Savannah Ashour – Editor

As a writer and editor who takes true joy in collaboration (and very rarely endeavors to write in isolation), I love working with authors at any level to bring structure, clarity, energy, voice, humor, and personality to their prose. Having spent seven years as an editor at Workman Publishing, an independent publisher of bestselling, award-winning, and often highly commercial books in NYC, I always have an eye toward increasing a book's salability and marketing potential.

In working with prescriptive nonfiction, I have considerable experience with projects that extend an existing personal or corporate brand. But my first loves are fiction and memoir, and as the daughter of a novelist I'm also very comfortable working in these genres. (My first job in publishing was at a boutique literary house.)

Here are some of the nice things clients, collaborators, and former bosses have said about me:

“Savannah has the ‘secret ingredient’ every great editor needs: She knows how to make an author look better, sound better, read better—but in the author’s voice, not hers. And then there’s her work ethic, which is unmatchable. It’s no wonder that the writers she works with love her.” — Susan Bolotin, editor-in-chief at Workman Publishing

“Savannah loves her work. But what is it exactly? She’s much more than an editor. She can take anything—from a nebulous concept to a polished manuscript—and make it better: clearer, deeper, and infinitely more publishable for reasons she has learned over time. Savannah made my book better, and she did so with immeasurable patience, grace, and humor. She will always be the best editor I’ve ever met.” —Barbara Flanagan, author of Flanagan’s Smart Home

“Savannah is a rare bird: super smart, collaborative, creative, hard-working, and really really funny. She made our book sparkle, and we enjoyed every moment of working with her.” —Arielle Eckstut, agent-at-large at the Levine Greenberg agency and coauthor of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published and The Secret Language of Color

“Savannah is a truly talented writer who was able to take my thoughts and philosophies and put them down on paper in a way that is just so me. She is absolutely the real deal. I loved working with her.” —George Brescia, author of Change Your Clothes, Change Your Life

“As someone who has worked with countless authors of all stripes, editing Savannah Ashour taught me an invaluable lesson: There’s nothing better than working with a writer who is also an editor. No matter the assignment, her ability to craft a near-perfect first draft puts her at the very top of my call sheet.” —Tricia Boczkowski, editorial director at Crown Archetype & Three Rivers Press