About Me
Snapshot
Name: Amy Rost (rhymes with frost)
Pronouns: she/her
Professional cred: I’ve been a writer, editor, and project manager my entire adult life.
For more than 25 years, I’ve been putting those skills to work in nonfiction book publishing, first working in house and then independently (freelance) for small and mid-size trade publishers and individual authors.
I’ve worked on 225+ nonfiction books,* with more than a dozen different publishers, and 1:1 with more than 100 authors.
My mission: To help Thoughtful Authors develop a better book and write it more quickly and efficiently than you could doing it all on your own.
To help you, the person with with useful expertise, share your wisdom with those of us who could really benefit from it.
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*Yes, that is indeed a lot of books.
Why I Do This Work
Hey, I did not expect to still be working in bookcraft after two and half decades.
A big reason I still am is that every book I work on is an opportunity for me to learn something new from an amazing person who knows their subject deeply.
The Thoughtful Authors I work with come from many fields and backgrounds. They might be:
Helpers and uplifters—therapists, coaches, teachers, and healing practitioners who want to support us and see us thrive.
Entrepreneurs and business owners whose services and products can improve our lives.
Craftspeople with practical know-how we can all use.
Thinkers and questioners who name problems and invite us to think differently.
Problem-solvers proposing fresh solutions to both our extraordinary
and everyday challenges.
Information synthesizers whose deep-dive investigations give us new insights into things we care about.
Artists and photographers who show us the beauty in ourselves and
our world.
What they have in common:
They want to use their experience and knowledge to help others and enrich our lives in meaningful ways.
They hold themselves to high standards of thinking, communication, and service.
They value intellectual integrity; they honor others’ work, ideas, or insights (not swipe or appropriate them).
Thoughtful Authors write better books.
I believe Thoughtful Authors and their books are an antidote to the polluted cesspool a lot of our information sources have become thanks to Big Tech, corporate advertising, and content marketing.
Every time I despair of the state of books, publishing, and the world in general, and am ready to move to a ranch in the mountains to raise alpacas and take in feral cats, a Thoughtful Author comes to me with a book that moves me, solves a problem I have, makes my life better, opens my eyes, or changes my thinking.
These Thoughtful Authors and their books restore my faith in the power of books and the power of smart, good-hearted, service-oriented people.
Thoughtful Authors use their knowledge, experience, and skills to help others via their books. And I get to use my knowledge, experience, and skills to help them do it.
What I offer
A comprehensive knowledge of bookcraft and an unusually diverse skillset rooted in decades of hands-on publishing experience.
More Than Editing
In the past, my official role may have been editor, but the term just doesn’t cover the full range of things I do.
Yes, I edit manuscripts, both before and after authors send them to their publishers, so they’re confident their publishers will be wowed.
I also serve as a coach, sounding board, thought partner, creative partner, and beta reader for authors while they’re writing.
I’ve written, ghostwritten, and ghost rewritten portions of books.
I’ve shepherded many books through the editorial phase of the book-publishing process.
And I’ve done virtually every task that’s part of book creation and publication (see “Bookcraft Tasks in My Wheelhouse”).
*****
I know everything that goes into writing and publishing a great book.
Having done most of those things, I now can’t help but think about all them, all the time, while I’m working on a book.
I hold the big picture, track the small details, and everything in between.
I provide a container in which we can address all these things during our work together.
Just as important, I’ll tell you when we should think about each of them, so we can keep your book moving forward.
Bookcraft Tasks in My Wheelhouse
(i.e., All the Things I’ve Done)
Acquisitions: scouting authors, evaluating book proposals, and negotiating book contracts
Coming up with new book ideas
Pitching potential books to a publisher’s in-house stakeholders
Workshopping books-in-progress; providing editorial direction to authors
Every type of text editing—developmental; substantive, content, and line; copyediting
Brainstorming and wordsmithing titles and subtitles
Research and fact-checking
Permissions assessment; researching rights holders and securing reprint permissions
Art and photo research, selection, and management; creating shot lists for photo shoots
Collaborating with cover and interior designers; other editors; copywriters; and marketing, publicity, and sales
Project management—making sure everyone involved knows what needs to be done when
Coding and formatting manuscript files for page layout
Designing book interiors and laying out pages
Serving as a liaison between authors and publishers
Writing, ghostwriting, ghost rewriting
Proofreading and checking final printer proofs
Mentoring new staff editors; hiring and giving direction to freelance editors
Writing and book coaching
“Thanks, as always, for being so game, so professional, and so lovely to work with. Your work always blows me away.
“Many times I’ve thought, ‘If/When I write a book, I want to hire Amy to help me with it!’”
—Caroline Pincus, former associate publisher, Red Wheel/Weiser;
former editor-at-large, Sounds True
Nonfiction Expertise
My specialty is prescriptive and informational nonfiction.
In other words, books that help readers learn something new.
Often these books help readers apply what they learn in practical ways. To do that, they typically include how-to elements, such as practices, exercises, or instructions.
I ensure the information is easy for readers to understand, the text is engaging, and the how-to elements are useful and doable.
When a book also has dozens (or even hundreds) of illustrations or photos, I organize them and make sure all that artwork works in harmony with the text.
The books I’ve worked on cover a wide range of topics and categories, including:
Self-help/personal growth (such as interpersonal communication and parenting)
Physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being (such as meditation, grief, shadow work, chronic illness, and complimentary medicine)
Spiritual teachings and practices (such as shamanism, Buddhism, yogic teachings, Wiccan/pagan traditions)
My experience also includes travel guides, history books, photo-essay books, gift books, and anthologies.
“Thank you especially to Amy Rost, who steered me through the edits with insights I could have never found myself.”
—Christopher Willard, PsyD, Growing Up Mindful: Essential Practices to Help Children, Teens, and Families Find Balance, Calm, and Resilience
“I am grateful that Amy Rost was my editor, because she is wise and precise and affirming and lovely.”
—Mirabai Starr, Caravan of No Despair: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation
“Amy Rost, brought an exceptional level of insight, intuition, and wisdom to this project. Getting Grief Right was truly a collaboration with her.”
—Patrick O’Malley, PhD, Getting Grief Right: Finding Your Story of Love in the Sorrow of Loss
A Supportive Writing Guide & Partner
The authors I’ve worked with have run the gamut of writing experience.
Some have been career writers (like print journalists) and others have had little to no writing experience.
Whether you’re working on your first book or your twenty-first book, I can meet you where you are, help you up your writing game, and when needed, serve as a collaborative writing partner.
“A special thank you to my editor, Amy Rost, for facing the trials and tribulations of a first-draft manuscript. It may be an adventure writing them, but I think it is quite another to wade through a first draft and make sense of it.”
—Joseph M. Marshall III, The Lakota Way of Strength and Courage: Lessons in Resilience from the Bow and Arrow
“Amy Rost, the best book midwife ever. Thank you for your time, your attention, your passion, and going above and beyond the call of duty to breathe life and clarity into this book.”
—Rebecca Thompson, MS, Consciously Parenting: What It Really Takes to Raise Emotionally Healthy Families
“Thank you . . . to . . . , Amy Rost, whose brilliant, detailed edits helped me clarify everything I wanted to stay. I could have never arrived at the book you are holding in your hands without her generous encouragement and perceptive eye.”
—Diana Winston, The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness
Publishers I’ve Worked with
Sounds True
Callisto Media
Black Dog & Leventhal
Hazeldon Publishing
Minnesota Historical Society Press
University Press of New England
Zenith Press
Countryman Press
Hampton Roads Publishing
Conari Press
Red Wheel/Weiser
Voyageur Press
Llewellyn Worldwide
Insider Publishing Experience
Getting to see so many different publishers’ processes and standards means I know what good publishers require of their authors.
If you want to publish with a traditional publisher, I can help you create a book that will meet their standards.
Knowing that you’re working closely with an experienced publishing professional can also be a point in your favor when you’re seeking a publisher.
If you want to self-publish, I’ll help you create a book that’s on par with traditional publishing standards.
That high quality will help your book stand apart from books thrown together by people hoping for “quick and easy” sources of “passive income,” with little quality control, intellectual integrity, or concern for readers.
“Amy Rost . . . brought rigorous clarity and meticulous attention to help me sculpt the final form of this work. A deep bow to her . . . !”
—John J. Prendergast, PhD, In Touch: How to Tune In to the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself
“Amy Rost, I could not have written this book without you. The fact that you have a great sense of humor and grace was beautiful icing on the cake.”
—Karen Brody, Daring to Rest: Reclaim Your Power with Yoga Nidra Rest Meditation
“Thank you to Amy Rost for editing this book like a fairy godmother might—tiptoeing around with a magic wand and making my words sing.”
—MaryCatherine McDonald, PhD,
Unbroken: The Trauma Response Is Never Wrong
and Other Things You Need to Know to Take Back Your Life
A Few Other Completely Random, Incidental
Factoids About Me . . .
1. In my brief pre-book-publishing career, I worked in marketing, public relations, and publicity/media relations.
2. I spent a year editing a medical journal for neonatal nurses. (Ah, AMA style, our flirtation was brief but memorable!)
3. I taught a level-one writing course at a tiny local community college for three semesters.
4. For four years, I volunteered at a large municipal animal shelter, doing reiki, Healing Touch for Animals, and other energy therapy practices for the animals.
5. When not reading manuscripts or other nonfiction for work, I read a lot of fiction. I like a wide variety, but fantasy and sci-fi are my faves.
6. You can get on my good side by:
asking me about my cats;
telling me your sun, moon, and rising signs; your Human Design profile; Myers-Briggs type; and/or your Four Tendencies type;
giving me an excuse to make a spreadsheet
7. If you want to get on my bad side:
tell me I’m “too picky” or “overthinking” (attention to detail and deep thinking are two of my superpowers; if they’re not things you value, working with me is probably not a good idea);
cut-and-paste text from a website into your manuscript without quoting it and saying where you got it;
say “I didn’t read your email” and then ask me a question I just answered in that email.
