“Mary edited my first venture into book writing—a nonfiction book on finance. With charts, graphs, text boxes, and crosswords, it wasn’t the easiest to review. In addition to editing, she also asked questions that helped me consider the perspective of someone who was new to the topic. Having been in accounting for forty years, it was easy for me to overlook areas where I needed to be clearer in my explanations. Mary was easy to work with and since she had previously published books, she was also able to coach me through the entire process to get it over the finish line.” – Kay L. O’Diam, author of Navigating Financial Choices: A Young Adult Guide to Education, Work, and Money.
Mary is the epitome of life savers for book writers! This was my first go at writing a book, and, honestly, without her guiding me in this arduous process, I’d still be stuck somewhere between the Title and Table of Contents. She is a true professional going to bat for you throughout every block (the stumbling ones as well) of the process, listening to your needs, understanding your vision, while also providing honest and critical feedback. She is also a talented, seasoned and successful author in her own right and is efficient in navigating through the entire process from content creation, editing, formatting, publishing, and marketing. She started out as my editor and now my consultant supporting my dream to take my book to the highest potential possible. Mary is kind, smart, light-hearted, easy to work with, and she embodies all of the qualities I can ever desire in a writing professional. Thank you, Mary, for being my game-changer as a new author in the writing world! Immensely grateful. – Brian F. Licuanan, PhD, author of How to Get Your Resisting Loved One into Treatment: A Step-by-Step Plan for Mental Health and/or Addiction Crisis, recipient of several book awards and a Kirkus starred review
“Mary is THE BOMB! I’ve been working on my book for years and she turned it into a publishable book. She’s both professional and down to earth. She really has been by my side every step of the way to getting my book published and noticed! As a doctor, I know nothing about the publishing world so she really guided me perfectly. I’m pretty busy, so she was able to give me small chunks of work that made it very doable and again, she really held my hand. I’m so grateful for her partnership!!” – Susan Partovi, M.D., author of Renegade MD: A Doctor’s Stories from the Streets, quarter-finalist for the BookLife Prize from Publishers Weekly
“Mary is a true professional editor to work with: on time, on point, and well-organized. She helped me edit my non-fiction book proposal and land a book contract with an established publisher. She not only provided detailed line edits to polish my book proposal but also developmental editing with some great suggestions to communicate my book’s value concisely and clearly. It was a pleasure working with Mary. I love how she stayed on top of the schedule and informed me where she was at various stages of the process. She is also well-organized and often delivers ahead of time so I didn’t have to worry about time management. I highly recommend her for your professional editing needs.” – Helen Ye Plehn, author of The Aura Color Wheel: What Your Aura Color Says About Your Soul Gifts, Wounds, and Lessons
“Not every writer can edit themselves. Some miss small things when looking at the big picture, while others miss big things when focusing on minutiae. This is why writers need editors. Mary Vensel White has an editor’s eye, a writer’s insight, and a grammarians’s skill in bringing them together. Mary has written book reviews and essays for LitChat and they are always pitch perfect with little-to-none additional editing required. Anyone needing an editor for fiction, non-fiction, or academic writing will be a step ahead when hiring Mary to edit their work.” – Carolyn Burns Bass, author, founder of LitChat
“An editor with a keen eye is invaluable. No matter how many times you comb through your manuscript, you will miss little bombs waiting to go off. Mary will find all the trip wires. It’s not solely the technical nuts and bolts she has a firm grasp on; she also has an ear for authenticity and the literary skill to sharpen your prose. Bottom line: your manuscript will be cleaner, your writing will be tighter, and your odds for success will be better.” – Clay Savage, author of The Last Getaway, The Identical Opposite, and Happy Places
“In grade school, I had an art teacher who would show how me to fix something by drawing on my paper. By the time it was finished, I never felt like it was mine anymore. Mary doesn’t do that. She spends time figuring out what I’m trying to accomplish with the work and then helps me get there. She doesn’t edit it so it reads the way she would have written it. Mary and I have been critique partners for several years. Not only is she a gifted writer, she’s also my most trusted reader.” – Katie O’Rourke, author of Blood & Water, Finding Charlie, and other novels
“When I was a new writer, Mary edited some of my work for an article I wrote, and an early chapter of my book. We met a few years ago at The Southern California Writers Conference. It was important for me to find other writers who had published and had experience with writing so I could hopefully learn from them. Mary was always willing to help. As a published writer herself, she provided excellent feedback and detailed explanations, showing me the importance of structure with my writing. She has an interactive editing style that guided me along the writing process without changing my voice. – Susan A. Ring, author of The Unexpected Mother, When Hope Becomes Life, and Full Circle
“I experienced the editing skills of Mary Vensel White while working together in a literary workshop. Her credentials as a DePaul grad and a traditionally published author show up well in her expertise. In addition to having what it takes technically, Mary is an editor with heart. She cares about another writer’s project, treating writers new and old with dignity.” – John Campbell, author of A Walk to Paradise Garden and A Lark Ascending
“Mary Vensel White has a gift—words sing for her. Her technical mastery transforms those words into mood with effortless grace, and she brews scenes brimming with evocative nuance—her writing is not so much read, as experienced. Mary and I met at the Southern California Writers’ Conference some years back, and since then, she’s been kind enough to beta-read my novels. In addition to possessing top-notch writing skills, she’s incredibly widely read—her expertise, insights, and honesty have proven invaluable on numerous occasions, and I’m delighted that with Type Eighteen, she’ll be sharing her editorial expertise more broadly. Your work will be in expert hands!” – Douglas J. Bornemann, author of The Demon of Histlewick Downs, Practical Phrendonics, and other novels
“Mary is an attentive, knowledgeable reader with a true mastery of language and pacing. Her critique focuses on grounding a story in details that propel the narrative forward. I highly recommend her services to any fiction writer, especially those who may benefit from staying on point and streamlining their prose.” – Kristen Havens, writer and editor
“Mary did a full edit service on some of my short stories last year. Three of these stories have been published with another due to be published later this year. She did an amazing job and gave me a lot of food for thought on the developmental editing. I will definitely use her again for future editing.” services.” – Kimberly B. Hayes
Type Eighteen Editing 