Testimonials
Melanie Spiller's editing has had a profound influence on my writing. Each time she's edited something I've written, I've learned something new about writing in general, about the piece she's editing, and about my own writing style. She has unearthed patterns within my writing that, once noted, have enabled me to break bad habits and to grow as a writer. I believe that most of us have someone who acts as our inspiration as we write--I find that I spend much of my time as I write asking myself "What would Melanie think of this?" I know for a fact that any success I've had as a writer can be directly attributed both to what I've learned from Melanie's work, and her ongoing editing of pieces as I write them.
Ken Getz
Senior Consultant; MCW Technologies, LLC
Author of Access Developer's Handbook Series (Sybex)
Melanie is an amazing editor. Totally professional, technically astute, and most importantly, she always cares about quality.
Paul Litwin
Principal, Deep Training & Litwin Consulting
Conference Chair, Microsoft ASP.NET Connections
Microsoft ASP.NET MVP
Melanie was the first development editor I ever worked with, and she taught me that a good editor can make a world of difference even to an experienced writer. She taught me so many things about good technical writing that I can't even list them all, but she's had a lasting and positive impression on my work. Her patient and careful attempts to correct my sloppy writing have ultimately benefited both me and my readers.
(Plus, she's hella fun at sushi restaurants.)
Mike Gunderloy
I just enjoy Melanie's posts so much, I wish she'd do it more frequently. One of my all-time favorite books about writing is Stephen King's "On Writing." Melanie's posts give me the same charge--they make me want to go back and rewrite stuff based on what I just learned. Powerful stuff.
Marc Orchant
Storyteller, VanDyke Software
Melanie Spiller is a brilliant editor. I was fortunate to work with her at the start of my writing career. She took some of the most awkward prose ever concocted by a native-English speaker and helped transform it into something bookworthy. I owe a lot to her compassionate tyranny and patience. Every aspiring writer should be so lucky as to work with Melanie on their first book.
Mary Chipman
Melanie Spiller, officially a "content consultant" but actually one of the most incredible gurus on technical writing I've ever encountered, has a blog that is mandatory reading for anyone who writes technical material for any audience.
Having been on the receiving end of edits from her, I can tell you, you'll never have anyone tougher look at your writing, nor anyone from whom you'll learn more, dosed with generous helpings of humor.
Don Keily
River Chaser (and technical author)
Melanie and I work with a lot of the same writers on projects and I bring her a few new writers every few months to "break in." The writers she works with become more organized, more thoughtful about the writing that they do, and they understand that good writing is worth the effort. I've seen "green" writers make significant improvements as they have worked with Melanie over time. As a developmental editor, she is far ahead of other editors I've worked with. I'm a professional editor, and I continue to learn from Melanie. If you've read testimonials on her Web site down to this point, you can stop wondering if she'll bring value to your project. She's worth your time and money.
Erik Ruthruff
A23 Consulting
Not only did Melanie make my words better, I learned more from Melanie about writing than I did anywhere else.
Peter Vogel
Principal, PH&V Information Services
As an editor, Melanie Spiller is highly skilled, thorough, and creative. Her attention to detail, her patience, persistence, and sense of humor helped to clarify beautifully what it was I intended to say. It is truly a pleasure to work with Melanie.
Karen Clark
Mezzo-Contralto
“You’ll get feedback on your work so that every time you write, it’s better, and each time you take on a writing assignment, you feel stronger.”
The above is a quote from Melanie’s Web site. I can say for myself that every word is true. Melanie not only edited my work (white papers for Microsoft) but she helped me develop skills in areas that needed work. Overall, I learn more from Melanie’s editing than I ever did at school.
Martin WP Reid
Co-author Access to SQL Server, published by Apress
Beginning Access 2003 VBA, published by Wrox Press
Sybex Technical Editor