This is not my complete professional portfolio. It includes only titles that are relevant to the fiction editing, book and cover design, graphic design, and consulting side of my business. I also previously had a thriving academic editing business and have edited a wide variety of publications throughout the years. See more on my LinkedIn profile if you are interested.
The Little Book of Why
by Catherine Anne Russell
Children’s Read-Aloud
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback page layout and design and cover design.
Ged to Bed!
by Catherine Anne Russell
Children’s Read-Aloud
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback page layout and design and cover design.
The Pearls of Wisdom Series
The Pond of Reflection, The Hyrax Song, and The Zoe Chai Seed
by Catherine Anne Russell
Juvenile/Children’s Christian Fiction
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback page layout and design and cover design.
Carpenter Wanted: Two Years in Guatemala
by Brian Doran
Edited and with an introduction by Christine Doran
Memoir
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback page layout and design and cover design.
Janell did a really lovely job on the legacy project I published of my dad's diary and memoirs. It had a complex interior with various parts but she helped create maps and put it all together beautifully. She also brought the vision I had of a cover to life perfectly and the finished product is something I'm absolutely delighted with.
Your Next Chapter: Dream It. Design It. Live It. Book and Companion Journal
by Christine Stallard
Self-Help
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback page layout and book shepherding.
Designed by Distraction
Small Art Business
Services Provided: Logo design, graphic design, and web design/consulting.
The 30th Anniversary Anthology of Blue Ridge Writers
by the Blue Ridge Writers 30th Anniversary Anthology Committee
Literature and Poetry
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback page layout and design, cover design, and book shepherding.
From Fat to Free: How to End Your Toxic Relationship with Food
by Elizabeth Lizberg
Weight Loss
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback page layout and design and book shepherding.
From Fat to Free Action Plan Journal
by Elizabeth Lizberg
Weight Loss
Services Provided: Paperback and PDF page layout and design and book shepherding.
The Superglue to Sales
by LoriAnne Reeves
Small Business
Services Provided: Ebook page layout and design.
The Girl to His Left
by Stephen P. Learned
Historical Fiction
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback book formatting and book cover design and book shepherding.
Stephen P. Learned
Author
Janell E. Robisch of Speculations Editing did a suburb job formatting my novel, The Girl To His Left. I had been through a series of editing, and what I needed was someone to help me finalize a cover and publish on Amazon KDP, both ebook and paperback. From my research, I found that most self-publish vendors steer you in the direction of package deals which include some kind of assistance you probably don’t need. That’s not true with Janell. Plus, she doesn’t farm out the work, resulting in higher charges. I found her pricing (a la carte) very competitive. For my cover, I had selected a photograph after spending hours scanning stock photos online. But I needed some photo-shop skills to make the photograph work by adding a Vietnam Huey helicopter in the upper right corner. Janell did that for me. She formatted my Word document to meet the KDP requirements. We encountered a glitch and she quickly addressed the problem. She’s knowledgeable, prompt, and reasonable. I will use her again if I have the opportunity.
The Great Trade
by F. David Ford
Financial Thriller
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback formatting and book cover design.
F. David Ford
I would like to thank Janell for her outstanding assistance in formatting my ebook and paperback as well as creating a fantastic cover for the books. She was professional and extremely helpful. Moreover, she was very responsive and the work was completed ahead of schedule. Thanks again Janell.
3001
by Ginger Lee (work facilitated by Augustin Kendall of Clarify Editing)
Science Fiction Romance
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback formatting.
Montana Maverick: Unexpected Tales from a Life of Adventure
by Gary E. Kraske
Creative Nonfiction/Memoir
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback formatting, book cover design, and book shepherding.
From the Horse’s Point of View
by Debbie Steglic
Nonfiction/Horse Behavior
Services Provided: Copyediting/line editing, ebook and paperback formatting, book cover design, and book shepherding.
Janell did an amazing job editing my book. She has a great talent when it comes to making the book flow.
Janell also formatted my book for paper back and Kindle. I also had Janell design my book cover, and it turned out absolutely beautiful! We even ended up publishing my book a week and a half ahead of schedule! I appreciate Janell’s patience with me and all of my questions as I was learning the whole process. Thanks you, Janell, for helping my book come to life!
Hush Now
by AZ Kelvin
Cozy Mystery
Services Provided: Ebook conversion and formatting.
The overwhelming amount of electronic book readers out on the market today make formatting ePub files a complex and troublesome issue for the average author. I chose Speculations Editing to do the job through industry recommendations and the personal touch of her initial correspondence. The converted manuscript of Hush Now is complete in content and nicely organized. The visual presentation is clean yet comfortable with a good variety of reader interface options. I am very pleased with the finished product. Many thanks to Janell Robisch of Speculations Editing for her help in formatting the ePub files of Hush Now. I look forward to working with her in the future.
More Than Marches
by Len Morse
Nonfiction/Music
Services Provided: Copyediting.
KT Rising Chronicling a Family’s Lives 2
by GW Wayne
Women’s/Historical Fiction/Epistolary
Services Provided: Developmental editing, copyediting/line editing (through a subcontract with Eats, Shoots, Edits), ebook and paperback book formatting, and ebook and paperback book cover design.
Speculations Editing Services provided me with remarkable skill and professionalism that sculpted and polished my novel, KT Rising, impressively. Janell Robisch presented and executed an efficient schedule from initial review to cover preparation that afforded me that objective, insightful eye every author should welcome. My hook grabs immediately, the flow and logic are expertly tuned, and the conclusion pointedly anticipates my third work in my series about KT Cantori. Ms. Robisch also executed an excellent cover that reflects my main character and her development precisely. I will certainly return to her for my last novel in this trilogy.
I married a Park Ranger and became a Park Wife: Hear me, Hear me…
by Phel Jacobsen
Memoir
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback book formatting and general consulting.
Little did I know the first afternoon I joined the newly organized meeting of the Skyline division of the Blue Ridge Writers' Group that Janell, the spokesperson, would become a valuable asset to me in the publication of my first book, Park Wife. As an inexperienced author in the wild world of publication, I was led down a path of confusion and inconsideration by an incompetent publisher. Her pleasant demeanor, her impressive competence, her willingness to advise me and then her fair compensation gave me the lift I needed to rescue my book. I can't thank her enough for the outstanding improvement she accomplished with reformatting my memoir. She did a fantastic job and she did it according to the timeline she provided. Lisa and I are continually impressed with her formatting skills, her quick eye for errors and her suggestions for areas that could use improvement. We will readily recommend her to self-publishing authors. Her knowledge of the publishing industry is not only impressive, but gives the writer a sense of security. She took a heavy weight off the shoulders of an elderly first time author. Lisa and I can't thank her enough! We're proud of my book and feel so much more comfortable in accepting the praises that readers are submitting.
I decided to rebrand my business, and I hired Janell to create a logo and banners for my website and social media pages. My vision of how this should look wasn't fully formed, yet she took my ideas and created something that matched my vision. She was responsive to all my questions, suggestions, and criticisms, and her enthusiasm and creativity shone through at every stage of the process. She is now my go-to graphic designer.
Time Management for Small Business Win the Hour, Win the Day
by Kris Ward
Nonfiction/Business
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback book formatting and book shepherding.
The Secret of Their Midnight Tears
The Secret of Their Midnight Tears 1
by Austin Gisriel
Historical Fiction/World War II
The Boys We Knew The Secret of Their Midnight Tears 2
by Austin Gisriel
Historical Fiction/World War II
I’ll Remember You All
The Secret of Their Midnight Tears 3
by Austin Gisriel
Historical Fiction/World War II
Services Provided: Ebook and paperback book cover design.
Janell Robisch’s cover for my World War II novel, The Boys We Knew, captured its mood perfectly. Janell asked the right questions, provided detailed answers, and was always prompt in communicating with me, qualities that I value even more highly than her outstanding ability as a graphic artist. She worked with me as a person rather than merely turning out a project. I will call on her again without hesitation.
Clean House: A fairy tale journey moving from squalor to a cleaner and better life
by Al Berman
Children’s
Services Provided: Ebook formatting.
Lily Bowers and the Uninvited Guest
Lily Bowers #1
by Jess Lohmann
Middle-Grade Fantasy
Services Provided: Developmental editing.
Virtually Kissing Frogs
by Julie Willson
Nonfiction/Online Dating
Services Provided: Interior design/formatting for print and ebook and book shepherding.
Janell was the perfect match for my first book project! She patiently and diligently answered every single one of my questions, suggested several options for fonts, applied hearts and lilypads as bullets, and found graphics to match my theme. She made sure I was fully satisfied at each phase of the process, even accommodating several late content changes. I especially appreciated Janell’s advice on kerning/spacing and overall layout. To my delight, she was also able to maintain nearly all of the creative formatting and images from the paperback for the eBook-bonus! Her creative design work and value provided far exceeded my expectations. I am happy to refer Janell to others and hope to collaborate with her again in the future!
Dare by Diane Pelz
Contemporary Romance
Services Provided: Developmental/substantive editing (job editorially managed by Romance Refined, with developmental editing by Janell E. Robisch, Speculations Editing Services).
Janell did a fantastic job with this developmental/substantive edit. She presented information in the editorial letter clearly, and I especially appreciated her use of quotes from and links to other sources to support her own input, which established her as a well-versed authority on each subject. The many comments throughout the manuscript honed in on issues big and small to give the author clear direction. I feel like I'm a pretty picky editor, and I don't think I would have done anything different with this edit … I hope we can work together again in the future. [For Dare by Diane Pelz, Editorially managed by Romance Refined, developmental editing by Janell E. Robisch, Speculations Editing Services]
The Hive Series The Matriarch Saved,The Matriarch Settled, and The Matriarch Reunited by J. Y. Olmos
Science Fiction/Romance
Lux University by J. Y. Olmos
Science Fiction/Romance
Property of Conti Enterprises by J. Y. Olmos
Dark Paranormal Romance
Chosen Between Book 1 by J. Y. Olmos
Dark Paranormal Romance
Services Provided: Copyediting/line editing with manuscript evaluation.
As a new indie writer, I was unsure of the level of editing I needed on my trilogy. Starting with developmental editing, my fear was trusting someone to make changes without changing the story. Janell immediately put me at ease. Her ability to see inconsistencies in each individual book, as well as the trilogy as a whole, not only helped me to create a more satisfying story but made it a faster, smoother and dare I say, more exciting read.
Janell did an excellent job of identifying areas of my novel that needed improvement, greater detail, or a complete reworking. She provided references to articles supporting her comments and offering greater detail to help me implement her recommendations. I appreciated the fact that her editing services included the opportunity to ask questions to get further clarification of her feedback.
Janell did a great job of balancing positive feedback and suggestions for improvement. As I pursue my next writing project, it's helpful for me to know what I am already doing well, in addition to being aware of those areas on which I need to work a little harder.
Janell's editorial process was thorough, and her suggestions detailed and well-supported. She even asked for a copy of the book that preceded this one in the series, so she understood more of the backstory as she was providing her feedback.
She wasn't afraid to challenge me to make major changes in the storyline to make the book more compelling.
My science fiction novel, Survival Sacrifices, is much more engaging because of the developmental editing services I received from Speculations Editing. Thanks so much for your help!
Harriers by B. Iver Bertelsen
Sports Fiction/Coming of Age Fiction
Services Provided: Developmental editing, copyediting/line editing, book formatting, cover design, and book shepherding.
Janell has excellent editing skills. At every stage of the editing process, she was thorough and concise. Her comments and suggestions were clear and right on point. Janell greatly enhanced the texture and flow of my manuscript, and I very much enjoyed working with her. I highly recommend her to my fellow authors, published and unpublished.
Janell Robisch brought my manuscript to life. Her edits and suggestions are always spot on. It’s amazing what she did for my story—taking it from good to great!
I really appreciate Janell’s ability to identify world-building details that need to be clarified for the reader. Six beta readers missed those details. This is why you have an editor! I definitely feel like she’s helped me make the MS stronger.
Janell Robisch’s editing skills are concise and comprehensive. Her quick, instrumental feedback on my manuscript gave my work the polish it needed to be ready for publishing. I’ll definitely enlist her for my next work.
It's refreshing to find an editor who also takes the time to educate her clients on the editing and publishing process. Janell goes the extra mile to share valuable insights and experiences in her blog and social media shares. She also has found the time (does she sleep?) to facilitate a writers' group in her hometown, the Skyline Writers' Circle. Her editing skills are top-notch, and she gives "gentle" advice for fine tuning manuscripts for publication. It is a joy to work with her!