Louise Bernikow

When Michael Korda asked me to help "put some feeling" into a rather dry theatrical memoir he was publishing at Simon & Schuster, he had no idea he was launching a second career. Working with director John Houseman on his first autobiography, "Run-Through" marked the beginning of some thirty years as a personal editor, book doctor, ghost writer and writing therapist.
My clients run the gamut from the fledgling to the very well published. Some come for a quick "read," but most stay for months, glue-ing scraps together, sanding rocky transitions, finding and re-finding an authentic voice. I followed Houseman by working with a political prisoner, am responsible for adapting nutritionist Gary Null's radio shows to pages between covers, have helped an anthropologist translate her thesis into a thrilling soon-to-be published book and guided a prominent lawyer as he recounted his courtroom derring-do on behalf of catastrophically injured people.Most of my recent clients have been writing memoirs. Debra Monroe is writing about motherhood and race; Irene Vilar is about to publish a chilling abortion memoir and Nancy Bachrach, once an advertising executive, is now the proud author of "The Center of the Universe," published by Knopf on Mothers' Day 2009.

WORKSHOP:WRITING A BOOK PROPOSAL THAT SELLS

Small, casual three-hour workshops drawing on my experience as a networked-in, tasteful, productive New York writer. Forget the formulas: proposals are as individual as the books themselves. The workshop covers form and voice,how to define and position your subject. The small group, three hour format allows for considerable one-on-one help and our track record -- books finding publishers -- over many years and even in a difficult economy, is extraordinary. See EVENTS PAGE for current workshops.