Alice Peck Editorial on Facebook

Alice Peck brought friendship as well as fine editorial skills to our endeavor. She is a beautiful intermediary between the world you're in and the world your story comes from.

Jeri Parker
A Thousand Voices (Winter Beach Press, December 2011)

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Alice Peck is an outstanding editor, but she is more than that. She is also a heartfelt, kind, and thoughtful person. From the moment she takes your story into her hands, you will feel she is not just your editor, but your friend. Alice is a master at her craft; her insights into story, character development, plot, and marketability are first rate. But she also possesses the unique ability to look beyond a normal editor's scope: to guide writers to focus the intent and purpose of their story. Alice's particular talent proved enormously helpful to me as I worked on my novel and, as I have come to find, is a rare magic.

Kristen Wolf
The Way (Crown/Random House, summer 2011)

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Alice Peck has what I call a "magic touch" when it comes to editing and writing. She knows exactly what to add, delete, and rework to make a piece sparkle. Alice is that rare commodity: a truly superb editor who is an absolute pleasure to work with.

Hannah Seligson
Roaring Twenties: Navigating the Milestones between Eighteen and Thirty (St. Martin’s Press, 2012)
A Little Bit Married (Da Capo Press)
New Girl on the Job (Citadel)

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Alice Peck is a gem: one of a kind. She listens deeply and edits with a deft--and compassionate--touch. A literary midwife, she will help bring out your best thinking and writing.

Jeffrey B. Rubin, PhD
The Art of Flourishing (Broadway Books/Random House, summer 2011)

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Alice has an innate ability to see where a manuscript has run off course, as well as the skills to communicate the problem(s) to the author and to assist in fixing the leaks. It's not for nothing that I call her my literary midwife.

Tim Cockey, aka Richard Hawke
House of Secrets (Random House)
Speak of the Devil (Random House)
The Hearse You Came In On (Hyperion)

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Alice Peck loves books more than maybe anyone else I know, and because of that, she is the perfect person to get your book into fighting shape. She does it with a gentle spirit and a soft voice, but don't let that fool you into thinking she's going easy on you--a session with Alice is like boot camp. She might say some of those things you don't want to hear, but already knew in your gut were problems. Working with Alice gives you everything you need to get your book on the shelves.

Kim Powers
Capote in Kansas (Da Capo Press)
The History of Swimming (Carroll & Graf, Da Capo Press)

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Alice Peck's brilliant insights into story and character gave me the map I needed to shape Blue Blood into a project worthy of a three-book contract with a major New York publisher.

Susan McBride
Little Black Dress (William Morrow)
Blue Blood (Avon)

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Her keen insight into the craft of storytelling is like a compass navigating the author down the right path to create better structure and well-rounded characters. Working with Alice is totally delightful. You know instantly that she cares about the project and will give the manuscript the individual attention, care, and detail it needs in order to be successful. My life is my work, and I totally trust Alice with it! The results--a two-book deal with Random House.

Elaine Meryl Brown
The Little Black Book of Success (One World/Ballantine)
Lemon City (Random House)
Playing by the Rules (One World/Ballantine)

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Alice Peck is an editorial goddess as well as the best friend a writer can have. She has the keen ability to focus on the details while keeping the big picture intact. When working with her, you begin to think that you’re a genius, and she lets you believe that until it dawns on you that your brilliance is not your writing--it’s the fact that you had the good sense to hire Alice and do everything she tells you to do.

Carmen Flowers
coauthor of Grave Expectations (Cider Mill Press)

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It is no exaggeration to say that without Alice Peck, we most likely wouldn’t have a book deal. This being our first book and an especially odd one, Alice got us to find our voice and pushed us to have the confidence to work in it. Her patience is legendary; she can give strong criticism and you won’t feel hurt in any way--you’ll only feel supported and cared for. You are always aware that she has only your best interests in mind and that her heart’s desire is that you create something unique, smart, and beautiful. We trust her implicitly, and are so very grateful for all the help she gave us.

Sue Bailey
coauthor of Grave Expectations (Cider Mill Press)

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Alice has the extraordinary ability to get inside your book and even inside your head, and knows exactly what sentences to polish and how to polish them.

Prashant Parikh
Language and Equilibrium (MIT Press)
A Gash in the World (iUniverse)

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Alice believed in my book proposal, renewed my optimism, and then "doctored" my proposal for me. When my agent shopped the new proposal, I sold my book! Her fresh eye, keen insights, and wonderful understanding of topical issues and interests were invaluable.

Margaret A. Mackenzie
Courting the Media (Praeger)

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Alice Peck gave me genuinely helpful editorial advice on two projects: a novel, The Cutting Room, and a teleplay, Me and Jezebel (written for American Movie Classics). She had valuable insights into pacing, coherence, and, God help me, commercial viability. (She was also friendly and compassionate, underrated attributes when working with writers.) I would highly recommend her services.

Laurence Klavan
Brain Camp (First Second)
City of Spies (First Second)
The Cutting Room (Ballantine)

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Got to thank you again for casting your expert eye on an early draft of Requiem. You had an intuitive feel for my story, and the care and precision you took in analyzing my work, before giving some terrific pointers on how to improve it, made me glad I’d entrusted you to give my manuscript a read through....I was truly thankful for Alice Peck. And you played no small part in me securing a two-book deal with a major UK publisher.

Jack Ross
Dark Waters (Arrow Books)
Requiem (Hutchinson/Random House UK)

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Alice is a uniquely gifted reader and editor. She’s also a lovely, warm person who genuinely likes writers. I can’t recommend her highly enough!

Nicole Bokat
What Matters Most (NAL)
Redeeming Eve (Permanent Press)

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Alice Peck, my brilliant sparring partner, gives this street writer-fighter a serious beat-down at least six times out of ten....Alice has bullied, babied, and generally bossed me around for two books now, and soon there will be another....If you want to turn a good book into a GREAT book, no question about it, she's your girl!

Slim Lambright
The Sweethearts of Soul (Harper Collins)
The Justus Girls (Harper Collins)

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Alice was recommended to me by a writer friend, and I can say without a doubt it is the best piece of advice I've ever received in my writing career. I'm her biggest fan. If you're looking for an editor who will make you look like a writing genius, Alice Peck is that editor. She makes my writing better and makes me a better writer.

KD Easley
Murder at Timber Bridge (NukeWorks Publishing)
Where the Dreams End (NukeWorks Publishing)
Nine Kinds of Trouble (NukeWorks Publishing)

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Alice is a great editor--insightful, thorough, patient, and supportive--who can pay focused attention to detail as well as to the big picture. Her editorial comments were key for me in completing the final draft of my book. I feel truly blessed to have had her advice and assistance.

Peggy Kornegger
Living with Spirit: Journey of a Flower Child (Dog Ear Publishing)

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Alice Peck certainly knows how to cut a rough stone into a polished diamond. The draft of my first book, The Provocative Qur'an, expressed my interfaith approach to self-help. But Alice, with her incomparable skill, converted the expression into an effective provocation to interest readers, an exciting instigation to stimulate self-building, and finally a prescription for unifying human beings with their humanity. It has been fun and fulfilling to work with Alice, and I am sure she will be a guiding star for many a book to come.

Farooq Husayn
The Provocative Qur’an (American Hegira Publishing)

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Alice Peck was instrumental in crafting fundamental and creative aspects of story structure into Contra Alliance: Book I—Shadows of the Past. I needed a capable editor to shape my plot and vision into a cohesive, professional product. Thankfully, I crossed paths with Alice. In the role of editor, she delivered analysis, guidance, and insight, which transformed my drafted manuscript into a real book.

Tom Kolega
Contra Alliance: Book I—Shadows of the Past (BCH Fulfillment & Distribution)

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Alice Peck has a rare mixture as an editor. She works from both her head and her heart. Her work is more than a profession--it is a passion. When Alice agrees to take on a project she gives her heart and soul to it.

Jamie J. Stilson
The Power of Ugly (Harmon Press)

When I discovered that Alice not only read my book, but closely read it, lingering over passages I'd lingered over for years, I felt as if she and I were hikers on a trail, bound to each other by a common landscape. I felt undeniably at home with her—and would encourage anyone to set forth with her.

Mark Schimmoeller
Slowspoke: A Unicyclist’s Guide to Travel (Currently on submission to publishers by Ryan Fischer-Harbage of The Fischer Harbage Agency)

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Buddha Standard Time: Awakening to the Possibilities of Now
Non-fiction by Lama Surya Das
HarperOne, 2011

The Shadow Catcher
A memoir by Hipolito Acosta
Atria, 2012

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The Guardian Poplar: A Memoir of Deep Roots, Journey, and Rediscovery
Chase Nebeker Peterson (Foreword by Cornel West)
University of Utah Press, 2012

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Code of the Forest
A novel by Jonathan Edward Buchan
Joggling Board Press, 2012

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Roaring Twenties: Navigating the Milestones between Eighteen and Thirty
Non-fiction by Hannah Seligson
St. Martin’s, Estimated publication date: 2012

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Ted Merwin
Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli
NYU Press, 2012

If you are a careful reader of acknowledgment pages and “special thanks” credits, you’ll find that Alice Peck has more than twenty years of experience working with authors, and has guided dozens of first-time novelists and nonfiction writers beginning at every stage—concept, proposal, first draft, publisher’s revisions, or final draft—to completed and submission-ready manuscripts. Authors Alice has worked with have been published by Atria, Avon, Ballantine, Broadway Books, Cider Mill Press, Citadel, Crown, Da Capo Press, Harper Collins, HarperOne, Hyperion, MIT Press, NAL, Permanent Press, Praeger, and Random House, as well as independent publishers.

Alice is also the author and editor of two anthologies published by SkyLight Paths. The Detroit Free Press called Next to Godliness: Finding the Sacred in Housekeeping “a cultural landmark exploring our changing attitudes about home.” Bread, Body, Spirit: Finding the Sacred in Food has been the subject of several food blogs and radio programs. California Bookwatch called it “A poignant and thoughtful title, highly recommended.” Alice is currently collaborating with Resa Alboher on a third anthology about finding the sacred in healing.

Before shifting her focus to publishing, Alice worked as a creative executive in film and television, acquiring books and helping writers develop them into scripts. She also story-produced and wrote documentary and reality series for networks including MTV (Made; Engaged and Underage) and Bravo (The It Factor). As David Brown’s director of development, Alice acquired and developed the Academy Award–nominated A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin for film and stage.