Overview
I've been at this for almost 25 years.
I started out as an assistant editor at Oxford University Press, editing textbooks for middle and high school. I also worked for Penguin, editing trade fiction and non-fiction. I've held several other positions outside the publishing industry, all of which involved editing. At a translation agency I was editing medical literature translated into English. At two startups I was the de facto communications manager, either writing or editing web content, legal documents, instruction manuals, product descriptions, business requirement specs, MOUs, press releases, blog posts, patent applications—you name it.
Over the last few years I've been freelancing as a ghostwriter and an editor. In the latter role I've worked primarily on academic literature (over 250 journal articles and master's theses) but also on book-length works for clients ranging from the World Trade Organization to self-published authors trying to complete their first spy thriller.
So, does this make me a jack of all trades and a master of none? I prefer to think of myself as versatile—someone who can edit absolutely anything thrown at him, whether it's a software manual or an erotic novel. More importantly, I've learned that all texts share the same basic requirement: the narrative must be laid out in a way that's logical and effortless for the reader to follow. It's like forging a path through the jungle so that others can trudge along easily, without a map or a machete.
That's my specialty and what excites me about book editing—helping authors structure their story so it's readily digestible even by the laziest of readers. Hence my motto: structure is everything.
I started out as an assistant editor at Oxford University Press, editing textbooks for middle and high school. I also worked for Penguin, editing trade fiction and non-fiction. I've held several other positions outside the publishing industry, all of which involved editing. At a translation agency I was editing medical literature translated into English. At two startups I was the de facto communications manager, either writing or editing web content, legal documents, instruction manuals, product descriptions, business requirement specs, MOUs, press releases, blog posts, patent applications—you name it.
Over the last few years I've been freelancing as a ghostwriter and an editor. In the latter role I've worked primarily on academic literature (over 250 journal articles and master's theses) but also on book-length works for clients ranging from the World Trade Organization to self-published authors trying to complete their first spy thriller.
So, does this make me a jack of all trades and a master of none? I prefer to think of myself as versatile—someone who can edit absolutely anything thrown at him, whether it's a software manual or an erotic novel. More importantly, I've learned that all texts share the same basic requirement: the narrative must be laid out in a way that's logical and effortless for the reader to follow. It's like forging a path through the jungle so that others can trudge along easily, without a map or a machete.
That's my specialty and what excites me about book editing—helping authors structure their story so it's readily digestible even by the laziest of readers. Hence my motto: structure is everything.
Services
Non-Fiction
Business & Management
Education & Reference
Humanities & Social Sciences
Sports & Outdoors
Travel
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Work experience
Self-employed
Jan, 2012 —
Present
I've been freelancing for a few years now. Here are the highlights:
For Cambridge Proofreading LLC: Completed 250+ editing assignments (academic journal articles, theses, and corporate white papers) totalling 750,000+ words. Average client rating: 4.88/5.00.
For Third Dimension Trust, New Delhi: Ghostwriter for the Trust’s 600-page policy proposal, The Next Enlightenment: Reimagining Consciousness, Wealth, and the Future of Humanity.
For the World Trade Organization (WTO): Edited two books on trade multilateralism and trade dispute settlement.
For LUZ, Sàrl: Six-month, in-house project in the marketing department of this language services company to create a series of solution briefs promoting the firm’s B2B services (translation, linguistic validation, e-learning).
For Arastan: Wrote 11 online articles on craft heritage, artisanal production, and sourcing travel to create and maintain a strong narrative identity for this luxury e-commerce firm.
Independently: Under the pseudonym John Stryder, wrote a novel (psychological suspense / conspiracy theory) titled The New Lease.
Penguin India
Sep, 2004 —
Jul, 2006
(almost 2 years)
As a full-time contractor for Penguin India, I edited, proofread and appraised fiction, non-fiction and reference books. My favorite was Doordashan Days, a tell-all exposé by a senior administrative officer who had been in charge of Doordarshan (India's public television broadcaster) for several years.
Oxford University Press
Jan, 1994 —
Jun, 1996
(over 2 years)
At OUP India I developed maths and science textbooks for secondary school curricula. My greatest achievement was the publication of a middle-school mathematics series called Countdown. The marketing department had decreed that each volume in the three-year series could not exceed a cover price of 60 rupees (about $2 in those days), so the challenges were enormous. Despite this limitation, we created an innovative product that, shockingly, endeavored to make middle-school math fun. I had to rewrite large parts of these books to make them more entertaining and came up with hundreds of puzzles, stories, trivia and cartoon illustrations to populate the all-important sidebar.
Portfolio
What have WTO accessions contributed to the rules-based multilateral trading system? What demands have been made by original WTO members on acceding governments? How have the acceding governments fared? This volume of essays offers critical readings on how WTO... read more
The WTO dispute settlement system has become one of the most dynamic, effective and successful international dispute settlement systems in the world over the past twenty years. This second edition of A Handbook on the WTO Dispute Settlement System has been com... read more
The year is 1946, and the sun is about to set on the British Empire in India. Even as widespread unrest and communal violence break out all over the country, sixteen-year old Philip Brandon, spending his winter vacations in the sleepy little town of Lakhbagan,... read more
Two writers map different landscapes of loss and love with poignant and marvelously written memoirs: Joan Didion (Knopf) in The Year of Magical Thinking and Timeri Murari with his tale of losing an adopted child to another family in My Temporary Son (Penguin I... read more
A stranger appeared, years ago, and rescued you from the darkness.Or did he? Since that day you can't recognize yourself, you're haunted by an imaginary stalker, and you hear someone whisper in your head.That's how Fae Cunningham, a reticent young woman with a... read more
Do you despair when you watch the news? Billions still live in poverty; violence, corrupt governance, and mass migration threaten stability everywhere; and climate change is wreaking havoc on the environment. In many parts of the world, loneliness, depression,... read more
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