H. G. Wells's quote is amusing, but I'm really not interested in altering a writer's work—unless he or she asks me to. I want to work with you to help you make your manuscript excellent.

Whatever you have written, whether it's literary fiction, genre fiction, a memoir, a biography, a self-help book, the manuscript is precious to you. You have put time, energy and probably a good deal of heart into it. As precious as the book is, however, any piece of writing can benefit from an objective critique. All of your family and your best friends may have already read your manuscript and told you it is ready to be published, but having your work assessed by an experienced professional can be invaluable. Only someone who has worked in the publishing business can rigorously evaluate your manuscript, looking at it with the benefit of years of reviewing, editing and publishing hundreds of books.

I have worked in the publishing industry for more than twenty years—sixteen years as an editor for three major publishing houses in New York and several years as a freelance editor. My clients write a wide variety of fiction—women's fiction, mystery, historical, paranormal, science fiction—as well as non-fiction. My specialty is memoirs. I also teach classes on writing in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

And I have sat on the other side of the desk—I have published several novels. This gives me a unique perspective of what a writer requires from an editor, and what an editor is capable of giving a writer.