I had been working on my memoir for three years and I needed fresh eyes and guidance. I was so fortunate that Anne said yes to guiding me to the end: restructuring the text, patiently reviewing the arc of the story with me, filling in the gaps. Anne has a true sense of storyline. She also is incredibly generous with her knowledge of publishers and how to put a professional submission package together. I loved working with Anne on my final manuscript and feel incredibly fortunate she came on board as my final editor.
I have had the privilege of working with Anne as my mentor and editor the past five years while I have been writing a creative non-fiction memoir about my Doukhobor family. She has been an invaluable resource from the beginning—making suggestions to strengthen and enrich the writing, helping organize a final manuscript, suggesting publishers that I may approach. It was a pleasure and an honour to work with Anne.
I loved working with Anne on my non-fiction manuscript. The editing experience can be traumatic, but the opposite was the case. Anne knows how to be both encouraging and honest, both kind and firm. Anne respected what I was trying to do and didn’t make edits or suggestions to force me in a different direction. Instead, her input, based on her own fine story-writing skills, helped me craft a final draft that went out and was accepted for publication.
With Anne as an editor I felt guided through the arduous writing and publishing process. Anne brought out the very best capability in me as a writer. Her ability to steward my work with precise and compassionate literary skill, to critique, educate and correct with honesty, and her sensitivity and humour gave me the courage to persevere through all the difficulties and self-doubts that go with the creative process and publishing a book.
Anne is truly dedicated to the craft of writing. Her review of my manuscript was deeply intuitive and measured to be both useful and insightful. She was recommended by other authors who looked me in the eye and said, ‘You are going to want Anne to edit your work.’ She knows from experience how story and language work together. She senses potential in your story you didn’t know existed.
Anne provided invaluable help reviewing and commenting on the manuscript of my novel. She was thorough, professional, and most importantly, incredibly insightful. I would highly recommend anyone developing a longer piece of writing to work with Anne; she will take your work to the next level.