Editorial Freelancers Association
Member Profile
Diana Courtney-Smith
The Novel Wordsmith
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by stories that cover the duality of life and death, light and dark, joy and fear. Perhaps it’s my Gemini sensibilities, but tales that live in liminal spaces have always captured my imagination. For that reason, my whole life has been spent in celebration and support of mystery and supernatural authors in all the subgenres. Some favorites include Neil Gaiman, John Connolly, Sarah Addison Allen, Elly Griffiths, Barbara Erskine, Charlaine Harris, Joe Hill, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allen Poe, Anna Lee Huber, Simone St. James, Sujata Massey, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Brett McKay, and countless others.
For over 25 years, I also worked in retail, academia, IT, and non-profit areas doing learning and development writing, editing, and content development. I’m still drawn to anything that helps a person learn and grow in professional and personal development. I’ve done a fair amount of ghostwriting on a variety of topics, including mentoring, women’s leadership, relationship building, and communication.
I support authors via developmental and line editing, book doctoring, manuscript evaluations, beta reading, and professional book reviews. I work closely with authors to refine their manuscripts, focusing on plot structure, character development, pacing, and overall storytelling, providing detailed, constructive feedback on how to bring out the best in their stories. My passion for mystery and supernatural genres also allows me to focus on plot intricacies, imaginative worlds and atmosphere, and character development. For non-fiction writers, I make sure that you take your readers on a learning journey that will resonate and stick with them long after they put the book down.
Pooler, GA
US
Email: dlcourtney.smith@gmail.com
More information: View PDF file
Years in the field: 25
Years freelancing: 5
Diana Courtney-Smith
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by stories that cover the duality of life and death, light and dark, joy and fear. Perhaps it’s my Gemini sensibilities, but tales that live in liminal spaces have always captured my imagination. For that reason, my whole life has been spent in celebration and support of mystery and supernatural authors in all the subgenres. Some favorites include Neil Gaiman, John Connolly, Sarah Addison Allen, Elly Griffiths, Barbara Erskine, Charlaine Harris, Joe Hill, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allen Poe, Anna Lee Huber, Simone St. James, Sujata Massey, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Brett McKay, and countless others.
For over 25 years, I also worked in retail, academia, IT, and non-profit areas doing learning and development writing, editing, and content development. I’m still drawn to anything that helps a person learn and grow in professional and personal development. I’ve done a fair amount of ghostwriting on a variety of topics, including mentoring, women’s leadership, relationship building, and communication.
I support authors via developmental and line editing, book doctoring, manuscript evaluations, beta reading, and professional book reviews. I work closely with authors to refine their manuscripts, focusing on plot structure, character development, pacing, and overall storytelling, providing detailed, constructive feedback on how to bring out the best in their stories. My passion for mystery and supernatural genres also allows me to focus on plot intricacies, imaginative worlds and atmosphere, and character development. For non-fiction writers, I make sure that you take your readers on a learning journey that will resonate and stick with them long after they put the book down.
