Mindy Werner – Editor

Editor of numerous award-winning, critically-acclaimed and bestselling books in a variety of genres, including the autobiography of iconic feminist artist Judy Chicago as well as nine other books by her; Hadassah: An American Story, the memoir of Hadassah Lieberman; Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression by Brooke Shields; The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award) and ten other volumes of her fiction; and countless other titles in such areas as narrative non-fiction, art, health, parenting, personal finance and political and social science.

Whether you are looking to create a proposal or seeking assistance in shaping or refining your manuscript, I can help. Prior to establishing my editorial consulting business in 1998, I worked in publishing houses for nearly 18 years, most recently as Executive Editor at Viking Penguin, where I reviewed countless proposals and manuscripts and acquired and published some percentage of them.

I can offer a critical and constructive view of your project while acting as part cheerleader, part sounding board, and part taskmaster (as needed). I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with an amazing range of authors, often on multiple projects. Here's a sampling of what they have to say about our partnership:

"I have been exceedingly fortunate to have worked with my editor, Mindy W., on numerous publications over the years of our literary relationship which dates back to the early 1990s. . . . the many books on which we worked together were made possible by her supreme editorial skills. In other words, she's the best." -- Judy Chicago, artist and author

"Mindy W. is the finest editor of book manuscripts that I've encountered in more than 40 years of writing. An old style editor who knows your book about as well as you do after her multiple readings, Mindy applies her acute intelligence and editorial skills to help reshape the manuscript, to address what seems to work and what is unnecessary or simply too much information. While she has definite opinions that she expresses with great clarity, she never is dogmatic and never loses sight that she is helping to edit, not write, your book. I worked on two lengthy manuscripts with Mindy; neither would have been nearly as good without her hard work, analytic skills, and editorial suggestions. She is the best and I would recommend her to anyone interested in improving his or her book." -- Jonathan R. Cole, John Mitchell Mason Professor of the University, Provost and Dean of Faculties (1989-2003), Columbia University

"Mindy W., editor, word Ninja, and good friend, once again worked her magic with my manuscript." -- from You're Not the Boss of Me by Betsy Brown Braun, bestselling author and child development and behavior specialist