Memoirs
Award-winning editor and author
Copyedit and developmental editing on computer
Line, heavy, and content editing on paper
Topics to-date: Woman who recently walked around the world, one woman's journey to getting pregnant, an American woman living in Damascus, first woman cop and firefighter in Alaska, rock ‘n’ roll fan, homesteaders, chaplain's Vietnam memoir, spiritual, sacred poetry, five essays, and award-winning The Lady in Blue by Noel Brock about the family ghost, finalist Best Books 2006.
Testimonials
Polly Letofsky, 3 MPH: The adventures of one woman's walk around the world: "Charol was the first editor for my book, giving my manuscript a solid foundation for successful publication. Her greatest strength was reorganizing my 200 word paragraph into 100 words while also managing to make it more succinct. She also suggested alternative words that colorfully popped off the black & white page. I suspect she could edit the ten+ grammatical boo-boos tucked into this one paragraph testimonial--and get it down to half the size. Or should that be, "10-plus grammar mistakes..." and "half-size"? Should that question mark be inside the quotes? Should there be an ampersand between "black & white"? What is the proper use of the ampersand? Oh, thank the editorial Gods there are people like Charol who know this crap so I can just write and hand it over." (original 178,000 words; computer basic copyedit on above-average writing, with consolidation and organization, avg 1400 wds/hr) "On Time, High Integrity, Creative." APRIL 2010, www.pollyletofsky.com SAMPLE COPYEDIT ON COMPUTER
“Charol is an amazing editor. Her editing of my book was quite astounding. My nonfiction manuscript was long and very complex, but Charol deftly handled it in a relatively short period of time. She helped me weed out what wasn't necessary and really tightened up my chapters. She helped trim a sizable amount, yet kept the heart of my message intact. I've received lots of praise on how well the book is written, and that's directly a result of Charol's years of experience as an editor. I would definitely hire her again if I publish another book. I recommend her editing services to all my writer friends.” LinkedIn Top Qualities: “Great Results, Expert, High Integrity.” Laura Faeth, I Found All the Parts: Healing the Soul through Rock 'n' Roll. (heavy/content edit on paper, with suggested reorganization, trimmed about a third, avg 1235 wds/hr)
“I have revised the entire mss per your feedback and now need to expand per your suggestions. Love your work.“ Debbie McCulliss, The Rhythms of Birth, (developmental editing, work in progress, finishing 2010)
“God you're good! Holy moly, Charol, I am SO IMPRESSED! And so is my publisher! You are incredible… This is what I've been looking for, for some time. I am VERY excited. I feel better already! You worked HARD. I feel like a big weight has been lifted from me! ... I wish I’d found you three years ago…. Wow, your notes are incredible, so detailed. My publisher is very impressed. Connection, connection, connection...I know I have a problem with that.” Maggie Holeman, Woman in the Locker Room, first woman firefighter and police officer in Anchorage, Alaska. (heavy/content edit on paper, with suggested reorganization, trimmed about 25%, 54 hours)
“Charol - I feel so fortunate to have found you! Your appropriately detailed editing of my book far exceeded my expectations. I appreciated the tightening of my words, while retaining my deepest thoughts. Your technical suggestions as well as your thoughtful observations have encouraged me during this process of preparing my first book for publication. I was able to depend on the timeframes promised. I highly recommend your services!” Autobiographical exposé, Tracy Ringsdorf, The Gap in the Jehovah’s Witness Religion: and How to Recover.
“Charol, your contribution was very significant. My book flows much smoother, just like silk, clean.” Peter Earle Dashiell, An American Zero. Author’s confrontation with Klebold and Harris before the Columbine massacre in Lakewood, Colorado.
"Charol Messenger is not only a gifted writer and manuscript editor, but always has fresh ideas about approaches that greatly improve the original piece. It has been a pleasure to watch my story begin in it's infancy and bloom to it's full potential. Thank you Charol, for all your good work." Sue Scudder, musician, Sacred Friends.
Replies by next business day
Professional tips on the process of writing and editing: nonfiction, business, novels, screenplays, spiritual. Business and personal experiences as an editor, ghostwriter, and author.
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Learned life tools. Personal musings on events of the day, and how coping, or not.
