As the author of 43 books, including The Art and Craft of Storytelling and The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children, I have in-depth experience in both writing and editing fiction and non-fiction. In addition, I serve regularly on the faculty at the Big Sur Writing Workshop and the Big Sur Children's Writing Workshop.

I work with published and unpublished authors of fiction and narrative non-fiction-as well as middle grade fiction and young adult novels-offering editorial help with plot, character, style, structure and story.

For each manuscript, I do substantial line editing (if necessary), make editorial comments on the page (from sparse to extensive, depending on need) and write a separate detailed critique.

Note: I know from personal experience that pointing out a problem on a manuscript without suggesting a way to fix it isn't helpful. As a consequence, I offer practical solutions to plot, character and structure problems so you are not left holding a literary bag stuffed with discarded ideas.

If you're having trouble getting started, I also specialize in preparing your first chapter for submission to an agent or editor. As you know, these are the critical pages that can make or break an author. The first chapter must capture the reader's attention, maintain a compelling pace and create a hook intriguing enough to carry the reader into the remainder of the book. I can help you accomplish this.

Caveat Emptor: I tend to be straightforward in my comments. I don't believe that tiptoeing around issues is helpful when honesty is required.

Fees:

Please contact me for details on my editorial fees for your project.
Also, I'd appreciate it if you would mention "editing" in the subject line of your email.

Quotes from satisfied customers:

• Nancy Lamb's compassionate insight and astute ability made a Southern boy's long-winded story-telling into something worth reading. - Stuart Howell Miller, author of Prayer Warriors
  
• If you are serious about becoming a better writer, contact Nancy Lamb. You will learn more from her editing one piece of your work than reading a hundred books on how to write for children-unless that book happens to be Nancy's own "Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children." Nancy has edited two of my novels, and each time she did a fantastic job. Her feedback was both constructive and professional. I am a better writer today because of Nancy. - Karen Elizabeth Langford
  
• Nancy's not just a great editor, she's a story strategist. After reading the first 25 pages of my manuscript, she immediately zeroed in on the novel's strengths and weaknesses. Together, we transformed my protagonist into someone truly memorable. Nancy helped me visualize my protagonist in action, doing things only he could do, and from this, we developed a one-of-a-kind plot. One that I'm excited about finishing! 
  
• I am forever grateful that I took the time to consult Nancy's expertise while my novel was still work-in-progress. The path I was going down was a little off track, and I'd rather make a mid-course correction than finish something and scrap it. Nancy calls them like she sees them. She summarized my strengths and weaknesses as a writer, and given her direct communications style and enormous credentials, I felt confident I knew where I shined and where I needed to work harder. Today's publishing marketplace for new writers is uber competitive, requiring the entire manuscript to be near-perfect. I plan to use Nancy's editing services again before submitting my manuscript to agents.  - Susanne Losch
  
• Nancy's expert advice helped me find the theme and essence of my story.  By asking me questions, she clarified my hero's quest so that I could refine my plot into a outline with a clear beginning middle and end. By doing this, Nancy saved me hours of unfocussed writing time, helping me instead to write scenes that really mattered. Her line editing was amazing too. With her clear direction, I began to recognize needless wordiness and overwriting in my manuscript.  I hope to use her services again as I prepare my manuscript for submission. - Linda Galante
  
• Nancy Lamb is a meticulous, thoughtful and constructive editor who has a special way of coaxing the best out of a writer.  Even when you have to kill your darlings, it doesn't hurt . . . much.  
  
• Nancy helped me shape, polish and refine two novels in a way that helped me get the attention and help of the literary agent I'd targeted. - Ian Campbell, Managing Director, West Coast, The Abernathy MacGregor Group
  
• Whether you're writing your first novel or your fourtieth, you'll achieve your goals more swiftly if you borrow my editor fairy, Nancy Lamb. Nancy's magic blue pencil helped me identify the most powerful opening for my novel, demonstrated how cutting the word count intensifies the reading experience, and showed me what internal and external plot beats would earn my protagonist his place in the story.  The very next time I sent out my manuscript I was offered a contract by a ‘major deal' agent. - Lia Keyes