What authors and agents are saying

  • Susan Elia MacNeal

    “Elana Seplow-Jolley is a fabulous editor—brilliantly practical, while at the same time thoughtful, passionate, insightful, and inspiring. I love working with her.”

    —Susan Elia MacNeal, NYT bestselling author of The Maggie Hope Mystery series

  • Lucy Cleland

    “As an agent who had the pleasure of sharing an author with Elana, I was impressed by her keen editorial eye, and her warm, organized approach to the whole publishing process. Authors, you’d be lucky to have her on your team!”

    —Lucy Cleland, agent at Kneerim Williams Associates

  • Toni Jensen

    “Elana is an editor who understands where a writer’s work is trying to go and how to get it there. She’s so good with both language and structure and believes deeply in the writers with whom she works. I could not have imagined a better editor to work with on my book, Carry.”

    — Toni Jensen, author of Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land

  • Victoria Skurnick

    “What makes Elana a splendid and rare editor isn’t only her editorial instinct—which is outstanding. It’s the fact that she provides the author with editorial notes that are on the money, and, uniquely in my experience, also gives a clear and comprehensive roadmap on how to put her changes into effect. If only she had been my editor in my writing days!”

    — Victoria Skurnick, agent at Levine Greenberg Literary

  • Emily Ballesteros

    “I can't recommend Elana enough! She helped me organize my writing into a competitive proposal and as a result I now have the book deal of my dreams! She brings industry expertise, insightful edits, and a very easy to work with personality. If you're deciding if it's worth it to take this step, it is. The accountability, the support, actually having a finished product at the end of it—do it, do it, do it!” 

    — Emily Ballesteros, author of Burnout Management, forthcoming from Dial Press

  • Robert H. Lieberman

    “One of the best and most sensitive editors I’ve ever worked with. Her skill in shaping a book and her attention to detail are extraordinary. She took a sprawling 700-plus page novel, found its core, and helped create a tight, fast-paced story. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

    — Robert H. Lieberman, author of The Boys of Truxton and director of Echoes of the Empire

  • Kristyn Potter

    “Elana is a gift to the publishing world—to authors both emerging and established. She takes the time to understand your goals with a story, sometimes looking deeper into you as an author and helping to pull stories out that haven’t yet been told. When starting out, especially with a memoir, I was unsure and not even certain that anyone would want to read it. But Elana helped me develop something bigger than I had initially created. Patient and wise, Elana is a great partner in the revision process—she knows her chops, genuinely cares about the authors she works with, and gently guides you in a stronger, more realized direction.”

    — Kristyn Potter, founder of Chez Nous & Left Bank Media