Your Vision, Realized

GHOSTWRITING
You talk, I write.

DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING
You talk or write, I comment and organize.

LINE EDITING
You write, I finesse the details.

Perhaps you have an idea or a particular approach to something that you want to share with the world.

Or maybe you have some scholarly work (like a PhD thesis)—or decades of experience and expertise—and want to bring your thinking into the public discourse.

You sit down to write and are quickly confronted by every writer’s nemesis—the blank page.

You don’t have to face this alone!

I can help you get your big (or small) ideas out into the world in a way that gives others an opportunity to understand a different perspective.

Because no two projects are the same, I customize my approach:

  • I can help you shape your thinking.

  • I can help you create the book proposal.

  • I can write the book for you.

  • I can write to an outline or use materials you’ve already created.

  • You can do the writing and I’ll do the editing.

  • I can serve as an accountability partner and coach to ensure you keep creating.

  • We can chat regularly, or we can communicate only occasionally.

Generally speaking, my services fall into the following three categories, but don’t get hung up on the differences. We can come up with a combination that suits your needs.

Ghostwriting

Unlike other ghostwriters who will interview you maybe six or eight times before they go off to write your book, I prefer to work more closely with you over the long term to truly draw out the substance of your message and accurately represent your vision and voice.

I spend a lot of time talking through your ideas with you and developing your outline, and I am in touch regularly as I write.

Ghostwriting is a particularly good option if:

  • You know what you want to say but you just don’t know how to express yourself

  • You’ve committed to writing a book year after year, but you’ve finally admitted it’s not going to happen unless you have help

  • You have a lot of material (a PhD thesis, papers, articles, blog posts, talks, etc.) but don’t know how to organize it into a book

  • You want to put something out into the world relatively quickly but can’t take a break from your busy schedule

Developmental / Conceptual Editing

Developmental or conceptual editing generally refer to the process of helping you organize your ideas.

This can happen at several stages:

  • You haven’t written anything and need someone to help you organize (conceptualize) your thinking into a solid outline

  • You want to create an outline and the first few chapters to submit with a book proposal

  • You have an outline and want support and feedback as you develop each chapter (you may have also heard this referred to as content editing)

  • You have a draft and want high-level feedback (the bird’s-eye view) on the whole manuscript

Line Editing

Once you have a draft that you are happy with, it’s time to finesse the words, phrasing, and grammar of each sentence to ensure that what you’re trying to say in every line has the impact you intended it to.

This is a detailed-oriented process that gets into the weeds and refines your manuscript on a granular level.

Case Studies

Ghostwriter

Dave Kurlander came to me with a clear idea and an initial outline for his book. He had the bones of the first few chapters sketched out, but his busy consulting business kept him from finding the time to write.

Trough weekly meetings, I got to know him, his voice, and his philosophy, and we together we refined the outline. Then we met bi-weekly to get to the heart of the material. I would record those sessions and in the intervening weeks, I would write.

A year later, we had a book.

“I couldn’t have done this without Jenn walking with me to bring my ideas into fruition. Her writing finesse and editing skills brought about the best version of this book.”

—David J. Kurlander, Author of Through the Eyes of a Canine

Developmental and Line Editor

Therapists Phil Stutz and Barry Michels were already New York Times bestselling authors and “the most sought-after shrinks in Hollywood” when we met. I interviewed them ahead of an upcoming workshop they were offering, and began consulting on content and brand development after that.

For their second book, Coming Alive, I worked differently with each of them. For Barry, I provided some developmental editing and line editing. For Phil, I had a standing 50-minute meeting in his daily schedule, and we chipped away at his parts of the book together a little bit every day.

“Jenn is brilliant. She met with me every day for months to work on this book, and I can quite literally say I’d never have finished my part without her. If you want someone to help you get your ideas down clearly, she’s the one.”

—Phil Stutz, coauthor of The Tools and Coming Alive, and subject of the Netflix documentary Stutz

“I worked with Jenn on various writing projects for over a decade, including as an editor for our book Coming Alive, a monumental task which she tackled with generosity of spirit, good humor, and grace.  We could not have done it without her.  She’s perceptive, thoughtful, and generous, and my writing was always better with her input.”

—Barry C. Michels, coauthor of The Tools and Coming Alive

FAQs

Q: Do you offer copyediting or proofreading services?

When you’re done making changes to your manuscript, the next step is to have it copyedited and proofread. Copyediting looks for issues with spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Proofreading is the final read through before you submit it to a publisher.

I don’t typically provide those services, as it’s important to have someone else’s eyes on the copy if I’ve been working on it with you for months.

If you have a publisher, sometimes they will provide those services, but if you want to turn in a squeaky-clean manuscript, I can recommend some excellent copyeditors and proofreaders.

Q: Do you write book proposals?

I can absolutely assist you in creating a book proposal. You can think of a book proposal as part of the conceptual or developmental editing process. Book proposals can be quite lengthy and can take a long time to pull together, but the hard work that’s done at that stage will pay off when you turn your attention to the writing.

My favorite resource for understanding book proposals is this article from writer Jane Friedman.

Book a Free Consultation

Ready to write? Let’s connect and see if we’re a fit.