"After working with Keith, I landed a major literary agent."

RICHARD MCPHEE, author of Death of the Grand Vizier, currently under agent’s representation and being considered by major publishing houses

I was introduced to Keith Ferrell in the spring of 2016 by a friend whose book Keith had edited and who at the time was enjoying strong sales revenues. At the time I was interested in getting a book of fiction published but first wanted to get up to speed on the chances of that happening in the current publishing climate. Keith was exceedingly generous with his time; unfortunately, I learned that, for an unpublished writer, the chance of getting even an agent to look at a manuscript was close to zero. The only realistic option was self-publishing; but that would involve huge amounts of self-promotion on social media that was anything but appealing. Given that was the only choice, I then asked Keith if he would consider editing the book for me before self-publishing. He agreed to do that, and we applied ourselves intensively to working through the book chapter by chapter and line by line and word by word. I quickly came to see that his editor’s eye was a sharp and valuable tool. About halfway through the process, Keith let me know that he had changed his mind. He felt that the book was good enough to attract an agent, and with the agent’s help perhaps to broach the walls of the publishing world. At the end of the process, with Keith’s introduction, I was able to land one of the best literary agents in the United States, and with his representation my novel is currently making the rounds of publishers. The process from beginning to end took about eight months. I think my success speaks volumes about Keith Ferrell’s abilities as an editor.

DAVID BROCK, Author, Sales Manager Survival Guide: Lessons From Sales' Front Lines

In reflecting on writing a testimonial for Keith Ferrell, I thought of our journey in completing Sales Manager Survival Guide. Had, I written this testimonial before working with Keith, it may have looked something like:

“Keith does really really really good stuff!  All the stuff he did helping me put together the book, was awesome, I mean really really cool!  He knows how to get the best from righters. And working with the dude is awesome, I mean he really kept things moving on and we hit the outrageous targets, while getting all the stuff we need dun, dun...”  

And it would have gone on for several pages.

My initial draft of the book wasn’t far from the above text. I was very enthusiastic, but had challenges. I tended to repeat things, I wandered in my prose, and was somewhat unfocused. My grammar was poor, and I had some favorite words I used as crutches to fill the gaps in my thinking.

The magic of working with Keith is that he recognized the importance of maintaining my “voice” through the entire book. At the same time, he managed to help me simplify, clarify, and focus my thinking and writing to more effectively connect with my intended audience.

Massaging my easily bruised ego, we created a book that has become a top seller in its category.  Weekly, I get dozens of emails from people thanking me for the clarity and quality of the content.  Fortunately, only I know how tortuous it might have been for them, if it hadn’t been for Keith.

In addition to making my thinking and words resonate with my audience, Keith sheltered me from all the mechanics of independently-publishing a book.  He managed the whole process, making it painless for me to see it in final form.

Through the entire process, I learned, not just to be a better writer, but took lessons that I apply every day in my work and in being a better human being.  I can’t recommend Keith highly enough—both in helping write a book, and as a friend.

I have other books in queue, Keith will be the person that takes my still clumsy and wandering thoughts, my bad grammar, my endless repetition, creating focused masterpieces.

In summary, Keith does really really really good work.

PATRICK BERRY

Patrick Berry is the Thomas Pynchon of Crosswords →

I’m writing in enthusiastic support of Keith Ferrell as a fiction editor. I hired Keith to help me improve my first novel, and I honestly consider it the best money I ever spent.

Keith is a wonderful writer and can rewrite your prose if that’s what’s desired. However, the best way to use his services is to have him review your manuscript and point out problem areas for you to correct. This method ensures that the final manuscript has your voice, and improves your writing skills in the bargain: You’ll soon learn to locate these flaws yourself, and avoid them in the future.

Keith has an unerring eye for spotting grammatical errors, awkward phrasings, and writers’ tics that would annoy your readers. More importantly, he’s able to pinpoint big-picture issues like plot flaws and pacing problems. His explanations of these problems are concise and crystal-clear.

Keith is easy to work with: Friendly, witty, and fun to talk to. He knows the publishing business and can give you an honest assessment of your book’s commercial prospects, but he won’t force you to “commercialize” your book. He views his input as recommendations that you’re free to follow or ignore. (I followed them 99% of the time, and thought very seriously about the final 1%. His advice is that good.)

HUTT BUSH
Author, (Being)ZOOM! How good can you stand it?

Keith is a master at his craft and he always delivers. He has edited three books for me over the course of the last ten years, and in all cases, his work was stellar.

His years as editor of a famous international publication, along with his lifetime of writing and editing, and make him a communications professional who would add significant weight to any project.

I recommend Keith enthusiastically and without question, and I would happily provide any additional information to anyone on request. Keith is the old-school “real thing!”