I'll give you exactly what I wrote to Ross B upon learning of their unique method for fleecing the public. "Every line has a comment, at least as far as I read. Given any noun for which there could have been a different word choice, the comment asks, "Well why not this word? Or why not this other word." In fact, had John been able to think of 10 other words that meant the same thing, he'd have insisted on going through them all. Example: I used "cab" and john wrote, "why not taxi?" This is obviously a plan. Imagine going through 285 pages like this! I made my full *four-figure* payment, so of course the right time had come to Just do whatever and hope the client quits. This meant that the unused balance of their hefty price tag had just been turned into pure profit. Congratulations. I'm not easily taken advantage of, but they got me. I have the goods. I'll never lose track of my so-called, edited copy. read more

I had a horrible experience with this company. My "editor," Brian Preston, basically just ripped on my entire manuscript, without providing any constructive direction. At no point did he offer thoughts on how to fix the issues he found, and actually got quite demeaning in his comments. When I called him out on his unacceptable tone, he said he thought he was being playful and taking on the persona of one of the characters in the novel. At the amount of money I paid, I could not have been more disappointed. It was discouraging, especially to a new writer. I would not recommend this company or this editor. read more

From start to finish, my experience with The Editorial Department has been top-notch. My novel had already gone through several revisions, but was in need of a professional perspective to get it in publishing shape. Now that it is about to be released, I can say that editor Shannon Roberts and the team at TED, especially Jane Ryder, were instrumental in helping to take the manuscript to the next level. TED has an array of services, from proofreading to marketing, and different levels for each service to fit clients' particular needs. I chose the Manuscript Annotation option from among their editorial services, and received a comprehensive memo addressing character, story, structure and writing mechanics, along with what amounted to a line edit and running commentary throughout the manuscript. The results exceeded my expectations. Shannon Roberts was incredibly incisive in her notes, comprehensive in her critique, demonstrated she completely understood where I was going with the manuscript, and offered specific suggestions that were excellent (I incorporated about 80 percent of what she presented). On top of the quality of her work, the speed at which it was completed astounded me. I was quoted a five-week turnaround time, and received the full Manuscript Annotation and memo in just about two weeks. Even if the full time allotted had been taken, her work would still have been impressive. Jane Ryder, who assists TED president Ross Brown and coordinates client services, was an absolute delight to work with - and indeed, she spent a great deal of time actually working with me, to ensure I got connected with the right editor and most helpful level of service. She was genuinely interested in my manuscript and me as an author, and sought to understand what I needed. Our conversations were a true pleasure, and her help was outstanding. The price for all of this was not what one would call cheap, but was completely in line with what most comparable high-quality editing services cost (and far less than some). Given the results, I consider what I spent to be a bargain. I cannot more highly recommend The Editorial Department, and plan on using their services again as soon as I have need. read more

My experience with The Editorial Department was outstanding from beginning to end. Ross Browne was very professional in taking the time to explain the process and establishing a timely schedule that was closely followed throughout. Ross was also very responsive to any questions that I had along the way and was both encouraging and supportive once our work was completed. Ross connected me with Katharine Sands, who is an expert in publication support and pitch material development. Her work was excellent and provided me with content that will be extremely useful as I continue working toward the publication of my book. I highly recommend The Editorial Department for anyone seeking editorial and developmental support services for their fiction or non-fiction book. read more

Back in '09 I joined a writers' critique club. After reading some of my stuff one evening, another member politely complimented me, then suggested I might find a book titled "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" interesting--and helpful. It took quite a while before I appreciated the irony in that, but the book was helpful, and still is. More importantly, that led me to TED, founded by "Self-Editing" co-author Renni Browne. It has been a wonderful relationship in many ways. I've worked with several of the editors, and I'm a better writer now than I was way back in '09. If you want someone to tell you how great your stuff is, call your Mom. If you want to improve your craft, call TED. Tell 'em Bubba sent you. read more

Hmmm... this one's hard to rate. But after thinking about it for a while, I would have to say they are just average to just below average. I'd give them 2.5 stars if I could but I can't. They are very expensive and the professional editor who read over my submission wasn't as helpful as I thought she would be for how much I paid. I had better luck taking a writing class at Pima and with working with other writer's as well. On top of that the editor responded to my content and what I had written (which she wasn't supposed to do), instead of helping point out what was wrong with it and how to fix it. The errors she did point out were good, but then there was no solution on how I could fix it-- she just told me I "couldn't" do something a certain way. But then didn't tell me how to do it right. Somehow I found a writing class at Pima, which was more useful AND less expensive for the entire semester! It was a better deal and I had my pages critiqued by multiple people instead of one expensive but ineffective editor. However, on the positive, I will say this about TED-- everyone I talked to was very nice. But I suspect that's because I was paying them and was a client. In the future I would prefer to not use them again. And at this point, I can't recommend them-- but others have had good experiences so I'm sure it's different for everyone. read more

Had I no publishing experience prior to TED, they would still get five stars; that I have the perspective of utilizing a different self-publishing entity prior to TED makes me want to give them more. They offer a wide range of expert services with a unique personal touch. Each and every person I interacted and worked with at TED made me feel as though they were fully invested in making my work the best it could be. Years after having had the pleasure of utilizing TED, I'm left with a book I remain immensely proud of thanks in large part to their talent, gentle and productive critiques, and encouragement; as well as folks from whom I continue to seek support, advice, and creative camaraderie. I couldn't more highly recommend this company. read more

I wanted share an honest report here of working with Julie Miller and and Jane Ryder at The Editorial Department. I wrote their on-line contact address a few months ago. They responded politely and professionally, and we quickly found an editor (Julie) who seemed a good match to what I was after. I then asked her to edit a sample of my Vietnam War novel. I sent both narrative and dialog, and paid a modest fee, which I thought fair. I was very happy with the work done, so I contracted to have her edit the entire novel. It is now posted on Amazon, and so far (knock on wood) has gotten 5 star reviews. A number of reviewers have commented on how well written it is, how easy it is to read, etc. I made it good. The team at The Editorial Department made it much better! Check out the reviews yourself: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1511453451 read more