Developmental Editing Work
My thanks to Emily for making my dream a reality, in seeing me through the publishing process. Emily – the ‘editor midwife,’ – patient and wise, in helping me deliver Elin’s Air. Emily Stanford, author of Elin’s Air
A huge big Thank you to my wonderful Editor Emily Hillman. Without your ongoing support to write the book, it wouldn’t be out there. You helped me so much to develop the story into something readable and worked day and night to get it printed on time for the Book Launch. I am also so very grateful for you holding my hand during this sometimes challenging journey. I love you! – Bettina Blume, Author of Won Ton and Hissie
It’s been a pleasure seeing how your suggestions made my poetry stronger. Thank you for everything you did. So glad you were recommended you to me. You’re a gift – Sade Temiola, Author of poetry and prose book, The Silence that Falls
Our book has arrived, it looks amazing! We are really pleased with the book, thank you. We spoke at a summit today for Christian authors today and mentioned how helpful you had been with our book. So you may get some new queries, it may be because of this – Mark Gilpin, Author
When I pitched my book, I had offers from other publishers, including a well known company chose Emily and Simon, who not only have the skillsets, experience, expertise, but also wisdom and genuine care. Emily suggested that I should publish under Living in Light. This filled me with such confidence that Emily really was seeing this project through a wider lens than the average publisher. I am so grateful for the effort they poured into my first book. I can’t thank them enough. They did an amazing job with my book and I’m so happy and grateful. It was so reassuring and encouraging to work with them both! I have told many others about their service and I know that whoever they work with will be so blessed by all that they know, carry and produce – Bobbi Kumari, Living in Light
Feedback from Emily’s Workshops
I really valued Emily’s feedback – she was honest and direct whilst still fully valuing my conviction. I loved how she could just tell it how it is and be real, but then also let me decide how I took her advice on board. I also was super appreciative of Emily’s skills and knowledge when I came to writing styles and how to make the book engaging and interesting. I really appreciated Emily’s wisdom and encouragement and her capacity to keep focused on the bigger picture. I believe the book was published at the right time and I really valued the way Emily would keep me grounded in that. Bobbi Kumari, author of Sacred Sexuality
I love Emily’s writing workshops – I think they are very relaxed but extremely productive. They allow us to take risks, be open about our ideas and also enable us to be creative with our writing in unexpected ways. They definitely inspire me to keep writing. There is a subtle and very healthy level of accountability there for me which I really appreciate. The group sessions really work for me because as well as the focus/comments/feedback that I may receive pertaining to me I also learn loads and find myself inspired by the response you give to other people in the group.
Before my 1:1 sessions, I was stuck in terms of developing my children’s story. In my first two hour session, Emily identified areas of my book that needed developing in terms of character and plot – she made plot and character, as well as setting/time period suggestions and showed me how to create punchy scenes, how to set up events and follow through with them, and and how to pattern events into the story and how to use characters (as antagonists) to create conflict in the novel and to mirror the protagonist’s inner conflict for a more satisfactory narrative. She also showed me how to make sure my character ‘overcomes’ all the necessary obstacles in the plot, in order to reach a satisfactory conclusion, and how to draw the elements of the novel together in order to achieve resolution. We also discussed how my character could go through ‘the dark night of the soul’ before the dawn of breakthrough and resolution takes place.
I’ve done Emily’s writing workshops twice. It was a small intimate group and each Saturday, we spent time going through stories, we created during the week. She gave us valuable tips and feedback which was really good for confidence building and also learning ways in which to hook your audience to be captivated with your words/stories. I’ve always enjoyed writing but was too scared to share it, which was perhaps a limiting belief, but the supportive atmosphere of the class and the group gave me confidence. After sitting on my articles for months, I decided to share them with Emily. It was the best decision I have made, it prompted me to start sharing it on facebook, linkedIn and some were also published –Marjorie Gutierezz
Firstly I love them – I think they are very relaxed but extremely productive. They allow us to take risks, be open about our ideas and also enable us to be creative with our writing in unexpected ways. They definitely inspire me to keep writing. There is a subtle and very healthy level of accountability there for me which I really appreciate. The group sessions really work for me because as well as the focus/comments/feedback that I may receive pertaining to me I also learn loads and find myself inspired by the response you give to other people in the group – Bobbi Kumari
The exercises have been enjoyable and useful, I really enjoy listening to other people’s writing, that’s a bonus, sharing ideas. Your thoughts and comments are helpful as are other people’s feedback – Jo Faith
I thought I would not enjoy having to listen to others tell about their work and you giving advice, but actually it was great, and we kind of all had positive things to say. It really helped me to hear feedback about my stuff, but also about the importance of research for example and other stuff that was said helped as well. I feel like I have a direction, I just need time now – Irene Nlandu
Emily is a great all-round, creatively inspiring person. I’ve worked with her several times, as an actress in plays she wrote and directed, and she has proof read some of my writing. Emily writes with depth, her characters are all very human and in some way wrestling with meaning and spirituality. Her dialogue is wordy, sparky, poetic and thought-provoking. I love working with Emily, she promotes playfulness and creative exploration, she is open towards people and embraces collaboration, as well as being extremely gifted –Jo Habershon
Journals and Publications
Emily has been editing my published work for over ten years now. Her work has helped me have my work published in several books and academic journals. She is my go-to editor for all aspects of editing. She is brilliant. Dr. Judit Durst, UCL London
Emily first edited for me 13 years ago for my doctoral thesis. She is so widely read, and has a real ability to grasp complex academic writing across genres; this, coupled with her being an award-winning writer herself, as well as having such a firm grip on the English language, makes her a real cut above the rest. Dr Simon Richard Hillman, Kings College, London.
“I could not have had my first paper published by the journal if Emily had not rewritten and restructured my paper. Being a Hungarian writer in translation, I needed Emily’s expertise to polish my English work and I was over the moon when I had my first paper published after she had worked on it.” Veronika Nagy, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest
“She has worked a miracle on this paper…” Margit Feischmidt, Intersections Journal, Editor in Chief
“Emily has been an essential component in these papers coming to publication.” Nora Kovacs, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest
Transformational Coaching
Emily’s insight and support on the way we are wired, the positive affirmations and focusing on what I want in my life really helped me as did focusing on positive thoughts and what I want out of life and out of a partner. Emily’s help in being able to pin point what areas I need to work on really helped me get specific. Emily has such a caring nature, I feel like I have learnt how to relax more and look at thoughts and situations in another way rather than focusing on the negatives and poor me. Joanna, Perth, Australia
I’ve done other courses and healing modalities but I really like Emily’s focus on changing mindsets and beliefs. Her exercises are practical, clear and directly effective. I felt 100% supported by Emily, very safe and comfortable, I felt I could say or tell her anything. I felt heard. Mabinte Van der Pelt, Holland
Emily is a super-shifter, being around her is so inspiring. My session was so enlightening and I’m taking steps to change some behaviours and set into action what we discussed – Dianne Samuels, Musician and Children’s Book Author
My coaching session was totally powerful and Emily turned things around for me in such a short time -Dr Ruth Fanstone