Thank you so much, Ruth, for working on my manuscript. It was 18 years in the making (a long story) and I certainly appreciate your feedback and encouragement! I have incorporated all your suggestions and corrections into the original, and I do feel that the story is much better for them. Based on your response, I have already started to pen the first sequel and am having great fun with it. I will definitely contact you again, once I have a completed manuscript. Don’t worry – it won’t take me another 18 years this time!
– Alan Lenton (UK) Tales of Ithnoren (fiction)

...................................................

Thank you for your superb editing of my manuscript. I was also greatly encouraged and amused by your margin comments. I have three more ‘Benchmark’ books completed, and I’d like for you to edit them because of the continuity from book to book. I think your comments would be especially valid, having read the first book and seeing the subsequent ones build on Robert Gordon and his cast of characters. While I’m not quite yet ready to put the other books into the editing process, I have you picked as my editor of choice. You will be hearing from me in the not-too-distant future and I very much look forward to doing business with you for all of the books. I think you served me very well on The Palms Accord, and I look forward to having you edit the continuing saga of Robert Gordon & Company. Thank you for a very heartening treatment of my work!
– George T. Johnson (USA) The Palms Accord (fiction)

...................................................

I have corrected or addressed all of your concerns, Ruth, and am now pleased with the manuscript. It has been sent to the printer. I have just started writing a new book for young adults: The Kid Who Talked to Toasters. Think about that for a while! Perhaps I will be privileged to have you edit the manuscript for me when it is done. Thank you for everything you have done to help make my novel the best it can be.
– J. Bruce Monson (USA) White Metal Murders (fiction)

...................................................

I would like to say a big thank you for the brilliant job you did on my manuscript. I know a lot of work must have gone into it to bring it up to publication standard and I appreciate all the advice you gave me. You did a first class job on editing it – something I know I would never have been able to do myself. I would gladly recommend you to colleagues and family and I will most definitely be sending you my next novel for editing, which is currently in progress at the moment. So a very, very big thank you for everything you did!
– Nikki Williams (UK) Remembrance (fiction)

...................................................

Thank you so much for your diligent work on my novel, Ruth. With your help I finally got it finished! Your work on this and my children’s books has been insightful and a tremendous help. They would not have been ‘submission ready’ without your help. WOW! Your work really makes a difference!
– Antoinette Carr (USA), The Grand Adventures of Danny the Dancing Dandelion, Big Will, (children’s books); and Beneath the African Moon (fiction)

...................................................

I chose you as my editor, Ruth, after a terrible experience with a prior editing service on my first novel. Frankly, the first service couldn’t even decide how to capitalize certain words as they were treated differently throughout the text. It drove me crazy. I suspect two or more editors worked my first novel and the results were not only expensive, but wholly unsatisfactory. The service, by the way, is one of the larger ones in the US. I complained and received no acknowledgement to the issues I raised with them. Given this experience, I chose you for the editing and formatting of my second novel, Avery Dick Walks Small, a humorous, sarcastic send-up and spoof of my former employer – the US State Department. This novel, along with the first, are books now in print or planned in series called An Avery Dick Adventure Story. Aside from your excellent grammatical and formatting assistance, I really appreciated the insightful comments and suggestions you offered. You really got into the story and my head. Things that would have been flagged as mistakes or poor word usage by my first editor were seen by you for what they were: intentional double-entendres, puns, and word plays. I was so totally pleased with your work that my third novel in the series, Avery Dick Goes to the Bank will definitely be coming your way for an edit!
– George Larsen (USA) Avery Dick Walks Small (fiction)

...................................................

You are amazing, Ruthie! You did such an awesome job on our book. We accepted all your changes as you made it better all the way through. We have so many more books to write and you will get all of our work for the next 50 years! We have been so excited about your comments that we have been praising God all over the house every day. We really never doubted that it was a decent work because it was straight from our hearts, but when YOU said SO, it was like, DONE! We will keep you posted and we will give you big kudos with our publisher once it is a done deal.
– Joy Marie (USA) The Straight-Up Truth About the Down-Low (non-fiction)

...................................................

When I first read these stories by Kornel Makuszynski, who was very famous back home in Poland, I thought they were so funny and unusual. I can only hope that I managed not to spoil it too much by translating it into the English language of which I am not a native speaker. With your help, Ruth, I now believe it’s much more readable. I was surprised that it was quite a struggle to find an editor like you who understood the quirky style and humour and restrained themselves from rewriting it into dull modern language without complex sentencing. I guess by nature, those in the editing profession are supposed to be more erudite and literate than the general public, but that is not always true, it seems. It was definitely my lucky day when I found you to edit this book!
– Sebastian Paluch (UK) Arabian Affairs (fiction-short stories)

...................................................

You have done an amazing job of editing my book, Ruthie. I was so impressed I cried! I absolutely love your work. I will post your name and email address on all the author forums I know and you will be so busy you may end up wishing you never met me! You’ll definitely also be getting everything else I write. Thank you so much!
– SyD (USA) I Can’t Stop Now [Part I] (autobiography)

...................................................

Thank you Ruth for your kind words and editing; it took me over a year to write this book. If I ever write another book, I will definitely request you to edit it as you did a wonderful job. You brought it to life with an easy flow to read. Thank you very much.
– Dave (USA) To Dance at the Ball (historical novel)

...................................................

You have exceeded my expectations Ruth! You are an amazing editor and proofreader. Not only did you clean up my grammar, but also offered some challenges to my content. It has been both a humbling and learning experience. Plus, your ability to write left me in awe. I can’t imagine that there could be a better editor than you and as far as my future writing is concerned, you will have it! Thank you for a wonderful experience, and I will be back.
– Tom Walker (USA) Uncommon Wisdom from a Common Man (theology)

...................................................

Thank you so much for your hard work, I have made changes based on your edit and I’m extremely happy. You have done an excellent job for me and I shall be sure to thank you in print if I am ever published!
– Vicky Grosvenor (UK) The List (fiction)

...................................................

Perhaps to a writer there is no relationship more important than that between him (or her) and his editor... more important even than the one between him and his agent or publisher. If you are still struggling trying to GET an agent or publisher, a quality editor can make all the difference in the world in landing the much sought-after contract. If you are already an established writer you owe it to yourself to see what a difference a good editor can make in your writing. To this end I have found my editor Ruth Blaikie invaluable in bringing out and helping to present the absolute best in my writing. Furthermore, she takes a personal interest in her clients and their work, which is both encouraging and vital in the rather isolated field of writing. She will definitely be editing my future work.
– Mike Caughey, MD (USA) In House (autobiography)

...................................................

Thank you very much for a lovely job, Ruth. I enjoyed getting in the flow of your edits and comments. Maybe it was that common Southern Hemisphere influence!
– Phillip Dignan (Australia) Secrets of the Wealthy Mind (non-fiction)

...................................................

Thank you so much for a great job. Your comments really made sense and have helped (I hope) make this book a great success. I’m looking forward to using your services again.
– Dave Betts (UK) The Fruit of an Apple Tree (theology)

...................................................

Thank you very much for your editing help. I have just received my book from the publishers, and as it is a POD, I have to arrange my own marketing. I’m preparing a press release, and I wondered if I might have your permission to use some of your comments as an independent assessment of my book?
– William Bain (UK) The Melrose Secret (fiction)

...................................................

Thank you for all of your hard work on this book. It looks great! I have also added the references where they should be added. You’ve gone above and beyond to remind me about those. Thanks again for everything.
– Matt Gosselin (USA) My Blue Goose: Exploiting the Wow Factor in Real Estate Marketing (non-fiction)

...................................................

The editing work you’ve sent me is absolutely excellent. Thank you very much for your unbelievably fast response.
– Karol Nickler (USA) KNC Window Washing (information brochures)