Rochelle Bourgault – Editor

Making, teaching, and creativity are my love languages, and illustrated nonfiction books are my editorial passion. In high school, my friends read Seventeen and I read Martha Stewart Living. In the publishing industry, I leveraged my DIY curiosity and expertise into full-time project managing, editing, and writing.

My style of editing helps writers write as well as teach, but our collaboration facilitates learning and inspires creativity in readers, too. If you teach asana or sit vipassana, bake bread, make jewelry, knit shawls, sew dresses, keep bees, or teach just about anything else, I can make your book sing.

A bit more about my yoga path: about 20 years ago, I discovered ashtanga yoga, the rigorous, transformative practice that is so much more than just asana. Deep reflection, discipline, aligning thought and action with ethics: all this and more informed my practice as an editor, too. I worked for years at a renowned Buddhist publisher who just happened to be launching a line of cooking and lifestyle books: a karmic match.

My editing style is holistic: I dig deep, refine, and offer suggestions from the micro level (word choice) to the macro level (voice, structure, and positioning). My feedback is compassionate but firm, with a layer of subtlety that can generate just the right shift in tone or refinement. I see the editor’s role as a form of midwifery, caring for the author and their message, teaching, or story and encouraging them to shine their brightest. After my editing, your manuscript will be grammatically sound with watertight organization, written in a voice that is authentically you.

I also offer editorial evaluations (or a reader's report) of books still in development and thorough reads for key book elements (tone, structure, scope of content, etc.). If you're writing an illustrated nonfiction or how-to book, I can consult on your use of step illustrations or photos to ensure your instructions are hitting the mark.

TESTIMONIALS

"I have worked with Rochelle as an editor on several projects. Rochelle is detail oriented and dedicated to her work, but also very personal. Her special touch is to truly care about her projects and partners. There is something hard to find about this mixture of attention to detail and attention to people."
— Kate O’Donnell
Author, The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook Series

"Rochelle is an exceptionally wise editor who brings such generosity and expertise to every project she works on. I had the good fortune to work with her for years, and I know how dedicated she is to crafting books--and to warmly and skillfully guiding authors."
—Beth Frankl
Editor, Shambhala Publications