Sarah Williams – Editor

I have over a decade of experience as a literary agent looking to spot incredible talent in my submissions and then working with my authors to create and sell their books to publishers. While my client list is pretty full, I absolutely love working with new and emerging writers to help them craft the best possible opening to their book that is going to get the attention of the right agent for their work.

If you are thinking of submitting your work to an agent and want an editorial assessment or to craft a knockout submission package (query letter, synopsis, first 25-50 pages) that will get the attention of the right agent for your work, I can help. I offer package reviews where I review all of these materials, revise them and ensure that what you are submitting feels true to you as a writer, but will also generate the interest you want.

I know what makes a query letter stand out (and what gets a submission rejected) and have weekly conversations with editors so I have a good sense of their acquisition meetings and how to get the pitch just right. The first few chapters are the pages that I spend the most time editing with my authors - they have to be unputdownable and I love working to get them just right. Above all, I hope my strength lies in finding the balance between creating a book that will find success in the current market as well as ensuring that the work remains true to the writer.

I also offer a hybrid editorial assessment/developmental edit that ensures your narrative arc, character development, structure and pacing, and thematic impact is all aligning, In non-fiction my area of speciality is memoir and personal development. In fiction my speciality is crime and thriller. My authors have been bestsellers or shortlisted/won awards in all of these genres and many of them have had their books optioned for film and television.

My authors would probably say that I pay incredible attention to the text, take great care and sensitivity with what is often very personal work, am really approachable and understand that good humour is just as essential as thoughtful consideration of their writing. It is extremely important to me that our work together is collaborative and I really enjoy working with debut authors.