As an editor, I’ve been lucky enough to help some wonderful clients pour their passion into book form. It has been extremely satisfying to help these people find their voice and express their thoughts. It’s also been brilliant to see the satisfaction they have gained from publishing a book.
In the case of John Karagounis, the CEO and managing director of The CEO Circle, writing a book was about distilling the decades of up close and personal knowledge and experience he has of leaders and leadership. I worked closely with John and we would set aside Friday afternoons for the purpose of going through his latest draft, drawing out major themes, polishing anecdotes and getting to the heart of all that he wished to express. The result was 'Why I Wrote This Book: For Greater Success', a book that is both personal and instructive on the art of leadership in the 21st century.
For Sue Barrett, the founder and CEO of sales consultancy Barrett, it was about putting down on paper her philosophy and ideas on why expressing gratitude can make us better people. Sue is not your average salesperson. She believes strongly in a sales practice which is firmly grounded in ethics and sustainability. Her work is all about getting people to understand that sales can be ethical and effective. Her book '142 Days of Gratitude That Changed My Life Forever' is a deeply personal foray into how practising gratitude brought her to a new level of understanding about sales, her work, and the wider world around her.
As both John and Sue's experiences show, writing a book is a great way to display your knowledge. It enables you to go deep into your particular field of expertise and share with readers your insights and ideas. It also allows you to leave a tangible and permanent legacy as a field expert or industry thought leader.
And guess what? You don’t need to be a writer to write a book. You only need one thing: a burning desire to share your vision.
However, a professional editor can help make it far easier to bring your vision to fruition. Whether it's working in close collaboration or providing thorough copy and structural editing, an editor ensures a piece of writing is as readable as possible.
With Michel Hogan's two e-books, it was a matter of taking her voluminous back catalogue of blog posts (hundreds of them) and assisting her to whittle down and merge her work into two cohesive and thematic books. Michel's writing is precise, funny and erudite. As her editor, I had very little to do in regard to the mechanics of grammar and style. Her need was for an editor who could provide objectivity and find inconsistencies and repetition in a body of writing that stretched back around eight years or so.
When you collaborate on a book with an editor, you immediately free yourself of the mental drudgery that can bog you down while trying to write a book. You spend less time on grammar, sentence flow, chapter structure and all that other finicky stuff and more time working on what you want to say. You get the time to think deeply about your message.
That’s because a good editor will help you shape and structure your ideas. A good editor will take your passion and find the right form for its most potent expression. A good editor will be a sounding board and dialogue partner, providing constructive criticism that sharpens your ideas and coaxes you to find your authorial voice.
Writing a book is not for everyone. It takes time and a little effort. But with an editor in your corner, a collaborative partner in the writing process, you get an enormous headstart. You have a guide to help you reach your literary summit. If you’re interested in writing a book, get in touch to discuss how we can make it happen together. I’m ready to guide your ideas, shape your words and give form to your passion. I’m here to help you write that book.
Magazines, White Papers, E-books and other collateral
In addition to books, I can also help you create all kinds of publications and marketing collateral, including magazines, newsletters, research reports, white papers, e-books, pitch decks, award entries and much, much more. With extensive experience in both print and online production, I can talk to you about what medium, format and style will best fit your purpose.
A selection of some of the print magazines I have edited