I spent nearly thirty years as an acquiring editor at the University of North Carolina Press, working with scholarly and general interest writers across a wide range of subjects. When prospective authors would ask me about my approach to editing, I always offered a simple response: first and foremost, I am a writing coach. From childhood, I was fortunate to have wonderful teachers and mentors who encouraged and challenged me as a writer. As I learned the power and creative possibilities of the written word, I also recognized that while no two writers are exactly alike, everyone benefits from the support of a trusted thought partner, gentle critic, and encourager who can push you to keep going just a little further.

An undergraduate writing minor and graduate training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sharpened my skills as a thinker, writer, and editor. Training in rhetoric and composition offered me a strong foundation as I worked in the campus writing center, taught college-level composition courses, and found opportunities to support working professionals who wanted to write more effectively. As an editorial assistant for a leading scholarly journal, I also learned about the process of guiding scholarly authors through peer review, revision, and final submission.

After grad school, my publishing career offered extraordinary opportunities to develop and apply my skills on behalf of an incredibly diverse range of nonfiction authors. Over the years, I developed, acquired, and published books in history, American studies, literary studies, religion, anthropology, sociology, education, gender and sexuality studies, Native American and Indigenous studies, education, music, and more. I got the chance to publish major multi-volume reference works, highly illustrated art books, textbooks, and popular works like hiking guidebooks. I regularly worked with authors on developing the concepts for their books from the ground up, taking a set of ideas and a general sense of audience and helping cultivate them through the creation of a book proposal, drafting, review and revision, production, and launch into the world. Many of these books won major awards; a couple even ended up on New York Times Bestseller lists. Over the years, I also regularly visited universities and provided one-on-one consultations along with group workshops meant to help demystify the publishing process, prepare effective book proposals, strengthen overall confidence among scholarly writers, and devise strategies for public engagement.

But what tied it all together was my fundamental love of writing and joy in working with writers to achieve their goals. There are few ideas I can’t get interested in, and whether someone needs support with conceiving a compelling project, developing sustainable writing habits, breaking down a big project into manageable chunks, addressing organizational challenges, balancing narrative with argument, processing critique, or writing more stylishly, I love to help.

When I’m not working, you’ll usually find me reading, checking out a concert, keeping up with my favorite soccer clubs and basketball teams, cooking and mixing cocktails for friends, or planning my next trip with my wife and our adult daughter.