Steven Smith

Steven Smith – Editor

Now semi-retired and working from home, I look forward to taking on further editing projects in the military history field.

Overview

As the founder and CEO of the military history firm Sarpedon Publishers and then Editorial Director of Casemate Publishers, I have guided over 120 books to fruition. I am also, sometimes under the pen-name Stephen Tanner, the author or co-author of a dozen works of military history. While my projects have ranged from ancient to modern conflicts, I have a particular expertise in the Civil War and World War II, and also a certain weakness for alternative histories.

When I take on a project I consider my task to involve not only developmental editing, including advice on illustrative elements, but copyediting (UK or US English) to ensure the best chance of successful publication. These days publishing houses may or may not provide serious editorial capability; my own approach is to treat manuscripts as if I were developing them in-house, ensuring their respectful reception from fellow professionals and readers. During the process I look forward to engaging with the author for whatever is necessary to mold the project into its optimum shape.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs History
Fiction
Historical Fiction
Languages
English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Casemate Publishers

Oct, 2004 — Apr, 2016 (over 11 years)

Acquired and developed manuscripts for this Philadelphia-based military history publisher. Duties included hands-on edit of some projects and design and marketing guidance for all of them.

Sarpedon Publishers

Oct, 1991 — Oct, 2000 (about 9 years)

Founded and ran a New York City-based military history publishing company, taking part in every aspect of marketing and book production.

Steven has 16 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Jon West B.

Jon West B.

Dec, 2024

Steve was professional and timely. He was intricate in me sound literate and educated. A pretty tall task.
jim S.

jim S.

Dec, 2024

Steve was a true professional; took initiative to understand objectives & context, he was responsive with updates and status, and delivered results as expected with items that I needed to address to finalize.
Grey B.

Grey B.

Dec, 2024

I think working with Steve absolutely made my manuscript better. He offered very thoughtful suggestions, and he caught some really critical factual and grammatical mistakes in my work. There were a few minor errors (that we both missed) that were cleaned up later. Overall, I think it was a very worthwhile collaboration, an important step toward getting the manuscript published one way or anothe...
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Laura D.

Laura D.

Oct, 2024

For the second time, Steve has done an outstanding job on my manuscript. He is very thorough and professional. One of the best things he does is check my research to make sure it is historically accurate. In my opinion, that's going above and beyond! You should hire him!
John and Janice W.

John and Janice W.

Oct, 2024

Working with Steven Smith on Jack’s Story was an exceptional experience. His expertise and passion for military history took our well-researched manuscript and transformed it into a spellbinding, page-turning story from cover to cover. His understanding of the World War II landscape, and particularly the underrepresented details of the 7th Armored Division, added depth and significance that onl...
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