“From someplace out in the ether—God only knows from whence such things spring—an idea germinated in a remote corner of my mind. I mused it over, reflecting that it might make a nice book for some author. Several minutes—or was it hours—later, I drifted off to sleep. The next morning, the idea was still there. It stuck with me throughout the day, growing and expanding. That night, I slept not at all. The tendrils of my story—by then it was my story—had wrapped themselves inexorably around the very neurons of my brain and refused to let go.
The next morning, I began to write. Nine months later, I gave birth to a bouncing baby manuscript.
Although satisfied with the fruits of my labor—I’d written, re-written, self-edited, and re-edited several times—I thought it prudent to run my manuscript past an expert before releasing it out into the world. Besides, that would give me extra time to polish my Pulitzer and National Book Awards acceptance speeches.
Through Dave Chesson at Kindlepreneur, I found a list of the world’s top freelance editors and dispatched a representative chapter to several from the list for sample edits. The returns of my edited chapter convinced me of two undeniable truths. First, those acceptance speeches—although greatly enjoyed by my cat—would never be heard by human ears. Second, Debra L. Hartmann, The Pro Book Editor, was the editor for me.
I presented Debra a pile of literary straw, and like Rumpelstiltskin, she spun it into gold. The bloated, convoluted mess of 145K word manuscript, under her guidance, was transformed into my two-volume Hamilton Place series. That series has recently been advanced to “Finalist” for the 2023 CIBA Series Award. Maybe not a Pulitzer, but a respected international book competition, all the same.
It is possible that I could’ve found an editor as skilled as Debra. I might have even found one who would’ve done [almost] as well editing my story. But never in a million years could I have found one who was so immediately in sync with my thoughts or was able to intuit the story I was attempting to convey as well as Debra. Equal parts teacher, cheerleader, mentor, and therapist, Deb has a near-infinite capacity for answering questions, often repeatedly—could you explain omniscient POV again for me, please—and with both patience and grace.
If readers enjoy my Hamilton Place series, A Song that Never Ends and Roses in December, a large part of the credit goes to Debra L. Hartmann, The Pro Book Editor, and her outstanding team at Indie Author Publishing Services (IAPS.rocks).
Five stars, Deb…and if there was a sixth star available, I’d give you that too!”
—Mark A. Gibson, author of the Hamilton Place series
The Pro Book Editor 