Hi. I’m a Freelance Editor.
I’ll work with you if you intend to create a good book. I edit in a supportive way, to achieve high standards, at a reasonable rate and with quick response times.
Most often I work on memoirs and literary novels, but I also edit non-fiction books on sustainability, social sciences, and even language textbooks. [And you’ll notice I favor the Oxford comma.]
I respect and love the English language, whether reading it or speaking it. It is a powerful language with an enormous range of expression, from formal to gutter talk.I’m familiar with great literature at both of those extremes and in between. If you work with me, I promise to hold you to high standards and that we will also laugh a lot.
My Promise
I can promise you that if we work together,
- You will create story and character arcs that make your novel compelling;
- You will master writing scenes;
- You will develop convincing dialog;
- You will smooth out your pacing;
- You will write in your own voice, authentic and compelling; and
- You will be justly proud of the work you complete.
If you are ready to inquire further,
Contact me at <jim@newcomeredits.com>
If not, read on and learn more –
My Story
I majored in English Literature at Princeton, went on to study Asian Studies at Columbia, and eventually earned my Ph.D. in Political Science/International Politics from Stanford.
I have always loved the written word. In college I majored in English and American literature because I got to read good books. But writing requirements were sparse.
It was a few years after I had graduated that I discovered Strunk and White’s Elements of Style and its miraculous-seeming exploration of good writing, good sentences, and good sense. It seemed like magic.
For me it was like stepping into a whole new, enchanted world – I felt like the hero in Avatar.
Further discovery: I could bring that magic to writers with books still in the works – the joy of editing. I dug further into good books and books about what makes writing good – everything from John McPhee’s wise books and articles (e.g., The Magic of the Fourth Draft) to Dryer’s English. I still devour books on writing and editing to learn everything I can to sharpen my abilities.
As a business consultant I used to teach my clients the Toyota principle of continuous improvement, and I believe that it applies to editing as well as to assembly lines. So I’m almost always engaged in a course about writing or editing.
Developmental and line editing are my calling, and while it took me 50 years to discover that, I’ve now been doing it full time for eight years, always learning and improving. I do it because I love it.
My Credentials – the CV
- AB, English and American Literature, Princeton University, 1957
- MA, Columbia University, Chinese History, Politics, and Economics, Certificate, East Asian Institute, 1966
- Ph.D., Political Science (International Politics and Policy Studies), Stanford University, 1976
- MA, Organizational Systems Research, Antioch Seattle, 1995
- Foreign Service Officer, Class 5, US Department of State, 1962-1968
Officer in Various business startups, including
- CEO, Newcomer & Associates, Consultants in Trade with China, and
- Senior China Trader, US World Trade Corporation,1995 – 2018
- Freelance Editor, 2018 – present
More Story if you’re still reading –
When I graduated from college we faced the military draft. I enlisted so that I could get into the Defense Language School and begin learning Chinese, which I continued learning while stationed in Taiwan and then over many years in and out of China.
I went on to short careers as a diplomat (Foreign Service Officer, stationed in Taiwan), an anti-war protester (Vietnam) while I was a grad student, an assistant professor in social sciences, and a consultant, first building international trade connections (China, where else?) and later helping businesses adopt environmental values and practices. A few years ago I was invited to teach Leadership for Sustainability in a local Graduate School of Business.
I’ve lived in many places around the world from New York to Taipei, and from Iowa to California. These days I live with my wife and our beagle in a suburb of Portland, Oregon, where I grew up, and I miss my thre daughers and their children.
I participate in our lively local literary world as a member of Willamette Writers and Northwest Editors’ Guild. My grandchildren are spread around the world. My pronouns are he/him.
In my daily life when I’m not editing, my main concern now is with the future of humanity on this limited earth. Call it climate change, call it (as the Club of Rome authors did some 50 years ago, The Limits to Growth (Get that book and read it if you have not already), the circumstances that support life are closing in on us and on all the species of life here on this tiny blue marble we live on.