussions, and her eagle eye helped make this a story I feel proud to have written. —Linda M. Waggoner

Touching Earth, Touching Sky
By Trudi Carleton Peek (Blue Raven Press)

A captivating story about a strong, thirty-eight-year-old Montana woman, her secret thoughts and intimate struggles, her loves and regrets, set among the trappings of her everyday life. Meg Halverson’s character and ideals were shaped by her down-to-earth life on her parents’ central Montana wheat-farm. But now, after eighteen years as the wife of a banker and land-developer in a western Montana university town, life has become a disappointment. Following a devastating tragedy, she strives to understand her new circumstances and retreats to a home nestled on a beautiful, pristine mountainside. Meg’s love for the land is a thread that runs throughout this book, speaking volumes about the importance of nature to our human spirit.

The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No and Still Get to Yes
By William Ury (Random House)

Based on best-selling author William Ury’s celebrated Harvard University course for managers and professionals, The Power of a Positive No offers concrete advice and practical examples for saying No in virtually any situation. Whether you need to say No to your customer or your coworker, your employee or your CEO, your child or your spouse, you will find in this book the secret to saying it clearly, respectfully, and effectively. A positive No has the power to profoundly transform our lives by enabling us to say Yes to what counts—our own needs, values, and priorities. The Positive No may be the most valuable life skill you’ll ever learn!

Editing: Scholarly Titles