I’m an independent book editor and writer with more than thirty-five years of experience working with authors, publishers, and literary agents. Years ago I started my publishing career at Doubleday. Now I develop and edit literary and commercial fiction; memoir; and narrative nonfiction that often involves some aspect of personal growth or social justice. The books I’ve collaborated on have won awards, received glowing reviews, and landed on the New York Times bestseller list. They’ve been published by Ballantine, Public Affairs, Grand Central Publishing, Soho Press, Hay House, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Norton, Harvard Business Review Press, Sounds True, Thomas and Mercer, and Atria, among others. Short story writers with whom I work have been published by An Open Space, Salamagundi, West Branch Journal, Arroyo Literary Review, Lowestoft Chronicle, and other publications, and have been nominated for a number of Pushcart Prizes.

As I see it, an important part of my role as an editor, collaborator, or co-author is helping writers realize their visions. Whether I’m writing, editing, or teaching, the realization of an author’s vision—along with the clear and powerful communication of information, ideas, and feelings through the intellect, the heart, and the gut—is my goal.

Every July for more than a decade I’ve taught the art and craft of book editing at the Denver Publishing Institute, where I am Co-Director of the Editing Workshop. I’ve served as a mentor for authors through The Word: A Storytelling Sanctuary, which promotes voices from diverse backgrounds; and am a longtime member of the Book Editors Alliance, a group of leading independent book editors with deep publishing backgrounds.