After completing my second novel, Deviled! —book two in a humorous mystery series, I submitted a sample piece to Susan Hughes at My Independent Editor and was impressed right from the start with her timely response and thoughtful comments. I had researched several other editors, but kept going back to Susan—something about her just felt right. It was, without a doubt, the right decision.

Susan’s professionalism is noteworthy. She responded to all my questions quickly and made sure I was comfortable with her responses.

It’s a pretty scary thing to hand over a finished manuscript to a virtual stranger. Emotions range from self-assured enthusiasm to nail-biting fear. Will she like it? Does it even make sense? Will she return it and say, “Sorry, I just can’t read this.”

I needn’t have worried. Susan worked through every page of the novel with attention to the smallest details. She pointed out my love affair with adverbs—I had no idea I had gotten so enamored of the pesky parts of speech. It took me three days to work through all her comments and suggestions, and when I was finished, I smiled and thought, “Oh yeah, we’ve got this.”

I look forward to working with Susan on the third installment of my series. I feel I’ve gained not only a talented editor, but also a supportive friend.

Maureen K. Howard

(pen name of partners—Maureen Kovach and Brigette Howard)