The job of a developmental editor and book mentor is to help an author produce the best fiction or nonfiction manuscript possible to submit to agents, acquisition editors, or readers in any given field. For over eight years, I have mentored more than 300 writers in the production of books, essays, and short stories. I work with academics, CEOs, lawyers, and established and emerging writers of fiction and nonfiction -- from helping to plan the manuscript to polishing the final draft. My clients have found representation, been published by large and small houses, received starred reviews in PW, and won regional and national awards.

"Catherine's expertise was instrumental in transforming my manuscript "City of Ladies" into a marketable and remarkable story. City of Ladies went on to win First Prize in the 2011 Anderbo/Mercer Street Books Fiction contest. Look to Catherine to be your very own smart, gentle, and classy Book Whisperer."
--Dorette Snover

"Catherine Adams has been brilliant in helping me clarify my writing. No one I’ve worked with previously—and that includes editors at the major New York trade publishers, as well as those of university presses—has been so astute at honing an author’s arguments. She turns complex material into crystal clear prose. No writer of nonfiction could ask for more, and I’ve urged friends in government, academia, and the media to turn to Inkslinger as well."

--Derek Leebaert, author of Magic and Mayhem: The Delusions of American Foreign Policy from Korea to Afghanistan (Simon and Schuster, September 2010),
To Dare and to Conquer (Little Brown, 2006), and The Fifty-Year Wound (Little Brown, 2002)

"We are 25-year-old twin sisters who have spent seven years writing a historical novel together. We sent out a draft of our manuscript to literary agents and received some interest. In fact, our first-choice NYC agent sent us a letter saying she would represent us if--if--we re-configured the historical sections of our manuscript and made some major extensions. Our initial excitement about being so close to our dream of being published authors soon gave way to frustration. After so many years and even with two of us, we just could not figure out a way to revise the book any further. To put it simply, we were stuck. The day we contacted Catherine changed everything. Her unique suggestions for development in both character and plot were astounding. She understood exactly what we wanted our book to "get at," and she understood our style of writing. The book remained our own. She simply made it better. Furthermore, her suggestions were doable. We incorporated Catherine's edits, and sent our revised manuscript back to the agent two weeks ago. And this morning, we got a contract offer!?"

--The Deane Twins

"Catherine Adams provided for me what I could not do for myself; she gave encouragement and direction. With measured, careful words she was able to pinpoint exactly the difficulties I was having as a writer and where my novel sagged. Because of her gentle mentorship I was able to hear both the encouragement and the criticism without becoming either despondant or defensive. It wasn't long after I revised my work that I was able to secure an agent and I believe that was primarily due to Catherine's guidence. She gives above and beyond what is required of her and I hope she and I will have a long partnership."

--Ann Wertz Garvin, author of On Maggie's Watch (Berkley Press, November 2010)

"Catherine Adams has provided her insightful input for two of my current works-in-progress and I found them to be exactly the factors needed to get me past the difficulties I was encountering with the books. I have worked with other editors for comparison and can state without reserve that Catherine is in a wholly different league. I would recommend her enthusiastically for any writing project. My own endeavors lean toward fiction, and she has proven invaluable in that most difficult of editing tasks. With Catherine, as they say in (my other passion) the car restoration trade: 'Do it once, do it right.'"

--Steven M. Greenberg, M.D., author of Incantation (nominated for The Independent Publisher's Book Award in Fiction for 2005) and Adam's Will