Jeff Shreve - Editor
I'm an experienced publishing consultant and editor specializing in science, technology, business, memoir, and health/self-improvement.
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Overview
I am a literary agent and former book editor with over ten years of experience in the commercial publishing world. As an agent, I spend every day reviewing query letters and reading or building book proposals. In my time as an editor at W. W. Norton, I edited and published over forty books—four of them New York Times bestsellers—from astronomers, physicists, tech experts, business professors, historians, journalists, neuroscientists, economists, anthropologists, geologists, mathematicians, and other academics and researchers from the U.S. and abroad. Whether you need a professional agent to review and sharpen your query letter, an experienced editor to shape and polish your manuscript into its best and highest form, or a partner to build your book proposal, I'm here to help!
Languages
English (US)
Non-Fiction
Earth, Space, & Environmental Sciences
Humanities & Social Sciences
Life Sciences
Physics & Chemistry
Political Science & Current Affairs
Self-Help & Self-Improvement
Technology
Certifications
- The New School, Copy Editing Course completion
Work experience
Freelance editor and publishing consultant
Self-employed
July, 2017
–
Present
(about 4 years)
I provide developmental editing and consulting services for many clients, from individual authors to publishers to communications and technology firms.
Editor
W. W. Norton & Company
April, 2015
–
June, 2017
(about 2 years)
I acquired books for Norton in the areas of popular science, politics/current affairs, self-improvement, business, and technology. Notable projects include THE SCIENCE OF INTERSTELLAR by Kip Thorne (NYT bestseller), DATA AND GOLIATH by Bruce Schneier (NYT bestseller), THE WOLF AND THE WATCHMAN by Scott C. Johnson (longlisted for the National Book Award), and GOODBYE THINGS by Fumio Sasaki.
Assistant Editor
W. W. Norton & Company
July, 2011
–
April, 2015
(almost 4 years)
Editorial Assistant
W. W. Norton & Company
April, 2009
–
July, 2011
(about 2 years)
Portfolio (14 selected works)
“Bruce Schneier’s amazing book is the best overview of privacy and security ever written.”―Clay ShirkyYour cell phone provider tracks your location and knows who’s with you. Your online and in-store purchasing patterns are recorded, and reveal if you're unemployed, sick, or pregnant. Your e-mails and texts expose your intimate and casual friends. Google knows what you’re thinking because it sa... read more
The Science of Interstellar
Kip Thorne
A journey through the otherworldly science behind Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film, Interstellar, from executive producer and theoretical physicist Kip Thorne.Interstellar, from acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan, takes us on a fantastic voyage far beyond our solar system. Yet in The Science of Interstellar, Kip Thorne, the physicist who assisted Nolan on the scientific aspects o... read more
Now: The Physics of Time
Richard A. Muller
“Now” is a simple yet elusive concept.You are reading the word “now” right now. But what does that mean? What makes the ephemeral moment “now” so special? Its enigmatic character has bedeviled philosophers, priests, and modern-day physicists from Augustine to Einstein and beyond. Einstein showed that the flow of time is affected by both velocity and gravity, yet he despaired at his failure to ... read more
Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data
Charles Wheelan
“Brilliant, funny . . . the best math teacher you never had.”―San Francisco Chronicle Once considered tedious, the field of statistics is rapidly evolving into a discipline Hal Varian, chief economist at Google, has actually called “sexy.” From batting averages and political polls to game shows and medical research, the real-world application of statistics continues to grow by leaps and bounds... read more
Idiot Brain: What Your Head Is Really Up To
Dean Burnett
A neuroscientist's delightful tour of our mysterious, mischievous, entirely fallible gray matter.It's happened to all of us at some point. You walk into the kitchen, or flip open your laptop, or stride confidently up to a lectern, filled with purpose―and suddenly haven't the foggiest idea what you’re doing. Welcome to your idiot brain.Yes, it is an absolute marvel in some respects―the seat of ... read more
The Wolf and the Watchman: A Father, a Son, and the CIA
Scott C. Johnson
Longlisted for the National Book Award and named a Washington Post Notable Book of the Year. Growing up, Scott C. Johnson always suspected that his father was different. Only as a teenager did he discover the truth: his father was a spy, one of the CIA’s most trusted officers. At first the secret was thrilling. But over time Scott began to have doubts. How could a man so rigorously trained to ... read more
An eye-opening tour of the political tricks that subvert scientific progress.The Butter-Up and Undercut. The Certain Uncertainty. The Straight-Up Fabrication. Dave Levitan dismantles all of these deceptive arguments, and many more, in this probing and hilarious examination of the ways our elected officials attack scientific findings that conflict with their political agendas. The next time you... read more
Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism
Fumio Sasaki
The best-selling phenomenon from Japan that shows us a minimalist life is a happy life.Fumio Sasaki is not an enlightened minimalism expert or organizing guru like Marie Kondo―he’s just a regular guy who was stressed out and constantly comparing himself to others, until one day he decided to change his life by saying goodbye to everything he didn’t absolutely need. The effects were remarkable:... read more
One of the world’s leading cultural psychologists debunks the hype surrounding DNA testing and puts to rest our mistaken anxieties about our genes.Do you fear what might be lurking in your DNA?Well, now you can find out, and you most likely will. Scientists expect one billion people to have their genomes sequenced by 2025, and as the price drops it may even become a standard medical procedure.... read more
Renowned Stanford economist David M. Kreps reveals the fundamental principles of employee motivation.Getting your employees to do their best work has never been easy. But it is a particular challenge for knowledge workers, who must attend to many different tasks and whose to-do list is often ambiguous, requiring outside-the-box thinking. Lists of dos and don’ts are rarely effective. Instead, y... read more
A Forbes, Physics Today, Science News, and Science Friday Best Science Book Of 2018 The inside story of a quest to unlock one of cosmology’s biggest mysteries, derailed by the lure of the Nobel Prize.What would it have been like to be an eyewitness to the Big Bang? In 2014, astronomers wielding BICEP2, the most powerful cosmology telescope ever made, revealed that they’d glimpsed the spark tha... read more
The Essentials of Persuasive Public Speaking
Sims Wyeth
A collection of short and insightful pointers on the power, potential, and practice of public speaking.Among the many pieces of expert advice in The Essentials of Persuasive Public Speaking is this nugget: "To capture attention, define a problem that keeps listeners up at night." Wyeth may as well be talking about the book itself―for nothing keeps us up at night like the prospect of giving a s... read more
One of Smithsonian's Ten Best Science Books of 2018 In this captivating bestseller, Korea’s first paleoanthropologist offers fresh insights into humanity’s dawn and evolution.What can fossilized teeth tell us about the life expectancy of our ancient ancestors? How did farming play a problematic role in the history of human evolution? How can simple geometric comparisons of skull and pelvic fos... read more
Move: How to Rebuild and Reinvent America's Infrastructure
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
One of our “best known and most influential business scholars” (Boston Globe), best-selling author Rosabeth Moss Kanter tackles America’s most urgent domestic issue.Americans are stuck. We live with travel delays on congested roads, shipping delays on clogged railways, and delays on repairs, project approvals, and funding due to gridlocked leadership. These delays affect us all, whether you ar... read more
Jeff has 12 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
Jeff delivered an editorial assessment and developmental editing for my book Digital Tidiness. He was communicative, punctual, and set clear expectations. He provided extremely helpful suggestions that made my book stronger and more cohesive. Overall it was a great experience working with Jeff! Highly recommend!
Kara Johnson, August 2021
Jeff provided a wealth of suggestions in his developmental edit. As a first-time author, I wasn't sure to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to agree wholeheartedly with nearly all his suggestions. And grudgingly with a few.
Not enough illustrations in the first draft meant Jeff had a tough time visualizing many elements discussed. I do wish he had communicated this was keeping him from evalua...
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Robert Whitefield, December 2020
Reply from Jeff Shreve
I can't put in words how much appreciation I have for the work that Jeff put into my book. He is not only a kind human, but also an in-depth reader and incredibly detail oriented in his approach. I have learned so much about my own writing style and what works and doesn't through his feedback.
Jeff will tell you what works and also what doesn't work very honestly and openly. I truly enjoyed wo...
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Sini Ninkovic, October 2020
Reply from Jeff Shreve
Jeff provided an outstanding editorial assessment. This is my first time as an author, and he communicated with me in advance to make sure he understood my goals with the book. His very timely review showed me what worked and what didn't, and in each case, why. He gave me concrete suggestions for how to improve the sections that needed it, from restructuring parts of the book down to a few word...
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Sarah Zabel, September 2020
Reply from Jeff Shreve
Jeff provided sound content editing advice and guidance, whilst opened my eyes to new ways of improving my manuscript to maximise reader engagement.
He wasn't afraid to tell me which parts worked best or otherwise. It really helped me to nurture my book and move it on to the next stage.
I would not hesitate in using Jeff again or recommending his services to other authors. On top of everything...
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Jonathan Bolam, June 2020
Reply from Jeff Shreve
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