I sought out Natalie’s editing services because I was feeling increasingly disconnected from my manuscript. I wasn’t sure if I was on the right track and needed a professional perspective to provide specific feedback on structure, flow, and logic. One particular challenge I faced was conveying the research I conducted over a long span of time in a compelling and cohesive way. I had the materials, ideas, and aspirations for the book, and Natalie helped refine and enhance the overall architecture to bring it all together.

Natalie’s edits were invaluable in helping me structure my book. She guided me in sequencing each story, context, and discussion to anticipate the readers’ needs and address potential questions. She encouraged me to highlight the urgency and broader significance of the topics, reminding me to always connect each discussion or chapter to the overall themes of the book.

Her comments are focused, clear, and solution-oriented. She would give suggestions by offering concrete examples of phrasings that can elevate my voice and authority on the topic. Her chapter outlines based on her readings were also particularly helpful to see how a reader understood the sequence and flow of my writing. She color-coded these outlines based on the chapter’s questions to help me keep track on whether or not I’ve addressed them.

Another thing I found extremely helpful were the meetings we would have shortly after she sent her edits. She would elaborate on her comments, answer questions, and we would find solutions together. She was always encouraging in these meetings.

Natalie brings numerous strengths to her role as an editor. She is a careful and empathetic reader who takes the time to understand the trajectory of my journey and the evolution of my thinking as an author. She encouraged me to make these aspects more transparent in the narrative. Her feedback is clear, non-judgmental, and constructive, delivered with kindness. She consistently returned her edits on time, and it’s evident that she approached the manuscript from multiple perspectives—reading as both a reader and a fellow author, while also stepping into the author’s shoes to provide well-rounded insights.

To anyone considering hiring Natalie, you’re about to make an excellent choice in working with her! Her presence on my team has been nothing but supportive. Thank you so much, Natalie!

—Victoria Kumala Sakti, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity

I sought out Natalie because I was getting lots of rejections that my idea/proposal was great but the literary agents weren’t connecting with my writing. I knew I needed to improve my writing.

I auditioned numerous editors and had them edit the same section. I then did a side-by-side comparison of their edits and Natalie by far blew them all away. It was no contest! That gave me complete faith that I selected the best editor and that it really was Natalie.

Natalie took my writing to the next level and showed me what I didn’t even realize was missing. She did both developmental editing to help me rebuild my structure, and she did line edits to sharpen and polish. She taught me to create more tension and drama.

She also helped me overcome my fear of being afraid to break the parts I didn’t want to break—those things I was attached to—but with her help, they morphed into something better. As a writer, it can be hard, getting attached to my creation, and she had an insightful and gentle way of helping me see what wasn’t working.

Her strengths include her ability to deeply understand and connect with your work. She really understood my principles, my mission, my goals, and that helped to feel we were on a common endeavor. I had complete trust in Natalie because of her engagement.

She also didn’t just hand me a fish—she taught me HOW. I am a significantly better writer because her process showed me how I can adapt her method and style to my own self-editing. This was one of the greatest gifts. I called it “applying the Natalie method.” I am now able to self-edit and improve my own writing thanks to her!

The results also speak for themselves. When I queried my new material from Natalie’s edits, I immediately got a large agent interested in my manuscript. It worked! Natalie occupies a special place in my journey as a writer.

—Justin Kolber, author of Ripped www.justinkolber.com 

I have written two books, a master's thesis and dissertation, lots of newspaper and magazine articles, and worked as a copywriter. Natalie is truly one of the most talented and astute editors I've encountered during my writing career. I trust her judgment and know that her suggestions—both subtle and perhaps not so subtle—will take my writing to the next level. She can see what I cannot when I'm deep into a manuscript. She's an excellent communicator, too, so our work together is very productive. 

—Christine M. Tracy, PhD, author, The Newsphere, Peter Lang; The Mystic As Everyman, Thought Catalog 

I found Natalie at the beginning of my tenure-track appointment. I was struggling with getting my ideas to land consistently in publications and presentation venues. I also needed assistance with structuring longer research projects and papers as my scholarship expands and deepens in its complexity. 

Natalie’s feedback is unparalleled. She has been pivotal to my growth as a scholar and academic. I have significantly improved my standing within my field and my skills as a writer and researcher through working with her. Specifically, Natalie offers pointed critique and questioning on the fundamental premise of the work, offering editorial insight and feedback only rivaled through peer review. It’s like having a preview of peer review prior to sending the work out! 

Additionally, Natalie has helped me establish a framework and flow for producing my writing, which has significantly streamlined the process. I can now produce a paper efficiently and keep the argument concise and poignant throughout the process of composition.

Natalie is passionate about her work, she dives headfirst into the topic presented to her and embodies the subject matter with her feedback. Even though my field is relatively small and somewhat on the fringes of the academic landscape, Natalie can get her head into the core problems of the discourse and help me unpack them to bring greater clarity and insight to my own field. 

Natalie’s expertise in rhetoric and mastery of its strengths to improve writing is further evident in her ability to unpack an argument through the devices of language and reasoning. Meetings with her are like mini philosophical lessons and they are always enlightening. 

I will recommend Natalie to everyone I know!! She is an incredible editor and a genuinely incredible person. I am so lucky to have crossed paths with her. I would recommend her to anyone at the start of their tenure-track timeline, those thinking about tenure, and those with tenure who would like to improve their writing and publication output. I think anyone in a learning or self-discovery process through research, teaching, or writing stands to benefit from Natalie’s expert insight. She should be regarded as a treasure to academics and the world of writing writ-large and given the utmost admiration for her contributions to the pursuit and expansion of knowledge!

—Christianna Bennett, Assistant Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

I had completed a manuscript and was about to send it to my publisher for review when I sought out Natalie's services, I needed a knowledgeable and thoughtful reader who could help me anticipate the reviewer's critiques and get a head start on revisions. I was attracted to Natalie's skill set because she had worked with people specifically in my field, but also had broad experience across academic disciplines that would allow her to read my draft with the eyes of a general academic reader.

Natalie had an excellent sense of how to structure an academic book with clear throughlines to keep the core argument front and center. She also provided excellent feedback on where I could add more ethnographic detail to make my research and interlocutors really stand out on the page. Her work was thoughtful and she asked incisive questions that helped me clarify my thinking and strengthen my argument throughout the manuscript.

Natalie asks smart questions that get to the core of what you are trying to say as an author. She has a good eye for strained or awkward phrasing, and how academic language sometimes serves to confuse rather than help a reader. She helped me cut through the pieces of my work that I felt less confident about, to ultimately feel more confident in the work I was putting out into the world. Her edits also come back with frequent complements--"great sentence", "this is well written"--right where you most need a boost.

If you’re looking for developmental edits on your book-in-progress, Natalie will take your goals and concerns and make them the focus of her reading and editing. She offers time for discussion to help you move forward as a writer.

—Katharine Keenan, PhD, author, Belfast Imaginary: Art and Urban Reinvention, Rowman and Littlefield

I was very fortunate to work with Natalie on my first book, published by The MIT Press. The Press had provided several rounds of editing support to get me into the proofreading phase. Natalie provided the much-needed proofreading, but she also added yet another level of editorial polish to the text. She challenged me to go further to clarify some of the ideas and connect threads even more succinctly. I'm very grateful for her diligence and incredible attention to detail.

—Matt Wizinsky, author, Design after Capitalism, The MIT Press

I reached out for Natalie's copyediting services as I worked to complete my book manuscript. As a non-native English speaker and author dealing with her first book, I needed a thorough and creative set of editing eyes for this project. Natalie's edits introduced a consistent grammar and style that helped me learn and adopt good English academic writing techniques.

Natalie's comments were also incisive. As a first-time reader of my work, she provided a valuable perspective, pointing out where the flow seemed off and also posing questions regarding my logic and rhetoric. Those notes helped me to rewrite and edit my manuscript.

I valued her thorough and thoughtful reading and comments, communicativeness and flexibility, academic approach to the manuscript, and keen sense of understanding my needs as a client, especially what kind of voice I was trying to manifest.

Natalie is a flexible and responsible editor who is ready to go a long way to learn your style and topic. Your manuscript will be strengthened and you will learn a great deal from her edits.

–Yurika Tamura, Clinical Assistant Professor, New York University, author of Vibration of Others: Resonation and Corporeal Ethics of Transnational Indigenous Soundscapes, forthcoming, Wesleyan University Press, 2023

I wanted to find ways to make my memoir manuscript more reader-friendly. Natalie's big picture edits were very helpful: she pointed out places that needed better structure and helped me to find ways to make the story flow better, to keep readers engaged.

—Han Kim, PhD, Everett E. Berg Professor of Business Administration, and Professor of Finance, Corporate Strategy and International Business at University of Michigan

We needed copyediting help with a manuscript, and Natalie was recommended to us by a friend who knew of her work. Natalie did an excellent job, not only fixing grammar and typographical issues, but also suggesting edits to improve the writing. Her rates, and the time she charged for the work were very reasonable. We had a tight deadline, and we were grateful that Natalie was able to accommodate that, without compromising on work quality.

—Jagadeesh Sivadasan, PhD, professor, University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business

I reached out to Natalie because I was looking to expand the written culture of my business. I knew I wanted to document the great work we are doing, but I didn't have the time to execute all of the ideas I had. I needed a strong editor and copywriter who could distill my notes into sparkling sales documents. We quickly found we could trust Natalie to handle a wide range of assignments, from basic copywriting to well-written summaries of research. Always aware of deadlines, Natalie has a large skill set, but will ask for more clarification if she needs it. Though I am cautious to recommend her too highly because I don’t want her schedule to fill up too much, definitely hire Natalie if you want a reliable, flexible copywriter and editor.

—Brandon Tyree, Software Development Executive

Approaching my publisher's deadline, I was extremely anxious and overwhelmed. There was just too much to keep track of--formatting, citations, grammar--not to mention the actual argument at hand. I felt like I was drowning. I needed someone who was unfamiliar with my work to look over the manuscript from cover to cover and see the story as a whole with fresh eyes. 

Natalie gave me concrete advice to help me improve my writing in general, especially how and where to use transitions, how to avoid repetition, and how to ground the reader in space and time. I also plan to apply her feedback to my future writing. 

She helped point out places where my logic was not connecting or were not clear to a non-specialized audience. She identified where my writing was vague or carried a tone of arrogance or narrow-mindedness. She also assisted with more specific line-by-line edits focused on verb tense, grammar, and style. Overall, she helped the manuscript flow and come together as a coherent whole. 

As an editor, Natalie is very kind and compassionate while also being honest and straight-forward. I felt safe being vulnerable with her in sharing my manuscript and personal stories. She is also very hands-on and will work with the writer to go back-and-forth with the edits. We did some Zoom calls, shared videos and screencasts along the way, and she also took a look at my edits. So it was a very collaborative and iterative process, rather than just a one-way street. She is also timely and a dedicated, hard worker. 

If you are feeling stressed or anxious, hiring Natalie to do a once-over (or a twice-over!) of your work is definitely worth it. You can rest easy, knowing that a professional is looking at your manuscript with fresh eyes and helping you to be the best writer you can be. 

—Sam Tynen, PhD, author of Fear, Hope And Survival In Xinjiang: Uyghur Life In China's Military Police State

I reached out to Natalie because we were looking for someone who could suggest changes, and provide straightforward constructive feedback, all while helping us keep the author's voice. The author's style is loose and conversational, and we wanted to keep that while tightening it up for the reader. Natalie's suggestions were spot on.

Her strength as an editor is her adaptability to what the task is—whether overall content flow or a final-stage proofing, Natalie jumps right in.

She is fun to work with and her work style allows for back-and-forth conversation to craft writing you'll feel good about. To anyone considering hiring her: you'll retain your voice as the author, and learn a few things along the way.

— Jenny Tubbs, publisher and editor, Zingerman’s Press

I sought Natalie because I wanted to deliver a top-quality report to my client and she identified places where language could be more precise and economical. Her strengths are her attention to detail and ability to adapt to many different writing styles. I recommend her highly, as she offers timely feedback and encouragement that will help you feel confident in your writing. Her keen eye helped me refine my writing and provide an exceptional product for my client. I will definitely hire her again!

— Meryl Herr, PhD, professor and consultant

Natalie is a thorough editor with an eye for details…she has a knack for seeing where you want to go and identifying what is missing. I am very appreciative of her voice and feel that my writing is much stronger thanks to her edits.

— Kevin Paul, writer

Natalie is a talented, well organized writer. She does a fantastic job bringing the stories of people and communities to life. Natalie's passion for education shines through her choices of topics and delivery of heartfelt articles.

— Lauren Fay Carlson, Editor, Rapid Growth Media

Natalie was a great help to me with a print project for a client. She asked great questions and was thoughtful in getting to know the organization, their style, and nuances, before digging into the work.

It was a relief to work with someone who is technically excellent and a wonderful storyteller. She's professional, takes an assignment and runs with it, and delivers on-time. I would recommend Natalie for any writing challenge.

— Amanda St. Pierre, Director of Advancement Communications, Aquinas College

Natalie is very reliable and always turns in her stories on time. She also regularly pitches, which is a huge help to me as an editor.

I rely on her each month for fitness-related stories and appreciate her commitment to GR|MAG and the quality of her work. She also turns in clean copy that fits the style and tone of the publication.

— Charlsie Dewey, Managing Editor, Grand Rapids Magazine