Margaret Diehl

Margaret Diehl – Editor

Published novelist and memoirist with extensive editing experience who takes pleasure in assisting other writers solve problems.

Overview

I'm a fiction writer and editor who has published three New York Times Notable Books of The Year (two novels and a memoir), won a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and been helping other writers improve their work for over a decade. I bring to the table a deep understanding of the writing process—writing blocks, confusion about what the story is or could be, and indecision about choices. I know that helpful criticism requires both honesty and kindness, as well as a profound appreciation of how stories and language work.

I work with writers of any genre and at all stages of their career. I offer creative, in-depth story analysis, with suggestions based on the intent of the manuscript and your strengths; support and advice on how to improve your writing in general. The service generally includes extensive comments on the manuscript and a several-page critique, but I can work with your needs and your budget to give you exactly what you want.

Here is a URL to a Reedsy article about one successful collaboration. https://blog.reedsy.com/stories/ahiddibah-tsinnie/
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction Fantasy Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime
Languages
English (US)
Awards
  • National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction
  • New York State Council on the Arts Grant in Non-fiction
Certifications
  • BA, English, University of New Hampshire

Work experience

Cathedral of St John the Divine

Feb, 2010 — May, 2018 (about 8 years)

I wrote and edited newsletters, brochures, and grants on all aspects of the famous cathedral's programming, including education, social justice, and the arts.

Self-employed

Feb, 2007 — Present

After publishing three books, and reviewing books for The New York Times and other publications, I started editing and assessing manuscripts for friends and friends of friends. Gradually, this turned into a business and now I work at it full-time. I have worked with fiction writers, poets, academics, and writers of nonfiction from history to psychology to self-help and business, doing everything from copy editing to ghostwriting. All kinds of editing and genres feed each other; I learn from my clients as they learn from me.

Portfolio

Deadly Reckoning (Mining City Mysteries Book 1)

Jensen, Marian

The Flooding

Hancock, Sean

Lady Margaret's Future: Henry's Spare Queen Trilogy Book Three

Sportelli, Victoria

The Crimson Deathbringer: An Epic Space Opera/Alien Invasion Adventure (The Crimson Deathbringer Series Book 1)

Robins, Sean

Down Wind and out of Sight

Richardson, Douglas

In the Shadow of Green Bamboos (A Time of Mulberry Sea)

Hoang, C. L.

Jerkwater

Zerndt, Jamie

Deadly Recipe (A Murder in the Kitchen)

Shamlian, Randy

Yes, I Took My Meds: A Memoir

Tsinnie, Ahiddibah

The Sex Traffickers

Pollack, Neil

The Wild Court: A Celtic Fae Inspired Fantasy Novel (The Coming of Áed)

Radcliff, E.G.

Rainbow Plague

Athena, Lia

Crane Boy

Cohn, Diana

Death Postponed

Berger, Gustaf

Not Everything Dies (Princess Dracula) (Volume 2)

Kennedy, John Patrick

AS HAPPY AS I CAN STAND: The Third Edition of Hatching Charlie

McCormack, Charles C

Pearl

Karleen Staible

Emily Fenner, an aspirant Broadway star, hopes to find all of her dreams in the big city and flashing lights. With beauty, talent, and an irrepressible desire to succeed, Emily is in the perfect position to take hold of the career she’s always wanted—until sti... read more
Raven's Shadow (The Ravenstone Chronicles Book 2)

Louise Franklin

Georgina's new found love is put to the test in the stunning sequel to Louise Franklin's novel Ravenstone. In this second book in the spellbinding Ravenstone Chronicles series, author Louise Franklin combines a regency setting and adventure to create a love st... read more
A Soldier's Son

Jack Estes

In 1968, Mike Kelly's chopper is shot down over the jungles of Vietnam. The crew is dead. Most of his team is dead and the enemy is near. Today it is 2004, and Mike is a successful author who writes for the daily newspaper. He lives in a big house on the lake ... read more
Ravenstone (The Ravenstone Chronicles Book 1)

Louise Franklin

Born into a privileged life in London during the Regency era, all that is required of Georgiana Wyndham is to live a life of virtue and obedience. She fails at both when her father abuses her. Headstrong and high-spirited, though crippled by his severe beating... read more
Men

Margaret Diehl

Beautiful, talented Stella James explores the heady power of her own sexuality by seeking out anonymous sexual encounters. Though the men may long to see her again, by dawn Stella is always gone. She revels in the intensity and honesty of her encounters and de... read more
The Boy on the Green Bicycle: A Memoir

Margaret Diehl

In a memoir of her large Southern family, the author focuses on her four siblings, rendering each with vivid compassion and revealing the joy and innocence that marked their passage to adulthood.
Riding with the Wind: Three Generations of My Family in China

Fay Hoh Yin

In Riding with the Wind, Fay Hoh Yin paints an indelible portrait of three generations of her family in China as the imperial era ends and war with Japan begins. Her parents are among the first young people to escape the archaic traditions of foot binding and ... read more
The Trudeau Vector

Juris Jurjevics

When three members of the Trudeau Research Center scientific team are murdered at the onset of an arctic winter, epidemiologist Jessica Hanley finds her investigation intersecting with the secret mission of a decorated admiral from Moscow, who has been assigne... read more
The Stuttering Jock's Opera

Bill Sevald

The Stuttering Jock’s Opera is a thinly disguised hero’s journey—complete with three challenges. The lead character is physically reckless, but socially shy because of his halting speech. He trains in the early morning, works temporary clerical jobs during the... read more
Salt Houses

Hala Alyan

Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR * Nylon * Kirkus Reviews * Bustle * BookPage “Moving and beautifully written.” — Entertainment Weekly “[Alyan is] a master.” — Los Angeles Review of Books On the eve of her daughter Alia’s wedding, Salma reads the girl’s fu... read more

Margaret has 185 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Toby L.

Toby L.

Dec, 2024

Margaret is extremely insightful, helpful, professional. She gave me candid, incisive feedback on my first 100 pages--she was encouraging but also zeroed in quickly on the things that needed work, and on a phone call (the same day as she sent me her report) was excellent at brainstorming with me on ways to move forward. Can't recommend her enough :)
Margaret D.
Thank you!
mally K.

mally K.

Dec, 2024

Margaret either didn't understand what I was trying to do or she wanted me to write a different story altogether. This is a story of sexual obsession; neither protagonist knows the first thing about love. A few of Margaret's points were helpful, but overall, her comments were not useful.
jay P.

jay P.

Nov, 2024

My fiction, first-time novelist manuscript is 82,000 words, magical realism. Before taking on the assignment, Margaret provided an outline of every edit item she would include in a copy edit—and at the agreed deadline she delivered exactly what she said she would copy edit on the manuscript. She turned a pallet into a palette, turned a rift into a riff, and spotted many paragraph indents that w...
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Sana W.

Sana W.

Oct, 2024

Margaret is not only fast and thorough; she is unflinchingly honest in the best possible way. She has an uncanny ability to locate the emotional heart of a character or storyline and an intuition about where connections between storylines want to emerge. Margaret asked the kinds of questions that made me realize, again and again, how the pieces of my book could and should talk to each other. W...
Read more
Margaret D.
Thank you!
David M.

David M.

Oct, 2024

Margaret was a great editor. Her skill and professionalism were topnotch. I would certainly recommend her to anyone looking for an editor.
Margaret D.
Thank you!

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