Why Good Books Need a Good Editor

"You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you. And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.” — Arthur Plotnik

When you’ve put as much into writing a book as you have, it pays to give it the expert professional treatment it deserves before bringing it to your readers. Error-free, of course. And giving your readers a digestible read that honors all that you’ve put into the writing.

And beyond the mechanics of accuracy, comprehensibility, and clarity:

You want what called you to write the book in the first place — the inspiration, the desire to express something in you, of you — to show up on the printed pages. You want that light, that wisdom, that heart to permeate the pages so your book speaks to your readers’ hearts and souls as well as minds.

"I just finished going through all the pages you edited. You did a superb job. It was just marvelous to see all the things you caught, when I thought it was in pretty good shape [already] — especially some really good catches of things that were fuzzy. I can’t imagine doing anything that meticulous. The only thing I do that comes close is a 1000-piece puzzle." — Cindy Spring, co-author, 7 Questions About Life After Life

What Can a Good Editor Do for Your Manuscript?

• Enable it to be error-free, read clearly and without obstructions, and radiate a professional level of integrity that will ensure it is taken seriously.  

  (This is always important, but especially with self-published books.)

• Serve as your ally, not your critic. 

  Pointing out things that don’t work is central to the job; so is coming up with solutions, both as suggestions and direct implementations. The editor’s talent — and task — is to sense the jewel in your work, and free it from the “rock” of prose that imprisons or camouflages it. When all goes well, the author feels seen, like “Now that my work has been edited, it’s even more of what I intended.”

• Protect the integrity of your writing from all unintended embarrassments (e.g., spelling errors, grammatical errors, punctuation errors, stylistic inconsistencies, structural gaps, etc.).

  This is not only a gift to your readers, but also to you, as it undercuts the credibility of your writing when these embarrassments are not dealt with prior to publication. If you care enough about your writing to share it with readers, you want to make sure that your readers can digest it without being waylaid by confusion, inaccuracies, and other interferences to absorption.

• Ensure that your original intention for the book is communicated meaningfully to your readers.

  An author’s perspective about the book’s effect on the reader may be limited by assuming a common knowledge of what didn’t make its way into the book. A good editor will function as the prototype reader, filtering anything that isn’t clear or that needs to be on the page but isn’t through a “beginner’s mind.” This willingness to question what is not yet understandable and to make recommendations for artfully filling in the gaps is one of the things that distinguishes an adequate editor from one who is attuned to the heart of the book and to its author.

What I Bring to Your Project

As an award-winning editor* with over 30 years in the publications field who has worked with countless publishers and authors, I have an unerring sense of what a work of writing needs to read seamlessly, communicate the author's truest intention and voice, and shine.   

* Recipient, Thumbtack “Best Editor” award, San Francisco Bay Area, 2015 and 2016. Listed in Who’s Who and Who’s Who of American Women for my editorial and written contributions.

On a rigorous intellectual level:

Whatever your subject, I can bring your writing to a place of clarity and coherence, readability and interest. Of course, I make sure that all the “t’s” are crossed and the “i’s” are dotted, and so on. But beyond this, I also grapple with whatever doesn’t yet flow in the writing — whether the phrasing, the organization, the need for bridges and transitions, the consistency of the author’s voice, etc. — and make sure that it does. I also ensure a professional structure for your book — including standard elements like the “Front Matter” (e.g., Introduction, Preface, Foreword, explaining the difference among them so you can choose what you really intend) and the “Back Matter” (Epilogue, Appendices, References, Bibliography, and more, though you may not need them all). I point out what fits for your book and address these elements in the way they require to put your book forth in a fully professional way.

On a heart level:

A unique benefit about my way of editing is that — along with the intellectual clarity and discernment that characterize all professional editing — the fact that I am on a spiritual path of the heart, and have been for many years, comes into my editorial work in at least two ways:

1. My relationship with the author is based on mutual respect and collaboration.

   I seek to see who the author is as a person and a creator, and to understand and honor what the author wishes for the book. I don’t impose my ways on the manuscript beyond accuracy and correctness (it’s not a favor to let things like misspellings go unchecked). I aim to find a healthy balance between my view of the manuscript’s “best self” and what the author has in mind (even if, initially, that’s not easy for the author to articulate). I keep asking and listening until the author is vibrantly happy with the effect of my editing on the manuscript, because this is the author’s “baby,” after all.

2. My relationship with the manuscript is based on a conviction that there’s a diamond waiting to be unearthed and faceted.

   I see the potential for the best and truest that the manuscript can be, and I excavate and polish it until its jewel becomes visible and gleams. As the book’s “prototype reader,” I work through its lumps and bumps, its omissions and excesses — until it reads so fluently and fluidly that its readers can take it in unobstructedly and truly benefit from its heartbeat as well as its intellectual offerings.

“I cannot imagine another editor on the planet who could step into my shoes and edit esoteric material as beautifully and sincerely as Naomi did. She has been utterly exceptional.” — Rebecca Field, author, To Choose the Fire of the Cosmos. Foreword by H.H. The Dalai Lama

As a writer, myself — the author of books on the creative process as well as other subjects — I know from long experience what’s involved in transforming a manuscript from a draft to a truly publishable book. And as a Book Developer, I know how to help authors make use of their natural creative pathways to come up with a manuscript that speaks from their authentic nature. All this infuses my editing. I am not the cheapest, but I am among the best. Your hard-won manuscript deserves no less.

You have given so much of yourself to birthing a manuscript that matters to you. When you’re ready to take it to the next level, I can help. As your editor, I will honor your intention, collaborate with you, and deliver a manuscript that you can publish with pride.

“Naomi took my manuscript and turned it into a book. I cannot begin to thank her enough.” — Larry R. Decker, PhD, author, The Alchemy of Combat: Transforming Trauma in Combat Veterans. With a Foreword by Karl Malantes, author of Why We Go to War

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“Thank you from my deep heart for such a beautiful exploration of my future published book. I feel so recognized and honored by the depth of your presence and your knowledge of book publishing. I am inspired to take the next steps.” — Pamela Overeynder, author, Being in Nature: Healing Self and World

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"Naomi has been a wonderful editor and supporter for me.  She pays attention not only to the nitty-gritty like punctuation, word choice, sentence structure, etc., but also to the nuances of meaning and the flow of the writing.  She really listens to whether the writing is connecting with the reader, and for the places where there’s disconnection.  Her support and kindness and wisdom have been worth every penny!" — Rahima Warren, author, The Star-Seer’s Prophecy trilogy

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“I owe the present edition of my book to Naomi Rose, to whom I am indebted. An experienced editor and writing coach helping people find their own depth through self-expression, I trusted that she would be the right person to revise my manuscript. She was moved by its content and not only was grateful for the opportunity to read it but also expressed the wish that she might be of further help in its becoming known to the English-speaking public [through publication]. I like the idea of having my book produced with such maternal care and deep appreciation.”  — Claudio Naranjo, MD, Author, Healing Civilization

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If you are ready now to engage me to edit your book,

you can book a 30-minute gift session with me to explore your book’s needs.

If you first want to know more about what editing encompasses,

read on.

Kinds and Levels of Editing

There is more than one kind of editing.  A good editor will use one,  two, or all three to bring your manuscript up to a professional, publishable level. I offer all three, as needed.

COPYEDITING

Copyediting deals primarily with the mechanics of grammar, spelling, and sentence structure so that your manuscript has the professional-level dignity it deserves. If your written work is in a field that follows a particular style guide (such as The Chicago Manual of Style, or APA format), the copyeditor will make sure your writing follows that style accurately. Footnotes, references, and bibliography (if applicable) also fall under copyediting.

SUBSTANTIVE EDITING

On this level, the editor addresses not only the mechanics but also the “substance” of your writing. Substantive editing deals with such matters as  the structure/ organization, clarity, and appropriate wording of your writing. The editor may rearrange (or propose) sections and paragraphs to maximize clarity and reader interest; suggest transitions to make the writing flow; and advise you where to delete extraneous material, or fill in missing pieces to round out and complete the writing’s message and delivery.

REWRITING

Rewriting takes the material you provide and brings it to a higher level. The editor will reword your writing adeptly, and suggest or add examples, phrases, or structural material, etc., so that in the end you can say, “Yes, that’s it. That ‘s exactly what I meant to say!”

INTUITIVE EDITING

Both substantive editing and rewriting can benefit from the ministrations of an editor who is intuitive as well as intellectually capable. Editing tends to be a largely left-brained occupation (otherwise how could all those pesky details like whether to put the period inside or outside the close parentheses be kept track of, much less applied consistently?). However, when the editor is also proficiently right-brained and intuitive, able to make connections and leaps of interweaving, then your book has the advantage of a whole-brained makeover that can reach your readers’ hearts as well as minds.

A Small Sample of Books I’ve Edited

A PARTIAL LIST OF PUBLISHERS I HAVE WORKED WITH:

Ten Speed Press / Ortho Books / New World Library / McGraw-Hill / Crittenden Books / Scott Foresman / Stephen Greene / Viking

A PARTIAL LIST OF AUTHORS I HAVE WORKED WITH:

Don B. Ardell / Richard Carlson and Benjamin Shield / Elizabeth Cowan Neeld / Shawn Talbott, PhD / Alan Crittenden / George H. Troy / Rahima Warren, MFT (ret.) / Deborah Welch, PhD / Marianne Rothschild, MD / Claudio Naranjo, MD / Larry Decker, PhD / Doreen Hamilton, PhD / Barbara Hannelore / Cynthia Spring / Jeffrey Hardy / Jenaii Gold, PhD, MFT / Shelle Goldstein, MFT / Eliza Joslin Kendall

A PARTIAL LIST OF BOOKS I HAVE EDITED:

The New Holistic Health Handbook: Living Well in a New Age / For the Love of God: Handbook for the Spirit / All About Vegetables / All About Roses / Energy-Saving Projects for the Home / High-Level Wellness / Writing, 2nd edition / Cortisol Control and the Beauty Connection / Laser-Eye Surgery / Coping with Change / Healing Civilization / Money Matters: Keeping Your Head Above Water / The Almanac of Investments / The Star-Seer's Prophecy (Book One: Dark Innocence; Book Two: Fierce Blessings; Book Three: Perilous Bliss) / The Alchemy of Combat: Transforming Trauma in Combat Veterans / Essential Speaking: The 7-Step Guide to Finding Your Real Voice / The Moon and You / The Gospel of St. John: Revisiting the Vision of Rudolf Steiner for the 21st Century / Dancing with the Rhythms of Life

Will your book join this list?

“I have worked with several editors and none can compare to the precise, detailed work Naomi has done. She color-coded the editing process (made it very easy to follow), provided feedback and explanations/comments to changes or additions, including changes to sentence structure, without compromising my writing style or ideas. She combed through my [manuscript] in detail, picking out grammatical errors [in a way] that was absolutely brilliant. Naomi takes interest in the material that she is working on. She developed a real sense and feel for the material, and treated my [writing] as if it was the most important work. Throughout the process, I was confident, calm, and at ease working with her. I could not have done it without Naomi. I am thankful and blessed to have [had] her as my editor. Naomi is the one.” — Christina Pillai, PhD

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