Oriana Leckert

Oriana Leckert – Editor

10+ years as a writer, editor & publishing consultant | deeply passionate about the written word in all its diverse forms

Overview

I’ve been working in publishing for more than a decade and have held an array of staff positions, including: Senior Journalism Outreach Lead at Kickstarter, Creative Content Director at PerLaMente, Director of Matchmaking at Gotham Ghostwriters, Assistant Acquisitions Editor at Random House, Editor-at-Large at Hyperallergic, Copyeditor at MTV News, Assistant Editor at Stonesong Press, Consulting Editor at Open Face Sandwich, and Manuscript Reader at the Donald Maass Literary AgencyI’ve also maintained an editorial and publishing consultancy for more than a decade, working with websites, magazines, foundations, individuals, and 70+ publishers, including Penguin, Crown, Bloomsbury, McSweeney’s, NYRB, Melville House, and many more.I'm pleased to offer a broad range of services—from editorial development to self-publishing consulting—to individual clients at many different points on their publishing journey. I'd love to help you with whatever you're working on!
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Self-Help & Self-Improvement Sex & Relationships
Fiction
Fantasy Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime Romance Women's Fiction
Languages
English (CAN) English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Kickstarter

Nov, 2018 — May, 2020 (over 1 year)

Per La Mente

May, 2017 — Nov, 2018 (over 1 year)

MTV News

Jan, 2016 — Mar, 2017 (about 1 year)

Hyperallergic

Feb, 2015 — Present

Gotham Ghostwriters

Mar, 2011 — Feb, 2015 (almost 4 years)

Self-employed

Jun, 2007 — Present
Developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading on hundreds of books and articles across virtually all genres. Select clients include: 826 National, Bloomsbury Publishing, Echoing Green, Gates Foundation, McSweeney’s, Library of America, New York Review of Books, Penguin Random House, The Pitchfork Review, and TED Books.

Stonesong Press

Feb, 2007 — Sep, 2008 (over 1 year)

Random House

Sep, 2005 — May, 2007 (over 1 year)

Portfolio

When three women order "magic" shoes online, none of them suspect that their purchases will make them sexier—and more likely to find true love—than they ever imagined.
Fiction. South Asia Studies. Mad scientists! Hard-boiled detectives! Vengeful goddesses! Murderous robots! Scandalous starlets! Drug-fuelled love affairs! This anthology features seventeen stories by ten best-selling authors of Tamil crime, romance, science fi... read more
Conversations with the Weird Tales Circle is a celebration of the lives of H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, Seabury Quinn, Hannes Bok, August Derleth, Fritz Leiber, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, and many others. Each writ... read more
Queers in History is the first comprehensive biographical compendium of important historical and contemporary figures who were/are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. From Egyptian pharaohs, Catholic popes, and Abraham Lincoln to Bishop Gene Robinson, Neil... read more
The Defiant

M. Quint

An absorbing, breakneck debut YA novel set on the high seas.On a field trip to see famed privateer Francisco Ventana’s once-sunken ship, the Defiant, six kids from San Francisco’s Greenly School—a last-chance refuge for orphans, troublemakers, and misfits—find... read more
For the Darkborn, sunlight kills. For the Lightborn, darkness is fatal. Living under a centuries-old curse, the Darkborn and the Lightborn share the city of Minhorne, coexisting in an uneasy equilibrium but never interacting-until a Darkborn physician finds a ... read more
Peacerunner is the must-read account of how ex-congressman Bruce Morrison rose from crushing defeat to become a crucial figure in the historic Irish Peace Process that ended centuries of warfare.The world celebrated the end of the fighting in Ireland, but just... read more
As an incubator of culture and creativity, Brooklyn is celebrated and imitated across the world. The settings for much of its dynamic underground scene are the numerous industrial spaces that were vacated as manufacturing dwindled across the huge borough. Adap... read more
Snack on science! Make a science of snacks! Potato Chip Science is the book and kit that’s an irresistible introduction to science for 8- to 12-year-olds. Here are 29 incredible experiments—plus one edible project—that use potato chips, potatoes, potato chip b... read more
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year Finalist for the German Book Award Favorite Read of the Year in the Huffington Post and the Wall Street JournalRosa Achmetowna is the outrageously mischeivous narrator of this rollicking family saga from the author of Br... read more
Into the Blue revisits the remarkable trajectory of Americans in air and space, gathering sixty of the best eyewitness and participant narratives from Benjamin Franklin's letters on the first hot air balloons to Chris Jones's account of being marooned on the I... read more
It is assumed that every inch of the world has been explored and charted; that there is nowhere new to go. But perhaps it is the everyday places around us—the cities we live in—that need to be rediscovered. What does it feel like to find the city’s edge, to ex... read more
More Americans are choosing to take time off from work to relax or re-examine their priorities, so they can return to work energized. Some companies offer formal sabbatical programs, but how can the average person take time off to evaluate their direction, exp... read more
What goes on in the mind of a murderer? Neuroscientist Daniel Reisel set out to find the answer, venturing behind the heavy metal doors of London’s most notorious prison and into the microscopic world revealed by an MRI machine. In this compassionate and insig... read more
UNOFFICIAL AND UNAUTHORIZEDDine like Draper and Drink like Sterling with More Than 70 Recipes from the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants Seen on Mad MenEver wish you could mix an Old Fashioned just the way Don Draper likes it? Or prepare Oysters Rockefeller and ... read more
How Music Works

David Byrne

How Music Works is an unparalleled account of a life in music and an explanation of how and why music works from one of the world's most accomplished performers. With his albums for Talking Heads, his work with Brian Eno or his solo output, David Byrne has bee... read more
Death runs rampant throughout the lives of Daphne's family. Fear is her constant companion. With the backlash of such loss, challenges brew in the midst of her very home. She journals: Will my marriage survive? Tragedy duly provides the answer ... and the pain... read more
Pissing in a River

Lorrie Sprecher

Amanda moves to London with nothing but her guitar and her collection of punk music as the soundtrack to her every move. With the company of a few friendly voices in her head, she looks for—and finds—a best friend and new lover. She forms a band, Lesbian Rainc... read more
"A fascinating and daresay essential meditation on childhood, parenthood, and the importance of wild spaces for those wild creatures known as kids."—Dave Eggers How fully can the world be explored when you are focused on trying not to die? This is the question... read more
Coin Heist

Elisa Ludwig

The last place you'd expect to find a team of criminals is at a prestigious Philadelphia prep school. But on a class trip to the U.S. Mint - which prints a million new coins every 30 minutes - an overlooked security flaw becomes far too tempting for a small gr... read more

Oriana has 7 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Amber N.

Amber N.

Jul, 2020

Oriana did an awesome job of taking my writing and making it into a work that could be respectfully published. She completed the work before the expected deadline and honestly completed more than what I expected. Thank you for helping me with my project Oriana!
Oriana L.
Thanks Amber! It was a pleasure working with you.
Youssef E.

Youssef E.

Nov, 2019

Thanks for an excellent job.
R J T.

R J T.

May, 2018

Oriana was a delight to work with. Prompt, professional, and thorough. Thank you!
Oriana L.
Thank *you*, RJ, for the opportunity to work on your fantastic book! It was an absolute joy.
Toni B.

Toni B.

Oct, 2017

Great editor who was professional and informative from beginning to end. She was super supportive and helpful with giving a breadth and depth understanding of the editing process and her edits were great and thorough. Highly recommend working with her!
Jonathan G.

Jonathan G.

Aug, 2017

Oriana was truly brilliant, this was my first book and I was anxious about the process, but I needn't of been as Oriana put me at ease with her good communication, and encouragement. I would definitely use Oriana again as working with her has given me even more enthusiasm and confidence in writi...
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