Alicia J Rouverol - Editor

Note: Unless you are currently a client of mine -- or we are in discussion about your project -- due to high demand, at present, I am not taking on full-length novels, novellas, memoirs, non-fiction books. I am only taking on short stories (or full collections/story cycles). If you have a project you feel I would be interested in, do check back with me in future!

I am a writer and editor, living in Manchester, England, where I studied fiction writing with novelists Geoff Ryman, Jeanette Winterson, Ian McGuire, and Maria Hyland, at the Centre for New Writing, University of Manchester (PhD, 2017; MA, 2013). I have taught creative writing/literature at four universities in the North West of England, and, since 2019, have been an Associate Lecturer at the University of Salford. I served as principal writer and editor on my first co-authored non-fiction book, favourably reviewed by the New York Times and nominated for a book award. In addition to editing non-fiction, I also edit fiction projects, with an emphasis on literary/upmarket works, but have also worked with authors on YA novels. As a writer, I have completed two novels and am finishing a collection of short stories (several of which are now published), so I do bring a fiction 'toolkit' to the mix.

I have worked on freelance editorial projects over a number of years, in a variety of settings -- exhibition texts, online formats, science projects for kids, contemporary, literary and YA novels in development. Because I teach writing regularly (in both university and workshop settings), I'm comfortable meeting clients where they are in their own writing process. It's vital that writers secure useful feedback but feel supported in the process.

As a writer myself, I have worked with a number of editors over the years on my own projects and learned how to support my clients best from engaging with other editors -- I know what I found helpful in an editor, and what I did not! Because I have also spent years teaching students of creative writing, I'm aware of the pitfalls writers fall into and strive to help writers to locate the issues in their own work. This is not a matter of simply showing you what needs changing but helping you to isolate your own 'tics' so you can resolve them. As I have developed my own non-fiction book proposals, sample chapters, and query letters (as well as novel pitches) for agents and publishers, I understand the process and journey of taking a project to publication. I usually work directly with authors, but I have also worked as an editor professionally for a publisher. Lastly, I have done quite a bit of editorial work in oral history -- a rather niche field, but Studs Terkel made it pretty popular some time ago!

"I loved working with Alicia on my young adult novel. Her sharp observation and thoroughness helped me to strengthen and build my characters in a way that impresses me still. Her suggestions guided me to re-think elements of the plot to help my story more accurately flow in the direction I wanted it to. Her suggestions were invaluable in helping me create a stronger story and I could not be more pleased with the outcome. I would definitely work with her again." -- Jennifer Barnes, 2021