Shaping a work into its final form is an opportunity to sing the high notes, to tune your vision and bring your work into its final form—the end product of your creative journey, though every writer knows she keeps wanting to tweak until the work is finally published! An editor shares your vision and even sees beyond it as she gently approaches your work. You and the editor become partners in the final creation as you examine the details of words, paragraphs, and sentences as well as an overview that includes themes, character development, and plot. Understanding how to work with the deep structure of prose is important—this task must be interwoven with appropriate attention to details, down to the correct use of commas, semi-colons apostrophes and capital letters. Drawing upon my training in the MFA program at Mills College and having worked closely with different editors, coaching memoir clients for over 11 years, and judging numerous contests, I bring a refined ear for story development and language, and an eye for the narrative arc. These skills, along with understanding the value of fictional tools, help me to give the kind of feedback that lifts a memoir or fictional story from "what happened" to developing potent themes, sparkling descriptions, a strong voice, and a feeling of universality that threads through the story. So many things make a work ready for publication, and all of them need exacting, but kind attention. I respect the author's story, style, and preferences even as I suggest changes. I will explain the reasons for my choices, but the final decisions in editing belong to the author.    More About Linda Joy What I like most about editing: I love seeing the potential of a work in progress, and bringing its world to life through sculpting the prose and attending to details that make it really sing. My best advice to writers: Write freely and often; revise cheerfully and often. My favorite genres to edit: Memoir and fiction Number of years I've been editing: Twenty-two years, including as the thesis advisor at John F. Kennedy University Edit hard copy or on-screen: I prefer to read a hard copy, especially if it's a longer work, then edit on-screen for the author to approve/accept. My "must have" writing reference books: Making a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld, and The Chicago Manual of Style. Favorite background music when I edit: Bach or silence. Scene outside the window where I edit: A lilac bush blooms, hummingbirds with red throats flit by. Favorite quotes: "If you bring forth that which is within you, then that which is within you will be your salvation. If you do not bring forth that which is within you, then that which is within you will destroy you." —The Gnostic Gospels Memorable fictional character: Sarah in Sarah's Key Most recent blog/website I bookmarked: Amazon; Persimmon Journal Currently reading: Bleak House by Dickens, and The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett