Christina Palaia

Christina Palaia – Editor

A nonfiction specialist with 30+ years of editing experience at traditional publishers, I work in narrative nonfiction—and with novels too!

Overview

You did it! You just poured your heart—not to mention years of hard-won life experience—into a book manuscript. But now you feel as if the main idea has vanished in a morass of dense prose. The point of the story is unclear. Your arguments are unconvincing. Your characters are trivial, concocted. What now?

If you’re looking for assistance making sense of what you’ve written—fiction or non—I can help. Let's figure out the point you're trying to make and shift all details toward supporting it in the most clear and engaging way for readers.

As a nonfiction specialist with more than 30 years of experience working with traditionally published authors, I would love to guide you in transforming your manuscript into the book you've always wanted to write.

From Memoir and Personal Stories to Popular History, True Crime, Adventure, Self-Help and Wellness, and Business and Professional Development, I focus on:

--Organizing masses of information into a logical, engaging structure that guides readers effortlessly forward (this includes rescuing tangled plots and broken characters arcs)

--Enhancing the clarity of your ideas without obscuring your voice

--Fact-checking and strengthening the accuracy and precision of wording to build your credibility

--Sharpening arguments, eliminating redundancy, and uplifting readability

--Suggesting revisions that elevate your unique voice and wisdom

Let's collaborate on your vision and unlock the potential of your manuscript. Please message me today to discuss your book-to-be and for a personalized quote.

Services
Fiction
Action & Adventure Contemporary Fiction Thriller & Suspense
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Business & Management Health & Wellbeing History Political Science & Current Affairs
Languages
English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Self-employed

Nov, 2018 — Present
In a comprehensive editorial letter, I level with you and note exactly where your manuscript is working and where it's faltering. The revision plan I devise for you is feasible because it takes into consideration your goals for the book and prioritizes the revisions that optimize your energy and effort in bringing the book to fruition. Book coaching sessions are like a developmental edit that unfolds in real time: we grab your idea from the ether, pin it to the page, frame and reframe it to bring out all the colors of its beauty and truth.

American Tinnitus Association

May, 2016 — Present
Copyedit and proofread the American Tinnitus Association's thrice-yearly magazine Tinnitus Today.

Self-employed

May, 2016 — Present
With your agreement, I get to work polishing your manuscript, empowering your voice, style, and the emotional impact of your words at the sentence and paragraph levels. Or we can put our heads together to figure out how to finish your book. And then I do it for you.

Self-employed

Jun, 2012 — Present
Provide copyediting and line editing services to self-publishing authors and scholarly trade publishers, including Basic Books, Basic Liberty, PublicAffairs, Bold Type Books, Hachette Go, Seal Press, De Capo, Nation Books, and Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Self-employed

Sep, 1996 — Oct, 2016 (about 20 years)
I've had the privilege of copyediting, proofreading, and indexing some amazingly informative books for a variety of academic, educational, and trade publishers, including Cambridge University Press, Allyn & Bacon, Beacon Press, Jones & Bartlett (now JBL), and Rowman & Littlefield.

North Market Street Graphics

Feb, 1995 — Sep, 1996 (over 1 year)
I apprenticed in copyediting and creating indexes for textbooks and scholarly trade books at this boutique book packager based in Lancaster, Pa. We created books for McGraw-Hill, Wiley, Prentice Hall, and Random House.

Portfolio

The Greeks: A Global History

Beaton, Roderick

Basic Books

Copy Editing
Copy Editing
The Brave In-Between: Notes from the Last Room

Low, Amy

Grand Central Publishing

Copy Editing
Developmental Editing Editorial Assessment Book Coaching
Developmental Editing
Abolishing War (The Policy and Practice of Global Governance)

Langley, Winston E.

Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.

Developmental Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
OF, BY, AND FOR THE HANGED MAN

PFEFFER, A.M.

Royal Mast Publishing

Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Book Coaching
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Book Coaching
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Book Coaching
Developmental Editing Book Coaching
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Copy Editing
Copy Editing Book Coaching
Healthcare Technology Law and Compliance

Walberg, Susan Lee

Susan Lee Walberg

Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Book Coaching
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Book Coaching
Copy Editing Book Coaching

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