Overview
I see editing as a conversation. When I work with you, I tell you what I see, what I hear, and when something isn’t working. I fix errors, question phrases, offer suggestions, and note for you what stops me in my reading process. You consider my suggestions and questions, think about what might be getting in the way, and respond with something even better. At the end of the edit, your voice rules. I support and clarify ideas, stories, reports, articles, and essays. I polish manuscripts and proofs.
I have spent the past twenty-five-plus years collaborating with authors, publishers, nonprofits, playwrights, and other editors. A graduate of Brown University, I have been a director and dramaturg of new plays in New York City and editorial director of an international web communication network based in British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Colombia, South Africa, and Vermont. Along the way, I have worked with people and words from across the globe -- on fiction, nonfiction, academic prose, theatrical plays, websites, advertising copy, and funding proposals.
Recent publishers and organizations I have worked with include: W. W. Norton, Storey Publishing, Thames & Hudson, Guilford Press, Macmillan Learning, Sideshow Media, The Poetry Foundation, and Chelsea Green Publishing.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Economics
Health & Wellbeing
Nature
Philosophy
Political Science & Current Affairs
Psychology
Self-Help & Self-Improvement
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Work experience
Self-employed
Jan, 2011 —
Present
I am currently a full-time editor, providing line editing, copy editing, and proofreading for authors and publishers.
The Communication Initiative
Aug, 1998 —
Jun, 2012
(almost 14 years)
I provided all editorial decision making for an international website focused on communication for social and economic development, managing remote teams in Canada, Colombia, South Africa, and the United States.
Alan Bernhard Creative Enterprises (ABCE)
Sep, 1995 —
Jan, 1998
(over 2 years)
I supervised the preparation, filming, and editing of national television commercials, including the 1998 launch of ESPN, The Magazine.
Freelance
Jan, 1995 —
Aug, 1998
(over 3 years)
I provided the creative vision for the full realization of productions in the following spaces: Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Mint Theater, Soho Repertory Theater, Solo Arts, St. Marks Studio Theater, The Salon, and the Times Square Building.
Portfolio
In the war between duty and desire, there will be casualties... Maxie Shannon and Savannah Trimmel are more than best friends. They're sisters, bound by a tragic past and an unbreakable bond. When Isaac, Savannah's boyfriend, falls victim to an act of violence... read more
In Matter and Desire, internationally renowned biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber rewrites ecology as a tender practice of forging relationships, of yearning for connections, and of expressing these desires through our bodies. Being alive is an erotic pro... read more
In search of a new story for our place on earth Being Salmon, Being Human examines Western culture’s tragic alienation from nature by focusing on the relationship between people and salmon―weaving together key narratives about the Norwegian salmon industry as ... read more
This book is an insider's history and memoir of the battle for The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986: its evolution, passage, impact, and its legacies for the future of immigration reform. Charles Kamasaki has spent most of his life working for Unidos... read more
This second collection of short stories by Geraldine M. North examines contemporary life primarily in the United States, where Geraldine has lived for decades and has raised her family. But a handful of the nineteen stories in The Empty Bird Cage return to her... read more
Reflections on race, environment, politics, and living on the front lines of changeIn Angels by the River, James Gustave "Gus" Speth recounts his unlikely path from a southern boyhood through his years as one of the nation's most influential mainstream environ... read more
Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals is a five-volume set that serves as a comprehensive, practical reference manual for herbalists, physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. Dr. Jill Stansbury draws on her decades of clinical experience and ... read more
Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals is a five-volume set that serves as a comprehensive, practical reference manual for herbalists, physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. Dr. Jill Stansbury draws on her decades of clinical experience and ... read more
Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals is a five-volume set that serves as a comprehensive, practical reference manual for herbalists, physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. Dr. Jill Stansbury draws on her decades of clinical experience and ... read more
Today, food is being reconsidered. It’s a front-and-center topic in everything from politics to art, from science to economics. We know now that leaving food to government and industry specialists was one of the twentieth century’s greatest mistakes. The quest... read more
David Myers' bestselling Psychology has reached a wider audience of students and instructors with each new edition. Myers and his team lead the field in being attuned to psychology's research and the needs of the instructors and students in the course today. T... read more
A manual for activism that begins with our most powerful asset--our bodiesEven as a wave of renewed feminism swells, too many women continue to starve, stuff, overwork, or neglect our bodies in pursuit of paper-thin ideals. "Fitness" has been co-opted by the b... read more
Who was the real Atticus Finch? A prize-winning historian reveals the man behind the legend The publication of Go Set a Watchman in 2015 forever changed how we think about Atticus Finch. Once seen as a paragon of decency, he was reduced to a small-town racist.... read more
The key to fixing our broken patterns of urban development does not lie in grand plans or giant projects; rather, it lies in the collective wisdom and energy of people harnessing the power of many small ideas and actions to make a big difference. We call this ... read more
For devotees of Bird by Bird and The Artist's Way, a memoir-driven guide to healing through the craft of writingFrancesca Lia Block is the bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, including the award-winning Weetzie Bat series. Her writing has been c... read more
With information for patients and practitioners on optimizing mitochondrial function for greater health and longevity Why do we age? Why does cancer develop? What's the connection between heart failure and Alzheimer's disease, or infertility and hearing loss? ... read more
In 2014, Jere Van Dyk traveled to Afghanistan to try to discover the motives behind a kidnapping that had occurred six years earlier--his own. He was haunted by questions about why he was taken and why he was released, and troubled by the refusal of his friend... read more
From Book 1: August is the hottest time of the year in Florida, and Vince Tanzi would just as soon sweat it out in his study chair with a few beers. He's had enough of the world after losing his wife, and spending nine months in jail. He's at the bottom of a d... read more
In a nation built by immigrants and bedeviled by the history and legacy of slavery and discrimination, how do we, as Americans, reconcile a commitment to equality and freedom with persistent inequality and discrimination? And what can we do about it? This wide... read more
A bullet that brought a nation to its knees
Suppose all a man has left is his imagination. Then what?
Happy People in Tears is an award-winning tale of diaspora that takes the reader on a voyage through five worlds—the island home of São Miguel, mainland Portugal, California, New England, and Canada—experienced and suffered through the obsessive search for hap... read more
Butcher Bird, Geraldine North's collection of 26 short stories, captures universal aspects of the human experience within the peculiar ethos of rural Australia. The author reaches back to her experiences as an isolated, yet carefree and inquisitive child growi... read more
Crowded, hot, subject to violent swings in climate, with a government unable or unwilling to face the most vital challenges, the rich and poor increasingly living in worlds apart; for most of the world, this picture is of a possible future. For India, it is th... read more
No political image in recent American history has enjoyed the impact of the "limousine liberal." It has managed to mobilize an enduring politics of resentment directed against everything from civil rights to women's liberation, from the war on poverty to envir... read more
Lessons from the groundbreaking grassroots campaign that helped launch a new political revolution Rules for Revolutionaries is a bold challenge to the political establishment and the “rules” that govern campaign strategy. It tells the story of a breakthrough e... read more
With its clear and concise presentation, Behavioral Genetics, 7th edition introduces students to the field’s underlying principles, defining experiments, ongoing controversies, and most recent discoveries. The text provides students with an understanding of he... read more
The Great Crash of 1929 profoundly disrupted the United States' confident march toward becoming the world's superpower. The breakneck growth of 1920s America--with its boom in automobiles, electricity, credit lines, radio, and movies--certainly presaged a seri... read more
Regenerative practices for the farm, garden, orchard, forest, and landscape Mycorrhizal fungi have been waiting a long time for people to recognize just how important they are to the making of dynamic soils. These microscopic organisms partner with the root sy... read more
When it comes to explaining fundamental economic principles by drawing on current economic issues and events, there is no one more effective than Nobel laureate and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and co-author, Robin Wells. In this best-selling introduc... read more
This exceptionally concise volume offers a rich survey of the field’s fundamental research and concepts at an unbeatable price—just $39 net! And that price includes LaunchPad, a robust, carefully developed supplements package for students and instructors, if t... read more
Martin Gonlea's life takes a sudden wrong turn as he rounds a street corner in lower Manhattan to find his mistress dead on the sidewalk. He can't account for the minutes leading up to her death, and the more he tries to fix things--with his wife, and with her... read more
A young girl is kidnapped, and four women--best friends since grade school--set out for revenge. Their story intertwines with the tale of a war deserter who lives hidden away on a hill above their small northern New Hampshire village, pilfering supplies at nig... read more
Deborah has 7 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Responsiveness
Stephen S.
May, 2023
Star S.
Jun, 2022
Jeremy S.
Sep, 2021
Vangeline G.
Jun, 2019
Abel C.
Jul, 2018
Sign up to read more reviews
Create a free Reedsy account to connect with Deborah and thousands of other publishing professionals on Reedsy.
