Joan Steinau Lester

EXPERIENCED WRITING COACH AND EDITOR

"Working with Joan has helped me tremendously, both personally and professionally. It has boosted my self-esteem more than years of therapy and helped me realize my lifelong goal of getting a book accepted for publication!"
Marti Kheel, Ph.D., author of Nature Ethics: An Ecofeminist Perspective (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008).

TURN YOUR IDEAS INTO PRINT

Do you have a book that's been festering?
A journal article that just won't jell?

Customized coaching sessions--covering everything from How to Find the Narrative Arc to How to Focus and Publish--will help you realize your writing dreams. Dr. Joan Lester has successfully coached clients for over twenty years.

Clients come with a variety of issues. Many arrive with fragments that they've written over the years and stuffed in drawers. Now is the time to stitch them all together.

Or maybe you need assistance figuring out what the theme of your writing project really is.

Perhaps you're at the book proposal stage and want guidance in how to create a winning package or find an agent. With ties to academic, commercial, feminist, African American, and literary communities, Dr. Lester can help you place your work.

"Joan is simply the best! She provides warmth, encouragement, and a killer editorial eye, not to mention her vast knowledge of the writer’s path, which she generously shares. Joan helped me turn years of ruminating about law and equality into published articles that have created a national audience for my ideas. What a gift!"
Charlotte Fishman, attorney and Director, Pick up the Pace

Contact JoanLester@​JoanLester.com to schedule a session in-person or on the telephone. Whatever your writing need--from book proposal to editorial critique--Joan Lester can help you create a compelling manuscript.

PROFESSIONAL EDITING

Dr. Lester also edits book and essay-length projects. Her specialty is organizing and trimming. Vigorous pruning will improve most prose. Clarify yours by contacting JoanLester@​JoanLester.com

"Joan is one of the best editors I've had. She's able to see big picture issues, helps with structural problems and is just as wonderful when it comes to fine-tuning sentences. Her uncanny ear has untangled many of my knottier paragraphs."
Marissa Moss, best-selling author of "Amelia's Notebook," "Max's Logbook," and others.

Joan Lester is a compassionate and wise editor who can guide you through every imaginable kind of writing obstacle. From vision to crafting that final draft, she will see you through the entire writing and publishing process. Skilled with academics, journalists, novelists, memoirists, essayists, and authors who write in multiple genres, Dr. Lester can help your work shine.