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What They're Saying
“I didn’t know what to expect when I contacted Peter. I was in the final edits of my nonfiction book, The Holly, and didn’t have a lot of time. I wasn’t sure if a quick assessment would be possible. After looking at a sample and having a conversation, Peter helped identify what might be needed and how he could help, and he was right. He is a careful reader, he has a great eye and is a natural at seeing what is needed where. Little things add up to big things in editing and his suggestions were spot on every time. I couldn't give him a higher recommendation.”
Julian Rubenstein
Author of The Holly
“When you're halfway through writing your book and you know there are tough questions about it that you're not sure how to deal with, go to Peter. When you are so tied up in the book's minutiae thats it's all trees and no forest, go to Peter. When you are spinning your wheels because you are not sure how to weave together complex narrative threads, go to Peter. That way you will be sure to end up with a better book.”
Craig Unger
Author of American Kompromat and House of Trump, House of Putin
“I want to offer my sincere thanks to my earliest editor and book doctor Peter Alson, who simply is the best. He visited my secret pains and joys often, and probably knows my manuscript as well as I do, but he never left the slightest fingerprint to reveal his visit!!”
François Clemmons
Author of Officer Clemmons
“As a writer of non-fiction books, memoir, fiction, magazine pieces, television pilots and screenplays, Alson brings his impressive toolkit to critiquing and developing others’ work. He’s got a great sense of narrative and composition, an unerring ear for character and dialogue, and can cut to the essence of what’s working and what’s not in a story.”
Amy Handelsman
Film executive & memoirist
“Peter Alson has a keen eye and ear for language. He’s a careful reader, always looking for what works and what doesn’t. With a caring and generous spirit, he clearly communicates his thoughts with the sole intent of improving the work.”
Esther Amini
Author of Concealed, Memoir of a Jewish-Iranian Daughter Caught Between the Chador and America
“I am not overstating things when I tell you that my memoir, Sea Change: A Man, a Boat, and a Journey Home, would not have been published without the incredible editorial guidance that Peter supplied. He understood what my book could be when I was at a loss as to what to do with it, and he helped guide me to where I needed to go. What I most appreciate about Peter as an editor is that he didn’t try to change the essential qualities of my voice but rather helped me figure out how to shape the story so that it worked better dramatically and structurally. If I knew how he did it, I would have done it myself. But that’s why you need him: because he knows things you don’t, and he imparts his knowledge and wisdom with passion and meticulous care. Whether you need help with big picture structural stuff or just want a more granular line-by-line tightening and honing of your work, you couldn’t place yourself in better hands.”
Maxwell Taylor Kennedy
Author of Make Gentle the Life of this World: the life of Robert Kennedy and Danger’s Hour: the Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her
“I just signed a publishing contract for my first novel, American Dreams, which will be released in the second half of 2019. This wouldn’t have happened without the guidance, advice and wisdom that Peter supplied in abundance. He not only helped make my book better, he made me a better writer.”
Ken Bromberg
Author of American Dreams
“Like a tall frosted whiskey glass from a drunk I’d like to forget. No formula, just straight up, Peter Alson delivered every goddamn time. If you want a New York editor with a library behind the veil, call him.”
Steven Paul Lansky
Author of The Break
“After I turned in my manuscript to Atria Books (a division of Simon and Schuster), my editor told my agent they would not be able to publish it. He said regretfully that the changes needed were so substantial that he did not see a viable solution. Peter was subsequently contacted by my agent who asked him if he could help fix the book. In four months, Peter helped me completely restructure and rewrite the manuscript sentence by sentence. The book went on not only to be published but to become a bestseller for which I still receive royalties twelve years later.”
Nolan Dalla
Co-author One of a Kind
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