Testimonials
Gail Eastwood - sweet Regency romance
“Janet has a huge heart, and she cares deeply about shepherding each story brought to her to become the best it can be, guiding the author who may be lost in the wilderness of trying to write it. Her passion makes the skills she offers go so far beyond meticulous copy-editing and insightful story development. She supports the author in every way but also guides, prods, and pushes, which is exactly what a coach should do. I doubt the most recent book in my series would have ever reached completion without Janet’s gentle but insistent help on sorting out the story, her encouragement, and finally her editorial feedback to tighten the whole thing up. I strongly recommend her to any writer!”
Visit Gail Eastwood’s author page on Amazon
Maureen Patrick -
W/A Annie R. McEwen
“Editor Janet Jones Bann is a gift to the writers’ community. When an author thinks their work is done, that’s when Janet steps in to show just how much beauty, craft, and power is still available, held back by errors in grammar, punctuation, word choice, phrasing… And more consistently than any editor I’ve experienced, Janet does her job with tact, brevity, and supportiveness.”
Elf Ahearn -
Regency romance with a gothic twist.
“Janet Jones Bann was wonderful to work with. She’s super supportive, smart, and conscientious. Every one of her edits improved my story and made me look professional. In other words, she provided everything a writer needs from an editor.”
Visit The Eve of Love on Amazon
Also featured in The Eve of Love:
Eliza Carter - historical romance with heat, humor, and heart
“Janet is a thorough and on-point editor. She has a keen understanding of grammar and usage and an eye for details. She delivers constructive ideas for improving your manuscript, and best of all, she also gives you plenty of positive feedback! She always makes me feel more confident. Janet goes above and beyond.”
Sebastian Nothwell - queer historical romance
“I’m a repeat customer because I know I can trust Janet to copyedit quickly and effectively. She asks thought-provoking clarifying questions and has proven herself more than capable of handling any manuscript weirdness I hand over to her. Obscure and archaic vocabulary? Stylistic hyphenation? British English vs. American English? She can do it all!”
Kathleen Osborne
- Author and Founder of Transcendent Authors
“Janet did a fantastic job of proofreading the manuscript for the Transcendent Authors anthology entitled Winter – An Ending and a Promise.
I wrote two stories in it, “Tempted” and “Yiska’s Story,” and she caught things that four other sets of eyes hadn’t. She gave 125% of her attention to each individual author’s input and considered each author wrote in a different genre, which is amazing.
To ensure my stories were as good as they could be, I welcomed the suggestions to help improve my stories by rewording a sentence or phrase, making the stories grip the reader. It gave me a glimpse of her ability as a developmental editor and line editor. I highly recommend Janet’s services in all areas of editing.”
transcendent-authors.com
Dr. Jane Bolton
– www.DrJaneBolton.com
“Janet has been a joy to work with. I expect I will ask her for further work.”
L'Michelle Bleu L'eau
-"Our life stories open the mind to healing.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with Janet as an editor on four short stories and a draft of my novel. In each instance, her professionalism in asking me for clarification on a scene and her edits helped me to become more thoughtful in my revisions. She goes beyond listening to make recommendations that assist me to improve as a storyteller. Her work ethic and timeliness are part of the reason I recommended Janet to other writing colleagues. If one is seeking an editor, I believe they would benefit from Janet’s expertise.”
Visit Winter : an End and a Promise on Amazon
Alisa M. Libby - Young Adult Author
– Janet’s “Agent Pitch Package” Practicum Client for Book Coach Certification
“Janet has been a pleasure to work with from the start. Not only kind and professional, but she was able to see the strengths in my novel and infuse my synopsis and query with those strengths, whereas I was struggling with vague language. She also was good at getting the mood of my book across with a few well-chosen words, which seems obvious but somehow I hadn’t considered it. Her attention to detail in the agent search is also much appreciated – I made it a challenge for her, having already submitted this to so many agents! Overall, I feel more excited about restarting the querying process with this book. I’m looking forward to getting her thoughts on how to tighten/revise the first act of the book, too.”
Mary Ellen Blackwood – Contemporary Romance Author
– Janet’s “Manuscript Evaluation” Practicum Client for Book Coach Certification
I’ve written and published a few things. Learned a lot along the way from writer’s groups and critique partners. My craft has improved. But that is a slow road to success and not nourishing enough when you are seriously writing. Why almost trip along your “writer’s” path when you can gain an insightful, intelligent, detailed review of your story? Janet K. Jones Bann of Words for a Better World gives guidance you can understand, follow, and use to power up your book to make the best book you can write.
As writers, we get carried away with the arc of the story, the beginning, the END, but the devil is in the details – and we need to recognize that we need to carry the purpose of the story, the characters and their conflicts, as well as the reader on every page. It is hard for us to see in our own typed words what is missing on the page, what we glossed over, as we naturally THINK it is there as we intended. Janet sees what is missing.
She sees what needs more development, whether it be characters or storyline, and she sees where we dropped the ball. Janet will detail issues that need revisiting whether it be a line, a chapter or the unifying threads through the story. We need professional eyes to help us ensure we get our story right.
Janet also shares what is right about your story and how you can maximize the positive aspects of your writing. I needed that feedback. It fostered my belief in what I thought of as “my voice” and how I should keep true to it. A huge validation for me.
At the end of her comprehensive pages of insight covering Overall Editorial Comments and Chapters Editorial Letter, I found a way to make my book the best it can be. Add to that a one-on-one review of her advice and her response to numerous questions I had at the end of which I had a path forged to getting down to work. I was actually excited about revisiting my characters and their story! Janet renewed my enthusiasm for my story and for my writing!