Overview
As a reader, I'm drawn to character-driven literary fiction; novels with a whole lot of heart and humor; women’s, upmarket, and commercial reads; psychological suspense; narrative nonfiction; books that present a bigger picture about humanity or the world today through the lens of a more personal journey; and nonfiction that renders niche or obscure topics accessible and fascinating to a mainstream audience.
As an editor, what excites me is the chance to nourish your talent, strengthen your voice, polish your words, and help elevate your project to extraordinary heights.
In short? I'm passionate about the fiction and nonfiction stories we tell, and about finding ways to tell them even better -- together -- through collaboration, conversation, and creative language.
A sampling of services offered, to individuals as well as to organizations: manuscript and proposal development; comp title and market research; conceptual, line, and structural edits; copyediting and proofreading; copywriting and ghostwriting of brand materials, book proposals, and short-form content; content ideation and strategy; communications consulting; and storytelling coaching.
Let's talk! I can't wait to hear from you.
Services
Non-Fiction
Fiction
Languages
Work experience
Self-employed
I'm an independent book editor and writing consultant with eight years of experience at two of New York's finest publishing houses. First at Viking (an imprint of Penguin Random House), and then at Little, Brown and Company (an imprint of Hachette Book Group), I worked closely with a range of acclaimed and award-winning authors, such as Emma Donoghue, Edna O'Brien, Maria Semple, Stacy Schiff, Chigozie Obioma, Val Emmich, Mark Leyner, Matthieu Ricard, Marcia Clark, Whit Stillman, and Sarah Dunn. I've written for an assortment of online and print outlets, too, including DailyCandy, ELLEgirl, Variety, Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus, Art+Culture Projects, and Lola, a women's magazine published by The Boston Globe.
As a reader, I'm drawn to character-driven literary fiction; novels with a whole lot of heart and humor; women’s, upmarket, and commercial reads; psychological suspense; narrative nonfiction; books that present a bigger picture about humanity or the world today through the lens of a more personal journey; and nonfiction that renders niche or obscure topics accessible and fascinating to a mainstream audience. As an editor, what excites me is the chance to nourish your talent, strengthen your voice, polish your words, and help elevate your project to extraordinary heights.
In short? I'm passionate about the fiction and nonfiction stories we tell, and about finding ways to tell them even better through collaboration, conversation, and creative language.
A sampling of services offered, to individuals as well as to organizations: manuscript and proposal development; comp title and market research; conceptual, line, and structural edits; proofreading; copywriting; brand messaging and honing of tone; communications and storytelling coaching.
Little, Brown and Company
Recently published/forthcoming titles include:
"Love & Friendship" by Whit Stillman
"Rush Oh!" by Shirley Barrett
"Panorama" by Steve Kistulentz
"Every Other Weekend" by Zulema Renee Summerfield
"All is Beauty Now" by Sarah Faber
"The Drowning King" by Emily Holleman
Little, Brown and Company
Assistant Editor to Judy Clain, Vice President and Editor in Chief at Little, Brown, as well as to Michael Pietsch, CEO of Hachette Book Group, for select Little, Brown authors; closely worked on and edited both fiction and nonfiction titles; managed projects from manuscript stage through to initial publication, and beyond; evaluated submissions; wrote reader reports, fact sheets, flap copy, verso, marketing, and publicity materials; crafted discussion questions and reading group guides for book club usage; steered cover design direction; ran P&L statements and drafted contracts for new acquisitions; built and maintained strong agent and author relationships and handled the day-to-day communications with them; coordinated with other departments in-house to ensure production schedules progressed in a timely fashion.
Some of the brilliant writers I've had the honor of editing: Emma Donoghue, Edna O'Brien, Chigozie Obioma, Whit Stillman, Anne Korkeakivi, Elizabeth Bard, Marcia Clark, Matthieu Ricard, Hannah Kent, Mary Simses, Shirley Barrett, Polly Dugan, Sarah Faber, Kimberly Meyer, Alice Adams, and Scott Spencer (as Chase Novak).
Some of the talented authors whose works I'm proud to have helped publish and connect to enthusiastic readers over the years: J.K. Rowling, Stacy Schiff, Maria Semple, Donna Tartt, Malala Yousafzai, David Foster Wallace, Whit Stillman, Mark Leyner, Ayad Akhtar, and Liza Klaussmann.
Viking Penguin
Assisted two editors at Viking Penguin; worked on both fiction and nonfiction titles; edited manuscripts; evaluated submissions; wrote reader reports, book briefs, flap copy, verso, marketing, and publicity materials; handled permissions; created P&L's and OAM's for new acquisitions; managed contract routings and check requests; coordinated with other departments to ensure production schedules progressed in a timely fashion.
Some of the authors I had the pleasure of working with while at Viking Penguin: Danielle Trussoni, Beverly Donofrio, Sally Koslow, Kim Edwards, Tana French, Daniel Ladinsky, Alex Gilvarry, Jessica Tuccelli, Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, Jan Karon, Garry Wills, Margaret George, Ann Ross, Nancy Goldstone, and Jennifer Niven.
Taken Quite Seriously magazine
Founded contemporary arts, culture, and thought magazine with a focus on the print book as interactive, collectible object; responsible for creative branding and packaging of publication, as well as layout and design; assigned articles, with a focus on the aesthetic and unusual, to a selection of writers and photographers; interviewed and collaborated with various cutting-edge figures in the literary, art/design, and music worlds, including Tao Lin, Jay Cantor, Tanit Sakakini, Arakawa and Madeline Gins, Daedelus, and Paulo Reachi.
DailyCandy
Scouted local businesses, happenings, talent and trends; wrote weekend guide items and full page features; crafted succinct and witty copy; used persuasive language to market concepts and products to subscribers.
Portfolio
Amanda has 5 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Responsiveness
Michelle R.
Mar, 2018
Tom S.
Feb, 2018
Irene P.
Dec, 2017
Kathleen M.
Nov, 2017
Edward C.
Aug, 2017