Manuscript assessment
Structural editing
Copyediting
Proofreading
Ghostwriting
Perhaps you have something that needs editing: fiction, memoir, biography, narrative non-fiction, health, science, philosophy, politics, history, educational or academic texts, or something else altogether. If you are looking for an editor, write to me and include the following information:
- in brief, (a few sentences) what is your project?
- how many words is it?
- what kind of editorial work does it need?
- when will be ready for editing?
I’ll write back with a detailed quote, my next availability and some more information about the process, and you can see what you think.
I have been editing quite hard for thirteen years. I started off editing political journalism and commentary for a periodical, made a brief tour through educational publishing, then worked as a book editor in house at Scribe Publications. For the last few years I’ve been working freelance for a few different Australian publishers (Affirm, Hardie Grant, Kill Your Darlings, Ultimo), as well as doing private editing jobs for writers working towards publication. I’m very pleased with freelance work because the variety is far richer, I can choose the projects that interest me the most and I can edit at whatever time of day or night my brain is at its best.
I love words, I love sentences, I love discussion, argument, investigation and explanation, and I love stories. I like rules and I like bending them. I’ve got a BA(Hon) in English literature and philosophy and a Post-Graduate Masters in editing and publishing. If you’d like my help with something written, send me an email.
TESTIMONIALS
‘I was really lucky to have Anna Thwaites edit my book Ten Doors Down, which is about my complex and emotionally charged adoption reunion story. I needed someone to help me who was sensitive and thoughtful given the issues raised in the book. Anna was principled, fearless and yet totally diplomatic and persuasive in the delivery of her advice on how the manuscript could be significantly improved and I have no hesitation in recommending Anna to anyone who is looking for an outstanding editor.’
– Robert Tickner AO, author of Ten Doors Down
‘By the time you’ve finished a first draft of a novel, there is no way you can see the wood for the trees anymore. Without Anna I would have been a lost little babe in the woods, with no idea what my manuscript needed to turn it into a polished draft that I could then send to my agent. Anna’s notes were thorough and comprehensive, inspiring and to the point. In the end, I stuck them above my writing desk and treated them like a to do list. Without her manuscript assessment, I am not sure how I would have moved from first draft to polished story that was ready to submit. I had only written short stories before, so keeping the structure tight was a big challenge and Anna helped me to no end with that. She not only identifies a problem, but also makes suggestions for how you might want to address it, which is truly invaluable and not something a novelist can find in many places apart from in their own brain. Anna will make your book better.’
– Pip Finkemeyer, author of Sad Girl Novel
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
‘I must single out the best editor a writer could possibly have in Anna Thwaites, whose intelligence, care, and laughter have made me want to write many more books for the pure pleasure of being edited by her. Thank you, Anna.’
– Mary Hoban, in An Unconventional Wife: the life of Julia Sorell Arnold
‘To a superb editor, Anna Thwaites, at Scribe, who, with a sure eye, great tact, and the lovely belief that the process should, wherever possible, be fun, saw the manuscript through to publication.’
– Trevor Shearston, in Hare’s Fur
‘It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work again with Anna Thwaites, at Scribe. Wise, funny, passionate – and tough enough to keep insisting, ever so gently, that a scene was still not quite there.’
– Trevor Shearston, in The Beach Caves
‘Thanks to my editor, Anna Thwaites, who hates being called brilliant, but she is, and that’s all there is to it.’
– Robert Gott, in The Autumn Murders
‘Extra special thanks go to my editor, Anna Thwaites, who is not only a gifted editor, but an unnervingly patient and kind person, too.’
– Luke Horton, in The Fogging
Image credit: untitled lithograph, Julia Thwaites 2012. CARGO LIBRARY MUSIC 2019