What clients say

Joanne has edited two books for me, the first two instalments in my dark fantasy series. I was constantly amazed at the observations she provided that seemed so clear after she made them, but which I hadn’t seen in multiple rewrites. These were not simply cosmetic (though here as well Joanne really helped to polish my prose); they were structural. Joanne brought deep analysis to the work. She could see where a character said something out of line, or a scene happened out of sync, or an element of the plot was left free-standing and floating in the wind. Joanne brought everything together tighter, clearer, and with sparkle and shine. I would highly recommend her to any author in need of a top-class editor. — Douglas Bain, The Race to the Blackened Nevers  • Gold Medal winner in the 2019 SPR Book Awards  •  Finalist in the Fantasy (Adult Fiction) category of the 22nd Annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, the 2020 Feathered Quill Book Awards (Science Fiction/Fantasy), the 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (Fantasy), and the 2020 Readers’ Favorite Awards (Fiction – Fantasy – General)
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I am very impressed with the mountain of notes and corrections, and the quality of your suggestions. From what I have read so far, every single one was warranted and/or needed and will definitely lift the final product onto a much higher level. I know you do this for a living, but still – thank you very much for “walking into and through my life” and making what others will read so much better. — Hubert Weinfurter, The Story of Opa
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Joanne’s editing was a remarkably positive experience for me. From the outset, I sensed she was on my side and her edits were alway thoughtful, considerate and supportive. After she was done her work, I realized I had a much improved manuscript — and still had my confidence as a writer. It was a wonderful experience to work with such a talented editor. I highly recommend Joanne to any writer looking for an objective and comprehensive edit. — Robert Hayes, Zhòh — The Clan of the Wolf
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Joanne was professional, thorough and timely. Nothing got past her keen eye for detail. Her criticisms were always constructive and positive. She was able to find and fix flaws, both grammatical and stylistic, while staying true to my story and easily adapting to my style. She has an instinctive ability to find the right words. I would highly recommend her editing services. Be prepared to smack your forehead and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?’ many times. — C.L. Anderson, Love Ledgers: Confessions of a Plain Jane Accountant
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Joanne, you are a true professional AND kind, patient, smart, funny… Doesn’t really get better than that! Thank you again. Looking forward to working together for book #2…  — Kathryn Jefferies, Awake: Education for Enlightenment
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A writer needs a trusted and reliable editor who can create a safe space for the inner work to emerge to write well. Joanne was a patient, insightful and supportive editor in this regard. We had unique challenges proofreading different versions of the manuscript as we moved to publication, and she was painstaking in her attention to each detail at every stage in the process. I would welcome an opportunity to work with her again. — Michael Jones, The Soul of Place
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You were literally the first freelancer we thought of bringing back when the project re-started. Your work was excellent and you were terrific to work with. — Greg Ioannou, president Colborne Communications; online ESL curriculum module
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Her editing work is superlative. She… was able to absorb and apply often subtle and sometimes devilish editorial demands unique to our client…. Solid as rock, she was always on time, on schedule, and her work was outstanding. In the end, she joined me in final proofreading — a task I assign only to the best of the best.

I also engaged her services in designing a website, brochure and business card, all of which I am extremely pleased with. Joanne is very personable and a terrific addition to any team. — Alison Braid-Skolski, lead on Hansard editing team for the Northwest Territories Legislature
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I am a second-language English writer who greatly appreciates an editor who accepts and welcomes one’s themes and voice. Joanne was this editor. At no point did she unexpectedly change my manuscript or alter my voice, and that was simply AMAZING!!! She gave me courage to get to the finish, like a marathon runner: exhausted but definitely elated! And she made my writing clear to English readers. Joanne also helped me with my query letter; I already have some concrete prospects for being published! — Lawrelynd Bowin, Swimming in a Red Sea
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Joanne was very caring when she took me on as a client. Her comments on my manuscript were thoughtful, significant, and worded in a way that helped to fuel continuing forward momentum, like refuelling an airplane in the air! It was clear to me that she is sensitive to the emotion and toil of the creative process. I appreciated that! — Suzanne Crone, Spin
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Joanne did a great job editing my novella. She not only performed editing services but gave me great feedback that allowed me to shape my story more constructively. I would recommend her highly. — Sharon K, Que Sera, Sara
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I hired my colleague Joanne Haskins to review a long-term developmental edit that was nearing completion. Her unbiased opinion was exactly what both the author and I needed, and she even returned the job early! I’m sure authors will benefit from Joanne’s insights as well. — Susan Uttendorfsky, owner, Adirondack Editing
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I enjoyed working with Joanne. Communication was swift, she could work on short notice, and the turnaround time to get my edited manuscript back was very short. She edited my work according to the standards I gave her, and her work was very thorough. English is my second language, and she succeeded in catching all those little mistakes non-native English speakers make. She was a great help, and I would gladly recommend working with her. — Maaike Verbruggen, University of Oslo, Master’s thesis
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I was fortunate to be able to secure the services of Joanne Haskins to design the layout for the Spanish translation of my book within a very tight timeline. Joanne quickly rearranged her schedule in order to accommodate me. The project was completed and delivered with high standards under extreme pressure. Joanne provided helpful recommendations to solve issues and great customer service that included ongoing status updates. It was a pleasure and an honour to collaborate with her. I would highly recommend her services and look forward to working with Joanne and her team again. — Sue Kenney, Mi Camino
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I have really appreciated your fresh perspective on this material, excellent handling of processes and creative thought-provoking writing! It has been a pleasure working with you on this and I know the report will serve us well in engaging community partners and residents alike in dialogue on the topic. — Janice Greco, project manager, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit “Telling the Story” report
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I can highly recommend Joanne as a careful, thoughtful editor, who learned a complicated style book in short order and was reliable and helpful down to the last minute of a difficult publication schedule. She is a pleasure to work with. — Susan Charters, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Who’s Who
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I hired Joanne as a subcontractor to take on a manuscript edit…. She was on time, professional, and did an amazingly thorough edit…. She’s the first person I’ll think of when I need to subcontract again and I highly recommend her. — Alethea Spiridon, BeCreative Communications
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Joanne is a prompt and thorough editor. Her keen eye and thoughtful approach in the copy edit of my book improved its final polish. A great gal to work with! — Alexis Marie Chute, Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing and Pregnancy After Loss
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Joanne’s attention to detail and ability to track, check, and correct the items in both the glossary and the credits pages were invaluable to me. I also appreciated the care she took while meeting a tight deadline. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her. — Dawn Hunter, Mark My Words, Biology 1st Canadian edition, McGraw-Hill Ryerson
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Good editors can be difficult to find, and reliable, easy-to-work with editors are even more difficult to find. I was fortunate to find both in Joanne. Her prompt, professional and excellent work proved extremely valuable on a couple of projects. I would definitely recommend her for research, writing and editing work. — Robb MacDonald, MacComm Social Marketing
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Joanne pulled together a comprehensive communication package aimed at potential clients. Her work could only be described as superlative…. she thought about it as though it was her own business. She was insightful and focused, and paid attention to the most important elements we needed to convey. Her ability to gather information from a chaotic collection of disparate sources and transform it into clear, succinct prose has had a direct significant positive contribution to our sales. — Kevin Best, SunFish Solar
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For the past several years, Joanne has acted as copy editor for the Couchiching Conservancy News, a quarterly publication that is distributed to our members and the public. Her editorial skills have considerably improved the quality of our prose, both through ‘touching up’ our wording and grammar where needed, and by raising questions of clarity on occasion. Her work has been consistently timely and professional, and her personal interactions always positive and pleasant. — Ron Reid, Couchiching Conservancy executive director
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[Your editing was] the most comprehensive and helpful. I can’t see what you could approach differently or do better…. Thanks for coming through so quickly and reliably. — Lannie Messervey, editor of Edition, the newsletter for the Toronto branch of the Editors’ Association of Canada
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I’m impressed by her bang-on visual sense, her speedy but meticulous attention to detail, her ability to adapt quickly and hone in on the objective, her boundless enthusiasm for any task at hand, and the obvious pleasure she takes in working with others. — Carolyn Bishop, copy writer for Assembly Editors Group
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Joanne is a talented and speedy editor. Her work on a newsletter I produce made the newsletter much more readable and clear, and she turned it around very quickly. — David Haskins, Export Development Canada
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She singlehandedly researched, wrote, edited, designed, laid out and produced a 16-page colour booklet on natural lawn care for the City of Orillia. The booklet is easy to understand, easy to read, and very professional looking. It has received many compliments and has gone a long way to enhance residents’ understanding of the pesticide issue and to promote the work of EAC itself. It was a pleasure to work with Joanne, as she provided intelligent substance, backed by solid research, and always presented her views in a pleasant, well-spoken manner. — Andrew Barnett, chair of the City of Orillia’s Environmental Advisory Committee
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What a great job you did on my piece about the cycling adventure; it makes much more sense when you are going over it. — Gayle Carlyle, outreach coordinator for The Couchiching Conservancy
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I am blown away by your observations and attention to detail. — Dan Roy, website manager for Holistica Ottawa