Service

I provide a highly professional service and I do so with absolute kindness and enthusiasm. I am unfailingly honest—in the end, it is my job to help you improve your work in the best way possible—but I always provide constructive feedback that takes your writing to the next level. I take deadlines seriously, respond to emails promptly, and value clear communication.

Quality

I have several years’ professional experience as an editor and translator of fiction, non-fiction, and academic writing, having worked on anything from trilogies and short stories to dissertations and theses, and from handbooks and blog posts to restaurant menus. As a writing coach, I have mentored fiction and non-fiction authors, academic researchers, and students.

Integrity

Being a writer myself, I understand the worries writers have regarding the intellectual property of their work. Keeping your work confidential and secure is a top priority for me; I treat your work with as much respect and care as I do my own. It goes without saying that everything discussed during any calls or coaching sessions is entirely confidential as well.

Passion

As an editor, a writing coach, a translator, a writer, and an avid reader with a degree in English literature, it is safe to say I am absolutely in love with language and what it can do. There is nothing I enjoy more than getting untold stories out of writers; helping writers find the right voice for their projects; and making sure they use their words in the best possible way.

On developmental editing

What is the top priority of a relationship between myself, the author, and my editor? Everything! Marielle is the perfect editor for me. She knows her craft. My three book series needed help in the story structure. Marielle did the developmental edit for each book and for the series overall. Her suggestions have been spot on. She has helped tighten my story and how I tell it by keeping me on track and consistent in my voice. Good job there, thanks!
Her communication has been outstanding. She's always been timely and quick to answer any of my questions. Just as important to me is her sense of humor. She understands.
One of my original concerns was my writing in American English and Marielle is in the Netherlands. No worries, she is proficient – way ahead of me. All in all, I'm a very happy camper. I look forward to a long relationship with her in my camp and hoping she'll stay with me through my writing career.

Randy L. Scott, the United States

2017-06-04T21:30:30+02:00

Randy L. Scott, the United States

On developmental editing What is the top priority of a relationship between myself, the author, and my editor? Everything! Marielle is the perfect editor for me. She knows her craft. My three book series needed help in the story structure. Marielle did the developmental edit for each book and for the series overall. Her suggestions have been spot on. She has helped tighten my story and how I tell it by keeping me on track and consistent in my voice. Good job there, thanks! Her communication has been outstanding. She's always been timely and quick to answer any of my questions. Just as important to me is her sense of humor. She understands. One of my original concerns was my writing in American English and Marielle is in the Netherlands. No worries, she is proficient – way ahead of me. All in all, I'm a very happy camper. I look forward to a long relationship with her in my camp and hoping she'll stay with me through my writing career.
On academic language coaching

Mariëlle worked fast and her language editing was thorough and careful. Her knowledge of my academic field (gender studies) was an added benefit, as she was able to spot the misspelling of an author's name. I really appreciate that, next to correcting mistakes in the text itself, she provided an overview of repeated spelling mistakes and explained the rules behind them. This approach allows you to actually 'learn from your mistakes' and hopefully avoid them in the future.

Katrine Smiet, the Netherlands

2016-08-17T18:37:41+02:00

Katrine Smiet, the Netherlands

On academic language coaching Mariëlle worked fast and her language editing was thorough and careful. Her knowledge of my academic field (gender studies) was an added benefit, as she was able to spot the misspelling of an author's name. I really appreciate that, next to correcting mistakes in the text itself, she provided an overview of repeated spelling mistakes and explained the rules behind them. This approach allows you to actually 'learn from your mistakes' and hopefully avoid them in the future.
On developmental editing

Mariëlle delivered a full developmental edit on my cozy mystery MURDER ON LOAN this past winter. When I sent it to her, I knew it had problems— there were places in the manuscript that didn’t work. I probably could have fiddled with it by myself for another year, but I’d have lost a year and still not articulated the problems as well as Mariëlle did. Her evaluation clarified my next steps, and it helped me understand why some things weren’t working in the novel. She asked thoughtful questions throughout the manuscript which guided my revisions. I have been overwhelmed in revision in the past, but this time, in just a few months of revision I am almost finished with a third draft and moving forward in the process much faster than ever before. I am so thankful to have found a strong, responsive, and invaluable developmental editor in Mariëlle. I will definitely be hiring her again.

Sue Larkins Weems, the United States

 

2017-06-04T21:26:17+02:00

Sue Larkins Weems, the United States

 

On developmental editing Mariëlle delivered a full developmental edit on my cozy mystery MURDER ON LOAN this past winter. When I sent it to her, I knew it had problems— there were places in the manuscript that didn’t work. I probably could have fiddled with it by myself for another year, but I’d have lost a year and still not articulated the problems as well as Mariëlle did. Her evaluation clarified my next steps, and it helped me understand why some things weren’t working in the novel. She asked thoughtful questions throughout the manuscript which guided my revisions. I have been overwhelmed in revision in the past, but this time, in just a few months of revision I am almost finished with a third draft and moving forward in the process much faster than ever before. I am so thankful to have found a strong, responsive, and invaluable developmental editor in Mariëlle. I will definitely be hiring her again.
On academic editing

I worked with M.S. Wordsmith in 2015, when finishing my Master Thesis at the University of Utrecht. As English is not my native language, my supervisors recommended me to work with an editor in order to polish my language. Thanks to friends at the University, I got Mariëlle Smith's contact details. Apart from her great feedback and constructive corrections during my final phase of thesis writing, I am extremely grateful for her positive, attentive attitude, which I urgently needed in this phase. Her feedback was direct, incredibly fast, and perfect at the same time. I particularly appreciated her attention to my mixture of German and English. Working with M.S. Wordsmith was different than working with other editors. Mariëlle gave me the impression that she cared about me, my work, and the authenticity of my language. Thank you!

Barbara Grabher, Germany

2016-07-08T17:32:08+02:00

Barbara Grabher, Germany

On academic editing I worked with M.S. Wordsmith in 2015, when finishing my Master Thesis at the University of Utrecht. As English is not my native language, my supervisors recommended me to work with an editor in order to polish my language. Thanks to friends at the University, I got Mariëlle Smith's contact details. Apart from her great feedback and constructive corrections during my final phase of thesis writing, I am extremely grateful for her positive, attentive attitude, which I urgently needed in this phase. Her feedback was direct, incredibly fast, and perfect at the same time. I particularly appreciated her attention to my mixture of German and English. Working with M.S. Wordsmith was different than working with other editors. Mariëlle gave me the impression that she cared about me, my work, and the authenticity of my language. Thank you!
On developmental editing

You’ll get more than notes in a void. With this service you’ll actually get someone who’ll be a collaborator with your work, who cares about the narrative.

Antoine Bandele, the United States

2018-05-16T22:26:52+02:00

Antoine Bandele, the United States

On developmental editing You’ll get more than notes in a void. With this service you’ll actually get someone who’ll be a collaborator with your work, who cares about the narrative.
On academic editing

Mariëlle is very quick and accurate in checking academic work. Although she, at first, was only going to do a spelling check, Mariëlle also looked at the structure of my thesis and, where necessary, gave feedback on the content from a scientific perspective. When writing your own thesis, sooner or later you have to deal with the 'tunnel vision' syndrome. Mariëlle, from her own perspective, has provided a fresh look on my own written work. Her constructive criticism gave me new insights, and she always explained why her small improvements to my work were relevant and would add value. Mariëlle's scientific insights and knowledge are a quality that helped me enormously to reach a good end result.

Jeroen Walraven, the Netherlands

2016-07-08T17:36:16+02:00

Jeroen Walraven, the Netherlands

On academic editing Mariëlle is very quick and accurate in checking academic work. Although she, at first, was only going to do a spelling check, Mariëlle also looked at the structure of my thesis and, where necessary, gave feedback on the content from a scientific perspective. When writing your own thesis, sooner or later you have to deal with the 'tunnel vision' syndrome. Mariëlle, from her own perspective, has provided a fresh look on my own written work. Her constructive criticism gave me new insights, and she always explained why her small improvements to my work were relevant and would add value. Mariëlle's scientific insights and knowledge are a quality that helped me enormously to reach a good end result.
On critiquing

I write blogs for my own website and, at first, I had no idea how to put the information I had in my head on the page in a coherent way. Mariëlle really helped me with finding my own style, and structuring and putting together a story, whether it was personal or informative. In the meantime, I have started to write articles for magazines, so you could say I found my voice!

Denise de With, The Netherlands

2016-08-14T10:24:47+02:00

Denise de With, The Netherlands

On critiquing I write blogs for my own website and, at first, I had no idea how to put the information I had in my head on the page in a coherent way. Mariëlle really helped me with finding my own style, and structuring and putting together a story, whether it was personal or informative. In the meantime, I have started to write articles for magazines, so you could say I found my voice!
On academic editing

The editing work of Mariëlle was swift, to the point and accurate. Exactly what you need when a journal deadline is racing towards you in full speed.

Kobe de Keer, the Netherlands

2018-05-19T13:50:48+02:00

Kobe de Keer, the Netherlands

On academic editing The editing work of Mariëlle was swift, to the point and accurate. Exactly what you need when a journal deadline is racing towards you in full speed.
On developmental editing

I won Marielle’s services through a blog contest she ran for camp nanowrimo. This was my first time using editing services of any kind so I came into the process with wide eyes and an open mind. While I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect, I was not disappointed.

It was a joy to work with Marielle. Her pleasant personality and professionalism put me at ease right away, helping me to really enjoy my editing experience. I found her critique of my novel to be honest and insightful. She picked out the strengths as well as the weaknesses which gave me a more focused direction to tighten my plot and character developments. Her inline edits pointed out where I was heading in the right direction as well as highlighting areas of question.

All in all, I found her services to be concise, fair, and extremely helpful. I absolutely have plans to use her services again in the future.

 

Desiree Donohue, the United States

Author of: The Dragons Mark, YA novel

2017-11-28T20:26:02+01:00

Desiree Donohue, the United States

Author of: The Dragons Mark, YA novel

On developmental editing I won Marielle’s services through a blog contest she ran for camp nanowrimo. This was my first time using editing services of any kind so I came into the process with wide eyes and an open mind. While I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect, I was not disappointed. It was a joy to work with Marielle. Her pleasant personality and professionalism put me at ease right away, helping me to really enjoy my editing experience. I found her critique of my novel to be honest and insightful. She picked out the strengths as well as the weaknesses which gave me a more focused direction to tighten my plot and character developments. Her inline edits pointed out where I was heading in the right direction as well as highlighting areas of question. All in all, I found her services to be concise, fair, and extremely helpful. I absolutely have plans to use her services again in the future.  
On mentoring & developmental editing

What I love about working with Mariëlle on my project (a novel) is that she understands where you want to go with it. She has the ability to immerse herself in your work and treat it as she would her own work—with respect and enthusiasm—while she doesn't shrink back to ask all the right questions and give clear and constructive feedback. She really joins you on your way to the final version that you envision for yourself.

Kathelijne Schoonackers, the Netherlands

2016-08-11T14:27:24+02:00

Kathelijne Schoonackers, the Netherlands

On mentoring & developmental editing What I love about working with Mariëlle on my project (a novel) is that she understands where you want to go with it. She has the ability to immerse herself in your work and treat it as she would her own work—with respect and enthusiasm—while she doesn't shrink back to ask all the right questions and give clear and constructive feedback. She really joins you on your way to the final version that you envision for yourself.