The Architecture of Memory
I love working on nonfiction—narrative and literary nonfiction where voice is front and center, creative nonfiction that scratches my itch for history, and memoir, which is where I spend most of my time. I love history, and personal histories also deserve to be told.
AN EDITOR WHO LIVES INSIDE THE STORY
Nonfiction can hit harder than fiction because these books tell stories that actually happened. They Went Left showed me how personal history can carry the weight of something much larger than one life. The Devil in the White City taught me how narrative nonfiction can be as propulsive and immersive as any thriller.
As someone who has spent years in publishing evaluating manuscripts and working with authors on both sides of the process, I have developed a genuine love for nonfiction that takes its storytelling seriously—where voice is distinctive, structure is intentional, and the reader finishes feeling like they lived something rather than just read something.
When I edit memoir and nonfiction I am drawn to voices that feel unmistakably human, stories that find universal meaning in deeply personal experience, and narratives that move with the kind of momentum that keeps readers turning pages even though they already know how it ends. I want to feel the weight of what you lived. And I want to help you put that weight on the page.
From years of working with nonfiction authors and evaluating manuscripts across memoir, narrative nonfiction, and creative nonfiction, I have developed a sharp instinct for what separates a compelling personal narrative from one that loses readers early. I know what gives a memoir its emotional hook, what pacing carries a reader through a life story without losing momentum, and what structure transforms a collection of memories into something that feels inevitable and complete. I bring all of that experience directly to my editorial work, and it means I know exactly where nonfiction manuscripts tend to struggle.
MASTERING THE PERSONAL NARRATIVE
Common Pitfalls in Memoir & Nonfiction Manuscripts
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Summarizing instead of scene-building—telling readers what happened rather than putting them inside the moment
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A central theme that is felt deeply by the author but never quite crystallizes on the page for the reader
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Voice that starts strong but drifts as the manuscript progresses
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Pacing that lingers too long in low-stakes sections and rushes through the moments that deserve the most space
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Memoir with a self-help angle that loses its narrative thread when it shifts into instructional mode—and loses its practical insight when it gets too deep into personal story
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POV and tense inconsistencies that pull readers out of the story
Inquire About Availability
Whether you are writing a memoir you have carried inside you for years or a nonfiction manuscript that deserves to reach the readers it was meant for—I would love to work with you. Fill out the form below to inquire about current availability.