Richard Lynch - Editor

* Former publishing house Senior Editor and Production Manager (7 years, Amherst Media, Inc.).
* Freelance development editor / TheBookDoc (30 years, 4000+ books).
* Traditionally published author (9 books with subsidiaries of Macmillan, Wiley, Pearson, and Taylor&Frances).
* Work as a writing coach and consultant who helps writers further their craft.
* Write/rewrite books for clients who lose their way when trying to finish their projects.

Richard Lynch is a freelance American author, development editor, and writing coach currently living in eastern Spain. His experience in publishing is extensive, spanning every aspect of writing, editing, production, design, and printing. Non-fiction publications include nine books with traditional publishers translated into 10 languages and 50 articles in print magazines. His creative prose accounts for 60 more publications in literary venues.

After graduating with an MFA in fiction writing, Richard's career in publishing began. He became a reader for a literary agency and editorial service, and then found a job as the Senior Editor and Production Manager for a small book publisher. The opportunity allowed him to explore the publishing saga from end to end as he did everything n the process: he operated the freight elevator to accept book shipments, worked with the authors to develop manuscripts, did the design and pre-press, sourced the printing, and was responsible for quality control. Because the publisher had a niche in how-to photography, he became an expert using Photoshop to correct images for print.

An ad that he placed on the internet promoting Photoshop services yielded a strange inquiry. The person asked him if he could write a book on Photoshop and photography. He said, "Well, I'm sitting at my desk where I am the editor of a photography book publishing house, I went to school for writing, and I'm a Photoshop expert. I'd say yes." It turns out that the person on the other end of the line was an acquisitions editor from a Macmillan subsidiary. The deal and his advance were closed over the phone without writing a word. The book sold over 40,000 copies.

After the first book came out, opportunities opened for him to work for many organizations as an author/writer, consultant, beta tester, online instructor, and editor. The companies included Adobe, Berrett-Koehler (business books),, and photography magazines (e.g., PCPhoto, and Popular Photography). He maintained his interest in development editing as TheBookDoc throughout and to the present day, helping individuals work on all non-fiction and fiction manuscripts to push them toward publication. He believes, simply, that all writing needs to remain fresh and interesting to the reader. As his mentor told him:

"Write it so well they can't turn it down."

...And it is that simple mantra he uses as motivation to make his clients the best they can be.

As a freelance development editor, Richard has worked on thousands of fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. He is an expert at recognizing lulling patterns in writing, problems with logistics, and is sensitive to the writer's voice and their audience. The goal of editing is always to improve a manuscript, but it is also to improve the craft and process of the author.

More recently Richard engaged in taking ghostwriting jobs and wrote/re-wrote six books for clients in 2021. This resulted in at least one best-seller. The latter was a book he'd been thinking about for a long time and he suggested the idea to a former client. It never would have been written had he not been paid to do it. Part of the charm of ghostwriting is seeing your work come to life no matter whose name is on it.


TESTIMONIALS

*Editing and coaching / Military science fiction
"Richard is a very experienced editor and a very good proofreader and writing coach. Working with him is fun and hard at the same time. He has strong opinions but he knows what he is talking about and he respects the writer's own voice. He works to keep you on your toes and improve your story, plot, and characters. He is always honest with you and always has strong consistent reasons supporting his feedback, whether you agree with it or not. I like working with him. He has significantly improved the book I am currently writing and I will keep him as my editor. If you are starting out and have never had an editor before, I guarantee you will learn a lot from Richard, and by such become a better writer. He has really improved my ability to understand stories and writing. He is really clever and witty and will show you flaws in your book that are in your face but you just can't see. That is priceless and the result will affect your readers' satisfaction once your book is done. I will certainly always refer to him as a standard of good editing and continue with him in more contracts to come." — Heitor Altemani

*Editing and coaching / New-age alternative healing
"I felt so lucky when I found him. He has an incredible background, and his prices were very affordable. Originally, I hired him for content editing based on the first three chapters of the book I was writing. I have a long history of writing — but this was my first book. So while I think I'm a decent writer, I knew I needed guidance, early on. His initial feedback was so helpful that I hired him to review every chapter, my preface, and conclusion. He didn't just "line edit." He asked questions and probed and pushed to make my content and writing so much better. At times he was blunt, which I appreciated and needed. Additionally, I worked with him on the book proposal, which some people say is more difficult to write than the book itself. I have no doubt I will run to him again for additional editing with this book, or, my next book. I am so thankful for all his input." — Deborah Charnes