Alan Bradshaw – Editor

I have worked with many bestselling writers—including Melinda Gates, Michael Eric Dyson, Ben Sasse, and S. A. Cosby—as a production editor, copyeditor, and proofreader. I am a former production director and managing editor at Palgrave Macmillan (an academic publisher) and at St. Martin’s Trade. I have also freelance edited/proofed for Hachette, Mayo Clinic Press, Nautilus, Hechinger Report, and Church Publishing.

In this A.I. age, I’m a believer in empathic editing. In addition to a focus on style, grammar, punctuation, and sense, I am passionate about maintaining the author’s voice and considering the reader’s reception. I think Mark Twain was dead-on when he said that “The difference between the almost-right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” In that vein, I see myself as a writer’s ally, trying to encourage them to find that lightning.

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REVIEWS

“Alan brings an impressive level of care, attention, and professionalism to his work; he always goes the extra mile, focusing on every detail. It is a pleasure to work with him.”

—Elisabeth Dyssegaard, executive editor

“My man Alan, he’s no Stan / When it comes to making a grammatical stand / Make them sentences land perfectly in this verbal gymnastic stand.”

—Michael Eric Dyson, bestselling author

“I have closely worked with Alan for many years of a journalism career in which I’ve interacted with more editors than I can count. I look forward to working with Alan, which is not something you hear often from a journalist about an editor. He has often saved me from myself. His patience, professionalism and good humor make it (almost) painless.”

—Jon Marcus, senior higher education reporter

“The phrase that comes to mind when describing my work with Alan is ‘peace of mind.’ I trust him to handle projects of great complexity and sensitivity with the knowledge that he will do so on time and with the exacting standards that have endeared him to legions of authors and publishers. I can’t recommend him highly enough.”

—Tim Bartlett, executive editor