Tristen Bakker – Editor

I live by the principle of “do no harm,” in life and in work. When I edit, I focus on retaining your voice, as I feel this is one of the most important roles for an editor. I enjoy helping an author flesh out the uniqueness of their writing while at the same time adhering to a publisher’s stylistic guidelines. And I love finding continuity and plot holes—it always gives a me a little thrill to spot and then solve these.

I love working with character and plot driven novels, especially genre fiction, speculative fiction, women's fiction, and contemporary fiction. I enjoy working with memoir and approach it from a character and plot perspective. I also work with self-help and practical inspiration books. If your book involves music or film themes, even better, as those are my personal artistic passions.

I am Canadian with English as my mother tongue. I have worked as a freelance copyeditor for eight years in US, UK, and Canadian English styles. I have also worked as a content writer, primarily as a reviewer of films and music for various magazines. My clients are independent authors, and large and small publishers.

Though I am originally from Toronto, I have been based in Berlin, Germany, for fifteen years. Living in Berlin has allowed me to travel through Europe and given me a broader experience of the world. I have a great deal of experience working with texts translated into English or written by non-native English speakers.

I'm a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders. With my primary publishing client, I work in a collaborative environment in which editors gain insights from one another and constantly improve their craft.

You can learn more about me through my website. Please reach out with queries—I'd be delighted to hear from you!

Here are a few comments from writers I have worked with:

“I was very pleased with Tristen's attention to detail and professionalism during her editing of my new novel Desperate Valour. She was in regular contact with me, asking questions to strengthen the text.”

—Timothy Ashby, PhD, JD, MBA · Author, Florida, USA

“Working with Tristen was a dream—she is incredibly thorough, precise, and knowledgeable. She catches everything! A brilliant editor and copyeditor.”

—Christian Hawkey · Author, Poet, and Translator, Berlin, Germany

“I loved working with Tristen the most because of her great respect for others and her willingness to cooperate in solving some demanding tasks. Very kind and generous personality, with words and deeds.”

—Marija Zdravkovic · Modern Times Review, Belgrade, Serbia