Meghan Condran – Editor

Do you remember the last time you were reading a fantastic book, and then you realized a word was misspelled? A little mistake, right? Well, if you're anything like me, that misspelled word took you out of the story. Even worse, it might have changed the way you thought about the author: How could she have made a mistake like that?

I want to make sure your readers never have that experience. It's my job to get the mistakes that distract from your story out of your book.

For the past decade I have been a copy editor for Braddock Avenue Books, an independent press specializing in literary fiction. I've worked on such books as Geeta Kothari's I Brake for Moose, which was a Small Press Distribution bestseller, and William Lychack's Cargill Falls, which was awarded an IPPY Silver Medal. I am passionate about making sure books that are released by small presses are as polished as books that get the full New York treatment.

I adore working on literary fiction, and my philosophy as a copy editor is to find that perfect balance between your style on one hand and correctness on the other. I will read your book carefully to discover what your voice is like and then edit accordingly. When I'm not sure whether a "mistake" is intentional, I'll highlight it so you can make your own decision. (I have several years of experience with legal editing, so I know just how big a deal a "small" mistake can be.) For me, the key to copy editing is consistency: What do you seem to be doing stylistically, and how can I help your style come through at every point of the manuscript? Once I've finished, you can contact me to discuss any edits I've made that you have questions about, or to ask me to take another look at a particular issue. I'm not satisfied with the book until you are.

Testimonials

In more than thirty years of writing and publishing, I don't believe I have ever encountered a more thorough and insightful and eagle-eyed copy editor. She's stern and smart and catches everything--from the macro to the micro there is nothing that escapes her--Meghan's sensibility being marked by her signal thoroughness and nuance. As a writer, I am simply on-my-knees grateful to have her attention and intelligence focused on my work any chance I can.
--William Lychack, author of The Wasp Eater and The Architect of Flowers

I have never encountered a more diligent, more careful editor than Meghan. Her work is visible on every page of my novel. She made the manuscript cleaner, sharper, tighter, better. And not just by a little. It is no exaggeration to say that my book would not be half of what it turned out to be without Meghan’s expertise, her judgment, her taste, and her amazing thoroughness.