Alethea Spiridon – Editor

Words are not what I do. They are what I am.

I've spent more than 27 years in publishing, magazines, and editorial work — and I bring every one of those years to every manuscript I touch. I began my career at Harlequin Books, acquiring and editing women's fiction for nearly seven years. I went on to serve as Senior Editor and Editorial Director at Entangled Publishing, where I worked on titles that reached the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. I've edited for Benefits Canada magazine, Scotiabank, and trade publications across health, financial, and veterinary categories. I ran my own literary agency. I know this industry from every angle.

I specialize in structural (developmental) editing, the level of work that transforms a good idea into a book that earns its place on a shelf. I've conducted hundreds of manuscript evaluations. I don't smooth surfaces; I find what a book is actually trying to be and help it get there. Fiction, nonfiction, memoir, essays, business books, literary and commercial — I've edited across all of it, and I bring genuine expertise, not generalist enthusiasm.

I'm also a writer. A produced screenwriter and short filmmaker. A published poet and essayist. A literary fiction writer mentored by Antanas Sileika at Humber and studied at the University of Iowa International Writing Program (a summer non-fiction writing seminar). I understand what it costs to make something true on the page, which is why I take the work of helping others do it seriously.

My editorial work is not inexpensive. It shouldn't be. Results rarely are.