Commendations
Clients
My clients include—
- Archimage-Playnormous
- BookMatters
- Capital IQ/McGraw-Hill
- Chronicle Prism
- Counterpoint
- Crimson Life Sciences
- Curatorial Assistance, Inc.
- Emma Goldman Papers Project
- Evaluation Group
- Gronstedt Group
- Heyday Books
- Hoover Institution Press
- John Wiley & Sons
- Jossey-Bass
- Lasting Legacies
- Mercury House
- Metalsmith Magazine (SNAG)
- New Harbinger Publications
- North Atlantic Books
- Omnipoint Communications
- Quixotic Projects
- Radius Books
- Red Wheel/Weiser Books/Conari Press
- Seal Press/Hachette
- SF SPCA
- Stanford University Press
- Soft Skull Press
- Stones Throw Records
- Ulysses Press
- University of California Press
In addition, books by author clients have been published (or are forthcoming) by the following—
- Ashgate Press
- Beacon Press
- Berrett-Koehler
- Cambridge University Press
- Columbia University Press
- John Wiley & Sons
- New York University Press
- Portfolio/Penguin Random House
- Portuguese Studies Program, UC Berkeley
- Routledge
- Palgrave Pivot/Macmillan
- Saqi Books
- Stanford University Press
- Steidl
- Toby Press
- Trinity University Press
- University of California Press
- University of Hawai‘i Press
- University of Nevada Press
- Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Short pieces I’ve edited have appeared in—
- Asian Anthropology
- Critical Asian Studies
- East Asia Forum Quarterly
- fifteeneightyfour, the blog of Cambridge University Press
- The [Jewish Daily] Forward
- HerStry
- The Huffington Post.com
- Journal of Asian Studies
- Reunion: The Dallas Review
- The Times of Israel.com
- The Washington Post.com
Recommendations
“Kirsten is my queen. She’s a magnificent writing partner who really helped me distill and clarify my manuscript.”
“Thank you for your sensitive and wise revisions.”
“Once again, I’m in tears. Thanks so much for helping me to get this right.”
“Kirsten is the whole package: knowledgeable, competent, pleasant to work with, and responsive. There is no question that she made my book a much better product. I cannot recommend her enthusiastically enough.”
—Eric Berkowitz re: Dangerous Ideas: A Brief History of Censorship from Socrates to Fake News (Beacon Press)
“You did a beautiful job – exactly what I needed. Can’t thank you enough.”
—Eric Berkowitz, personal email re: Dangerous Ideas
“Thank you for your exceptional work. You did a fantastic job.”
“Thank you again, profusely, for taking on this project. You’re a marvelous editor and, what is more, a collaborator.”
“A masterful job.”
“You’re a jewel.”
“Thank you so much for all your amazing work on my manuscript over the last few months. Your changes helped make it a stronger, clearer, more potent piece of writing. I really can’t thank you enough for that.”
“I am left with a new appreciation for editing. Your work has been incredibly helpful … not just for this paper, but also in thinking about my writing in the future. Thank you so much!”
“You have an ear. In one spot you said ‘this seems to have been stuck in …’ It was. I felt like I’d been caught. I moved it. It told me you know tone, and your sense of when something feels out of sync is perfecto!
Thanks for everything. It’s very nice to have someone as tastefully literate as you as the chief building inspector for Fiction County. You are an editor par excellence!”
“Your work is really terrific. Most importantly, none of your comments or edits required any alteration to my voice, and that’s important to me. Your edits make substantial improvements … making this a far stronger book.”
“You’re amazing, and fast, and so on your stuff. Thank you for doing this so quickly – you went above and beyond and I can’t wait to recommend you to others.”
“I wanted to take this moment to thank you for your great work.… One author on your website claims that s/he couldn’t have done it without you or something to that effect. I recall thinking something like ‘what a typical Californian slabbering-all-over kind of comment’ when I read that a while back. Now I feel exactly like that author.… I couldn’t have done this without your thorough edits and thoughtful comments and suggestions and your willingness to read and discipline so much of it at far too messy a stage. Your excellent sense of humor did wonders many times, and so did your assurances.”
“You have such a deep and sophisticated understanding of language. Very impressive. And scary.”
“Thank you so much for the thorough and thoughtful copyedit. The editing/copyediting process can either be great or excruciating, and both you and Stephanie [Knapp] have made it so enjoyable. I had a lot of fun going through all the notes and thinking of more interesting/clear ways to say things, so thank you for pushing me. And thanks for this addition – it’s great: ‘… your tolerance for hostels and backpacks will plummet as precipitously as your fertility.’ …
PS: I really hope there aren’t any typos in this memo.”
“I am so pleased, amused, and appreciative of your edits.… Your work inspires.”
“I am just about to turn in my version of the wonderful work you’ve done on my book. Your lovely comments, fun stories & appreciation of my jokes all meant the world to me. Writing this book has been a good but sometimes lonely process, and I really like picturing you reading and responding to it and sometimes removing my commas. (I like, love commas.)
So I thought I’d just reach out to you and thank you for your hard work and for ‘getting’ the book, because it’s clear to me from your edits that you did.”
“Thank you for the amazing job you did on this last project – especially given how uneven the manuscript was in parts. I admire the deft and seamless fixes you did on the most awkward passages. Wonderful work.”
“Three indispensable tools any successful writer must have on his/her workbench: talent, perseverance, and the copyediting skills of Kirsten Janene-Nelson. Working always with the utmost respect for the text, she deftly sifts the chaff from the true grain any author hopes to reap. Her keen eye greatly enhanced Jubilee Hitchhiker, my recent biography of Richard Brautigan.”
“Just to let you know that I had lunch with Jack Shoemaker yesterday – sang your praises to the sky.”
“Kudos to Kirsten Janene-Nelson for a superlative job of freelance copyediting.”
“My editor at NYU wrote to tell me my book got a starred review in Publishers Weekly; … she was pretty excited about it. I thought you’d want to know. You did a great deal to help the book reach its potential.”
“I really appreciate the depth and clarity of your engagement with my draft. I am so happy to have found you!”
“For the final heavy lifting I worked with editor Kirsten Janene-Nelson, who improved the flow on every page and helped me through countless details and decisions. If you find the narrative easy to read, you can credit her.”
“Thank you for everything: for your deep expertise, your attention to detail, and for pushing me to produce the best book I could. It has been a joy to work with you.”
“I’m still so proud of the book we made together.”
“To … Kirsten Janene-Nelson, thanks for your Charlie Brown Christmas tree edits that helped make this book shine.”
“You are definitely one of my favorite humans these days. I am so grateful to you for jumping on this project at the last minute and then doing such an amazing job. You are really the best – thank you!”
“Kirsten has a magnificent eye. I came to her at the last minute on an academic book for what I thought would be a safety-net, once-over proofreading job. She immediately set to work and made edits, tweaks, and finishing touches that made my book so much more legible and clear. It was like fairy dust and magic – just that little bit extra that made it all so so much better. Not only that, but she was quick and approachable, witty and kind. I can’t recommend her highly enough. Truly a gem, not to be missed. You need her. Even if you don’t think you do, trust me – you do!”
“I’m at the starting gate again, writing more slowly and thinking more deeply. Thanks to you, I’m reshaping with a new-found joy. Even my writing issues are prying open my mind to the craft as never before.”
“I think you’re golden. I’ve learned from others who tell well, but you show me what I need to see.”
“Courtney [Martin] asked me to pass along her ‘undying gratitude’ to you. She was so impressed by how thorough you are.”
“Your work on our books was … the very best in the business.”
“Thank you thank you thank you thank you! I expressed as much to Stephanie [Knapp] when I returned the copyedit, but I felt totally, ineffably grateful to have such meticulous editing. I love the way your mind works. I marvel at it. I can’t believe my work got to benefit from it. Did I mention THANK YOU!?”
“Your edit is lovely – you’re really bringing out the rhythm of the author’s voice. There aren’t many editors who explicitly do this, so thank you.”
“Kirsten is a superb copyeditor – one of the best I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve worked with many. She is thorough, organized, and always gracious in her queries. She knows when to retain author’s voice over strict grammar rules and house style. She has a gentle hand and an eagle eye, and is enormously professional. She’s also a joy to work with – smart, fun, friendly, and helpful. She understands the publishing process from every angle, and her value-add to each project is enormous because of it. If you’re looking for a freelance editor, my advice is: snap her up.”
“Kirsten is a stellar editor, and her pass here is excellent. With meticulous attention, she has made suggestions and posed queries that polish the manuscript to a fine degree. I think you’ll be pleased with her thoughtful guidance.”
“I’m so happy to be sending this [new project] over to you for a magical Kirsten polish! … If you have questions, ideas, concerns, anything – I’m happy to help. I’m also happy to be entirely in your hands. Your judgment never steers me wrong, so do what you feel is best.”
“I told her you are the gold standard.”
“You are right and brilliant. Do what you do. I owe you a cake.
PS: All the writers LOVE you.”
“I just want to say thank you for a truly thoughtful and excellent edit. It means the world to have someone improving on my writing so skillfully. It’s not easy (for me at least) cutting anything, but if things had to be cut, I think you did an amazing job. I’m learning so much from your edits, and also from your explanations. I really appreciate that.”
“Thanks again for the great experience working together. Everything looks terrific, and I’m really happy with it. You are awesome.”
“Kirsten is like a personal literary trainer. She’ll not only make your book a better book – she’ll make you a better writer. She has a wonderful balance of an eye for detail with an ability to see the big picture. An excellent wordsmith with the skills and diplomacy to manage a project (and people!) well. I’ve enjoyed working with her both as a colleague and as a freelancer.”
“Kirsten was invaluable in making my book all that it could be. She was able to take what was implicit and challenge me kindly to expand, explain, and embellish the intriguing details that I sometimes neglected to lead the reader through. She is thoroughly professional, and a delight to work with – I am looking forward to working with her again. She edited my book Duchamp’s Pipe: A Chess Romance for North Atlantic Books/Penguin Random House – a rewarding working relationship.”
“I am grateful beyond measure to Kirsten Janene-Nelson, the copyeditor whose literary expertise, professionalism, and good humor in editing the book made it exceed my expectations.”
“Thank you so much for your extremely intelligent reading. It meant a great deal to me that you were able to enter into the complex world of this novel and find your way around so well, which is why I took very seriously virtually every point where you noted something unclear or confusing, trusting you completely. Much gratitude for your focus and insights, and, not least, for the good will and wit of your communications.”
“So wonderful to collaborate with you. I processed the chapter 2 edits yesterday and kept shaking my fist at you for making me say what I actually mean!”
“Ms. Kirsten Janene-Nelson, the copy editor, did an excellent job. Since neither I nor [the translator] Ms. Calderón is a native speaker of English, it was a great help that she improved our diction and brought it … closer to American English. I very much enjoyed working with her and am grateful to her for her hard work.”
“I’m so grateful for your work on my book. Thank you so so much for such an amazing and thorough review, done with such heart and understanding. I shudder to think that these edits may have slipped under my nose.”
“I can’t call any work of mine finished without using Kirsten. It’s not easy to edit a comedian’s words; the risk of destroying a punchline is high. What I discovered instead was an editor who enhanced the punchlines by carefully curating the rest of the piece. I also discovered I have a very troubled relationship with commas!”
“I enjoyed working with you because you saw both sides, had great input, and helped me not look like a moron. And that is often not an easy task.”
“I’m going to recommend you as an editor to anyone who will listen to me. I think you’re terrific.”
“Great. I will never be able to publish anything again without your input. I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY.”
“By page six I was shouting to Florian, ‘She’s a genius!’ … I love your vision. You’re spot-on. Let the adventure begin!”
“These are fabulous edits and insights.”
“Thank you for your super helpful feedback.… You’ve got terrific eyes.”
“I’m absolutely delighted with your editing. You’ve managed to keep my voice intact while giving the manuscript a professionalism and a flow that I believe really works. I’m very grateful.”
“You are becoming my rebbe of writing. As for your most recent edit on my inclusivity essay, I found your changes reasoned and incisive, presenting an approach from which I hope I can learn and grow.”
“Your work is outstanding and deeply appreciated.”
“You have the uncanny ability to keep the style of the author and yet add great elegance to the writing. You are truly gifted.”
“Your brilliant edits turned this memoir into a ‘song of freedom.’ I am deeply indebted.”
“Even though we don’t know each other, your edits align so well with my voice + tone. I’m in awe of how much your suggested revisions sound ‘like me.’ Also, the moments you’ve identified as opportunities for me to add more personal/emotional responses are a big help – reworking them should help create more intimacy between my readers and me.”
“Working with you has recharged my writing.”
Michelle Tea Article
Michelle Tea wrote an ARTICLE about my work with Mercury House for her House Hunter column in the San Francisco Bay Guardian Lit Section.
