Maya Elson – Editor

I am an editor and writer with more than 15 years of publishing experience and education. I developed skills on the job at book publishers and magazines, but also studied the industry and the craft of editing when I earned my master’s degree in writing, literature, and publishing at Emerson College.I thoroughly enjoy helping authors— especially those focused on knitting, crochet, and sewing—deliver often technical content with an infusion of their unique voice and personality. I am adept at tweaking, tightening, and cleaning up instructional manuscripts to create books that are not only easy to understand, but also a pleasure to read. My background as an editor as well as a skilled knitter and crocheter make me particularly well suited to this type of work.When I’m not acting as a development editor, I also enjoy copyediting and proofreading. My experience in these roles includes a variety of book genres in addition to craft, such as children’s novels, travel guides, and general non-fiction (illustrated and not). I’ve also done this type of work for magazines, namely in craft and lifestyle categories.Before I joined the world of publishing, I spend about eight years doing marketing and advertising copywriting. The skills I honed then have turned out to be quite useful in my editorial work. I can write compelling back cover and catalogue copy, as well as content such as pattern descriptions that are, in their own way, a kind of pattern promotion within a book.