Ashley Strosnider

Ashley Strosnider – Editor

A supportive and collaborative editorial professional with 10+ years’ experience across print and digital—and a total bookworm.

Overview

Content editor by day, book editor by night. My 10+ years of editing experience range from traditional to commercial to indie/self-publishing to small-press literary journals. I am dedicated to supportive critique, empathetic editing, and the creative exchange of ideas.


I'm an enthusiastic and detail-oriented professional editor and writer with a MFA degree in creative writing. My career work has included running book signing events for an independent bookstore, guiding indie authors through the self-publishing process with CreateSpace/KDP, and serving as the Managing Editor at Prairie Schooner, one of the oldest and most celebrated literary journals in the US, and the African Poetry Book Fund. Currently, I collaborate as part of the team at The Book Incubator, led by Mary Adkins, working alongside talented writers and mentors including Rufi Thorpe and others. I bring to each project a unique range of experience, expertise in multiple editorial styles, creative problem-solving skills, clear communication, and an eye for clean, concise copy.


From substantive developmental editing to a nitty-gritty proofread, I’ve helped writers with a range of work across multiple genres. I'm always particularly interested in working with new writers in fun genres like cozy mysteries, romance, and the genre commonly called "women's fiction." I have a deep love of literary novels and short stories as well as substantial experience in business, leadership, memoir, and light medical texts, as well. Whether you’re looking for a short story critique, feedback on submission packets for traditional querying, a full-on line edit of a manuscript draft, or something in between, I’d love to take a look.


Please note, I typically book projects a month or two in advance. Rates and turnaround times vary based on manuscript length and level of service. I aim to work as quickly as my schedule allows while upholding quality standards; typically, the timeline will be between three to six weeks. My rates are aligned with the Editorial Freelancers Association rates. Reedsy's own rate calculator is a good starting point, too!

Services
Non-Fiction
Business & Management History
Fiction
Contemporary Romance Cozy Mysteries Literary Fiction Short Story Women's Fiction
Languages
English (AUS) English (CAN) English (SA) English (UK) English (US)
Certifications
  • Master of Fine Arts, University of South Carolina

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2012 — Present

For the past 10+ years, I've been working collaboratively with indie authors and publishers to provide a variety of editorial services. From editorial assessment to developmental editing, from copy/line edits to proofreads, I am flexible, thorough, and committed to delivering work that directly answers to the author's goals for the project.

The Book Incubator

Jul, 2021 — Present

I work alongside founder and best-selling author Mary Adkins and a team of writing coaches, mentors, and editors to support writers in the program. I regularly critique chapters, hold 1:1 meetings with writers, and provide developmental edits on completed drafts.

Compose.ly

Nov, 2020 — Present

Compose.ly is a content marketplace . We’ve made it our mission to help businesses, big and small, tell their stories to the world.

As the Senior Content Editor, I manage a team of in-house editors, community managers, and 200+ freelance writers and editors to ensure brand voice and style guide alignment, clean copy, and consistent quality, on projects ranging from blog posts to white papers to ebooks for our more than 200 clients.

Clients I've worked with include WebMD, Calendly, Constant Contact, Mailchimp, MedicineNet, Springboard, Termly, Pacific Life, Wiley, and more.

Turner Publishing

Jul, 2018 — Present

I perform line and developmental edits, copy edits, and proofreads, as assigned, on frontlist fiction and nonfiction titles. I work according to house style and the Chicago Manual to improve clarity, flow, readability, and organizational structure and to ensure text is clean and error-free. My editing deliverables include a marked-up manuscript, style sheet, and memo to the autor.

Prairie Schooner, University of Nebraska

Jun, 2014 — Oct, 2020 (over 6 years)

Prairie Schooner is one of the oldest and most-respected literary journals in the United States. I handled all aspects of production, finances, marketing, distribution, and more.

History Press

Dec, 2013 — Jun, 2014 (6 months)

History Press empowers history enthusiasts to write local stories for local audiences.

Publishers Weekly

Sep, 2013 — Aug, 2014 (11 months)

Publishers Weekly is an international source for book publishing and bookselling news, reviews, and information.

CreateSpace, an Amazon.com Company

May, 2012 — Jun, 2014 (about 2 years)

CreateSpace, an Amazon company, helps people independently publish and distribute books in physical or digital formats. During my two years in the company I was promoted twice. My work ranged from company-wide collaboration to implement data-driven decisions and document policy and process improvements to performing in-house editing and basic manuscript formatting for VIP clients like Hugh Howey and H.M. Ward, from managing productivity and subject-matter expertise within a team of editorial coordinators to serving as a liaison between authors and third-party vendors.

Milkweed Editions

May, 2011 — Sep, 2011 (4 months)

Milkweed Editions is an independent publisher of literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The mission is to identify, nurture, and publish transformative literature, and build an engaged community around it.

Yemassee Journal

May, 2010 — Sep, 2012 (over 2 years)

Yemassee Journal is the literary journal of the University of South Carolina, founded in 1993.

Portfolio

Paradise, WV

Rufus, Rob

Developmental Editing
Cover Your Tracks

Auffenorde, Daco

Developmental Editing
AS SEEN IN THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE “One of the most esoteric and far-fetched crimes in 21st century annals.” ―The Hollywood Reporter “A rare book heist that Danny Ocean may have applauded―exc... read more
Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing
In the modern marketplace, there are two types of businesses: Tugboats and Lighthouses.Tugboats represent the antiquated ways of the past. These businesses may have dominated in their day, but... read more
Copy Editing
Terms and Conditions

Helen J. Darling

An ambitious single woman. A lifelong goal within reach. Will Manhattan’s unexpected challenges turn her fantasy into a disaster? After ten lackluster years in a dead-end job, Jane Desmond can... read more
Developmental Editing
A witchin' new series from USA Today bestselling author A. GARDNER!Ember Greene, savvy businesswoman and troubled psychic, returns to her family's bakery in southern Alabama after her sister m... read more
Copy Editing
From student loans to savings accounts, cars to credit scores, I Am Net Worthy covers all the essential aspects of personal finance for today's young adults. Let's face it, many young adults a... read more
Copy Editing
Tiny

Kim Hooper

Nate and Annie Forester are faced with every parent’s worst nightmare when their three-year-old daughter, Madeline, is hit by a car right before their eyes. In the aftermath of her death, the ... read more
Developmental Editing
Proofreading
The Guessing Jar

Kronenberger, Polly

Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Proofreading
Developmental Editing
One Potato

McMahon, Tyler

Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing
Recusal

R.L. Sommer

Jake Lehman, fresh out of law school at NYU, finds himself swept into the political intrigue and moral dilemmas plaguing the nation’s capital when he lands in Washington, DC, for a clerkship w... read more
Developmental Editing
Before Anyone Else

Leslie Hooton

As a designer of upscale restaurants, 30-year-old Bailey Ann Edgeworth can go into an empty space and immediately see what it would take to transform it into a beautiful and memorable spot. Sh... read more
Developmental Editing
Copy Editing
Developmental Editing
Copy Editing
Hopefully, Eventually

Roe Hooper, Chelsea

Copy Editing
The Escape of Light

Fred Venturini

Teenage burn survivor, Wilder Tate, begins high school ashamed of his disfigurement. He finds an outlet tapping into his one-dimensional basketball talent as a shutdown defender and courts his... read more
Developmental Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
THE SANITY GAME

Chris Moses

Your success and the success of any organization can be traced to the level of sanity exhibited and practiced.Studies continue to show that most employees leave to find sanity elsewhere, and a... read more
Copy Editing
Ayanna Pagdell, a young military officer and seminary student, had things all figured out. She was going to take her required unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at her local hospital and go o... read more
Copy Editing
The ultimate post-cancer survival guideThrough painful personal struggle and discovery, BH Lindblad discovered that life after cancer wasn't as he imagined. Crippling anxiety and PTSD plagued ... read more
Copy Editing
There’s a little-known strategy that smart coaches, consultants, professional service providers and other entrepreneurs are using to position themselves as the obvious go-to expert in their ma... read more
Copy Editing
From the award-winning Dr. Tamer Seckin comes a book written for all of the Endo Warriors out there, from the thirteen-year-old girl who is being told that her pain is “part of becoming a wome... read more
Developmental Editing
Stuck in Manistique

Dennis Cuesta

Near the midpoint of the Upper Peninsula, along a Lake Michigan bend of shore, is the town of Manistique, Michigan. Mark had never heard of Manistique before the death of his estranged aunt, b... read more
Copy Editing
“…a cleansing narrative that should inspire mothers―and other caregivers―to rise up, unite, and breathe hot new life into the drooping cause of mental healthcare reform.”― Ron Powers, Pulitzer... read more
Developmental Editing
Motorbikes and Camels

Nejoud Al-Yagout

Diverse characters. Diverse tales. Sometimes intertwining. There is Salma, facing a spiritual crisis in a country steeped in dogma; Hussam - a billionaire’s son who tries but fails to conceal ... read more
Copy Editing
Jane’s in a rut. Can she dig herself out without burying her best friend?Jane Desmond feels like a failure. Sure, she has a good job and a roof over her head, but nothing else seems to ever go... read more
Copy Editing
Austin, a struggling screenwriter living in LA, is transported to the medieval city of Galiana, where he is charged with murder. He is suddenly transported back to LA and sets off in search of... read more
Developmental Editing
Diabhal (Book 1)

Kathleen Kaufman

Diabhal (Devil) is the story of cults, exorcisms and the devil in 1980’s era Los Angeles. Ceit Robertson, age ten, is the next Matrarc to the Society, a cultish, matriarchal group living in an... read more
Developmental Editing
What if the hottest and most eligible guy you’ve ever met makes you an offer you can't refuse?College student Lauren Boucher was happy to be a bridesmaid at her friend Annelise Perigault’s wed... read more
Copy Editing
Where I'm Supposed To Be is a heartfelt novel about love and self-discovery. It will make you laugh, cry, and stop to think about what's really important in life.An inspiring read perfect for ... read more
Copy Editing
Scripted Unscripted

Kristina Miranda

Ellie Quinn has spent most of her sixteen years behind the scenes, helping her father manage a crew of four-legged movie stars. Although she longs to be acknowledged as an animal trainer in he... read more
Copy Editing
If you think you're funny and you want others to think so? The this is book for you. Dean has cracked to joke structure code, and then developed an original joke writing system, The Joke Prosp... read more
Proofreading
Yin Yang Diet

Ken Babal

The Yin-Yang Diet is a modern, scientific approach to balanced nutrition based on the ancient Asian concept of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang describe how opposites or contrary forces are intercon... read more
Proofreading
An ancient crystal ball is hidden on the Georgia coast, and a killer will stop at nothing to find it.Ember Greene, a sharp businesswoman but troubled psychic, is invited to a Seer retreat on t... read more
Copy Editing
An updated edition to a classic book about the amazing benefits of everyone's favorite food: Chocolate!Dark chocolate sales are on the rise as people embrace the concept that chocolate can tru... read more
Proofreading
For some people, technology is a necessary evil – for others, it’s something they can’t imagine living without. For Christine McNamara – a ground-breaking businesswoman and technical expert – ... read more
Copy Editing
The Greene sisters are at it again in this witchin' new series from USA Today bestselling author A. GARDNER!A hotel billionaire is dead, and Ember Greene is the prime suspect.Misty Key's annua... read more
Copy Editing
The Greene sisters are back in this witchin' new series from USA Today bestselling author A. GARDNER!Kill 'em with kindness . . . or just kill 'em. A simple act of southern hospitality pulls E... read more
Copy Editing
Roger M. Young turned his back on his conservative upbringing when he left home at eighteen and joined the Coast Guard. He was quite happy with his life. When he served as a groomsman at his b... read more
Copy Editing
Women played prominent roles during Stockton's growth from gold rush tent city to California leader in transportation, agriculture and manufacturing. Heiresses reigned in the city's nineteenth... read more
Proofreading
Join OnMilwaukee.com's Bobby Tanzilo for a behind-the-scenes tour of Milwaukee's past. Sail out to the Breakwater Lighthouse, scramble up the wings of the Milwaukee Art Museum and dig up the c... read more
Proofreading
For generations, Whidbey Island's vivid beauty has made it a home for those drawn in by a rural landscape and thriving communities. Whether native tribes, pioneers, vacationers or retirees, all have enjoyed the island's legacy. Their stories illustrate Whidbey... read more
Tracing Kentucky's unusual history through its early days as the rough-and-tumble frontier and its settling down and growing up in dozens of directions, Only in Old Kentucky" offers a series o... read more
Proofreading
In The World Was Our Stage, producer/director Doug Wilson recounts his incredible fifty-year journey with ABC Sports and its beloved sports anthology program ABC's Wide World of Sports. His na... read more
Proofreading
Is your speaking letting you down? I am confident that you, like me, have sometimes spoken words in anger, without thinking. Almost as soon as the words leave your mouth, you’re already regret... read more
Copy Editing
In his prize-winning poetry collection Reliquaria, R. A. Villanueva embraces liminal, in-between spaces in considering an ever-evolving Filipino American identity. Languages and cultures colli... read more
Proofreading
Humans have always connected deeply to the idea of home. In Bryn Chancellor’s nine stories, home means, in part, the physical spaces: the buildings, cities and towns, the fragile, imperious la... read more
Proofreading
Prairie Schooner, a national literary quarterly published with the support of the English Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Press, is home to the ... read more
Copy Editing

Ashley has 45 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Daniel P.

Daniel P.

May, 2022

Once again, Ashley has provided exemplary copyediting as well as readability enhancements. I appreciate that her feedback is in the form of explanations that help me learn to write better, not just redlining. What is most impressive is how she is able to meld my writing "voice" and the voices of the characters to achieve what I intended but poorly crafted. I am looking forward to continuing co...
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Daniel P.

Daniel P.

Mar, 2022

Once again, Ashley has taken an error-strewn pedestrian story and transformed it. While the precision and consistency she supplies as a copy editor are as expected, they are no less noteworthy. Ashley's real value to me and to "Playing It Back," however, is her understanding of the story and the characters which drives her suggestions to improve my prose. It is these contributions which are mos...
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jen G.

jen G.

Dec, 2021

I have loved collaborating with Ashley on my novel "The Sun-Greeters." She's able to crawl inside my head with me... and show me the cobwebs and where I need to let a little light in. I find her style gentle and powerful at the same time. Ashley told me just what I needed to hear in a way I could actually digest the information. I really wouldn't think of working with anyone else.
Daniel P.

Daniel P.

Dec, 2021

Playing the Advantage was my first true romance novel. In addition to a complete copyedit, Ashley provided a thorough editorial letter and thoughtful feedback. She offered suggestions beyond the typical copyedit scope. As a new writer, I find myself learning every day and I was most appreciative of the guidance she provided. I value her observations—in relation to this novel but also as part of...
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Monique B.

Monique B.

Nov, 2021

Ashley did a great job copy editing my novel. Thank you Ashley!

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