Charlene Smith 

To enroll in a class, please email me using the form on this site noting me the town and state you live in. Tell me the class you want to enroll in, or if a private client, which two dates and times you would like to reserve, and hopefully one is available. Late afternoon and evening slots go fast and are already limited.

MONDAY - 4.10pm: Elementary school writers 
WEDNESDAY:  5.15 pm: Grades 7 and 8 
THURSDAY – 5.15pm: Grades 6 and 7
6.30pm: Grades 9 and 10 
FRIDAY - 6.15pm: Grades 7 and 8
SATURDAY -  10am: Higher Grade English Writing and Literature, an important class for those writing SAT or AP exams.

Summer was productive with clients completing books ahead of deadlines for the Frankfurt Book Fair and Christmas publication lists. Those completed include an inspiring book from a Fortune Top 50 CEO about his life, work, and how to get it right (and when you don't, how to remedy); a four-year hike through a wilderness area; a how-to guide for homeopathic pet care, and a novel approach to balancing mind and body challenges from a mental health professional.

Books in the mix for the months ahead include a beautiful love letter about a marriage in book form; a memoir about a transformative time in an individual's life, and a fantasy novel.

Life is never dull when you are a developmental editor for writers, as I am privileged to be. 

 I help authors navigate the writing and publication process. Behind the books you read are editors and coaches like me who gently aid writers. Often, I am approached by authors in the early stages of writing; they have written 20,000 to 30,000 words and are now stuck. They are unsure how to complete the book. On occasion, the author is not certain how to begin; he or she may have done some research, but the opening lines or structure of the book evades them.

First steps
We discuss the project so that I get a sense of your vision. We discuss options for progress. I edit any existing copy, which gives us a sense of gaps and opportunities in the work.
As a development editor, my role is not just to check and correct grammar and punctuation, I guide you to areas where you may need to clarify, add context, or restructure. Developmental editing is collaborative; I provide guidance and feedback, and you make the necessary changes as you develop a better idea of precisely what it is that you want to say - this is not always apparent at the beginning, what you think you want to say most often evolves and develops greater power. The rate of progress depends on how much time you can devote to the project.

Getting published
Once you have completed the manuscript or are in the final throes, I give advice - if needed - on the book proposal (if this is a work of non-fiction), query letters to agents or publishers, or aid you through the self-publishing process. We discuss ideas about marketing and distribution; this is important to influencing how many copies of the book you sell. When I first started writing books, authors were feted by publishers who took care of the marketing and distribution. Today, with fewer independent publishers and big publishers with fewer staff, it is imperative for a writer to think of the marketing and sale of their book from the time they first put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Who is your target market? What message or lessons do you want them to take away from it? Or is this a work that brings a smile to the reader or provokes introspection?

 Contracting Me

There is a fee for the brief initial meeting, although most clients are referred to me by past clients, and we get straight down to coaching and/or developmental editing. Please use the contact form on this site, remember to give your name, brief details of the project, how far you have progressed, and what you need help with.

Pastor Liz Magill took an online course with me to turn her thesis into a book. This is not easy because a thesis is written in academic jargon. A book for the commercial market needs to be written in an enjoyable reading style.
I came up with a working title: Five Loaves, Two Fishes, Twelve Volunteers, which was accepted by the publishers.

Liz Magill's book is about food kitchens and feeding programs run by churches.
By the end of the course, we had three chapters ready for submission to a publisher or agent.
 I helped Liz with a query letter and book proposal to take to a publishing conference to help her pitch to agents and publishers.
She succeeded! This is her signing a book contact with Upper Room Books.

* Update 2024: Liz will soon complete her second book!

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http://www.amazon.com/Mandela-In-Celebration-Great-Life/dp/1928213138/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Don't Feed the Bears (see link below), The Boston Globe Magazine. 

"We underestimate the ability of wild animals and humans to get along,' says New Hampshire environmentalist David L. Eastman. 'But getting along also requires humans to behave.'"

On November 26, Charlene Smith was invited to speak on the Life and Legacy of Nelson Mandela, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Some 350 guests arrived, and a book-signing took place afterward.

A referee wrote, “Charlene Smith is a powerful, highly skilled and experienced journalist, author and communications professional. She is adept at finding the right channels for messages. She has immense patience and love for people – no-one is unimportant or undeserving of her time or mentoring.”
As a journalist, author, authorized biographer of Nelson Mandela, and ghostwriter, I have been privileged to witness the best in the great and had the time to ponder their flaws. I am struck by the fact that humility and a true love of people is the mark of greatness.
Journalists are the first writers of history and so our responsibility to truth-telling and fairness is eternal.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, I reported on anti-apartheid resistance and economics in South Africa. In Japan and Argentina, I reported on politics and economics. Publications I have worked for include the Los Angeles Times, Independent, Guardian, Washington Post, Le Monde, and others. As a television documentary maker I worked with Tony Burman at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Ted Koppel at ABC Nightline, and Ed Bradley and Anderson Cooper at CBS 60 Minutes, and others.