Derek McFadden
Professional
Editor
The Proof is in the...
I was an unpublished author rejected by seventy-nine agents (trust me, I had a spreadsheet). I was introduced to Derek via an agent I'd approached who gave me a chance. She turned my manuscript over to Derek who saw potential no one else had.
After some back and forth with Derek and myself the agent agreed to represent me. We got a two-book deal and the first book was a Finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American. Book two won Killer Nashville's Silver Falchion Award as Book of the Year for 2020.
Mileage may vary as they say in the car industry, but Derek's thoughtful, meticulous editing and coaching helped me to achieve my dream of becoming an award-winning published author.
Bottom Line: He is still my editor of choice when I need to tighten a good story, to make it even better.
Bradley Harper MD FCAP
COL (Ret) US Army
Author, A Knife in the Fog and Queen's Gambit
It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Derek McFadden. After he did an extensive and excellent edit of my book, and after I made all the changes, I returned to his expertise. I found him available for discussion, open, and honest in his evaluation. He had great suggestions for improvement and his suggestions offered more clarity to the story. He was able to identify one chapter that slowed down and even interrupted the flow of the story. On his second full edit, I found he was once again meticulous in his evaluation. It has always been a joy working with Derek and I highly recommend his exceptional skills as an editor. He has a gift.
-Sandra Montanino
"Derek catches the little details and mistakes--but where he's truly helpful is on the big, structural fixes to a novel. The hardest bits. And that makes all the difference."
-Guy Bergstrom
