The first major job for the project team was to secure the services of an experienced Editor to refine and polish Belinda’s solid first draft manuscript.

She recognised her original work at 130,000 words was far too long to be considered for traditional publication and would need to be around 80,000 to 100,000 words for a first-time writer. She said the right person would also be experienced in memoir writing and would need to have a good sense of humour!

We are indebted to Kit Carstairs at The Manuscript Appraisal Agency for agreeing to review the original manuscript and then for suggesting Michele Perry take on the role of Editor.

From Kit Carstairs:

“Editing the work of someone who has passed away requires more-than-usual sensitivity. We want to ensure that Belinda’s voice is present at all times. We will focus on ensuring what is already there is as polished and engaging as it possibly can be without the author’s further involvement. Michele is a wonderfully sensitive editor and will be great at striking the right balance for Belinda’s MS.”

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The initial Skype call with Michele was a great opportunity for me to meet her and to make sure we connected and were on the same page in terms of the vision for the manuscript.  We discovered to my delight she actually has a great deal in common with Belinda - they were a similar age, both Australian and female, both well-travelled and most important of all, had a similar sense of humour.

We are thrilled Michele has agreed to take on the project and she performed the structural edit, copy edit and proof read over the course of 2020.

Mark Pickett
Project Manager