Happy 1st Decade to Me!
- Jan
- 24
- 2021
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing

Ten years ago this month, I first sat down to work under the (virtual) banner of eDitmore Editorial Services. I was excited and nervous, unsure if I would be able to sustain the effort for even ten months. But here I am in 2021, still tracking changes under that same (virtual) banner. In the last […]
read moreMonday Night Lights
- Oct
- 02
- 2019
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing
Most days I spend my work days in front of a computer, my workplace interactions limited to email or the occasional phone call. But on Monday, October 7, I’m going to be talking about editing to a real audience of writers. I’ll be speaking to the Ventura County chapter meeting of the Independent Writers of […]
read moreWorking through Turbulence
- Jan
- 21
- 2019
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, personal reflections

Once again, Liz Dexter has done me a favor by featuring eDitmore Editorial Services in her “Small Business Chat Update” on her LibroEditing website. Hard to believe, but this is the seventh time I’ve participated in these chats, which Liz began to help small business owners learn from each other. Over the years, I have […]
read moreMaking Nonfiction Pay
- Sep
- 20
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing

I work with many authors who are new to publishing, and they frequently ask my advice about self-publishing or book distribution or marketing. So I am excited to have a new resource to recommend: The Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan: The Professional Guide to Profitable Self-Publishing by Stephanie Chandler and Karl W. Palachuk. Although a lot of […]
read moreHow Do You Know Whether You Need an Editor or a Ghostwriter?
- Sep
- 10
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing
I don’t often use this space just to plug another person’s blog, but I read a post today that struck me as too perfect to pass up. It appeared on the Gotham Ghostwriters blog, written by Josh Bernoff, a veteran writer and business consultant. The title alone is worth your time: “About Your Book Idea: […]
read moreHow Do You Write an Editor?
- Sep
- 03
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Publishing, Writing

You’ve finished your book / article / story, and you’re ready to hire an editor. You search the internet, find the names and email addresses of some promising-looking editors, and pick out a few to contact. Now what? What should you say? How do you write a message that will get a response from an […]
read moreCelebrating Those Who Go Forth
- Jul
- 04
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in personal reflections

The Fourth of July looks a little different to me this year. That’s because it’s only been a few days since my husband and I returned from eight weeks in Florence, Italy, and I’m still keenly sensitive to the differences of life in the suburbs of Southern California versus life in the birthplace of the […]
read moreA Personal History of Persistence
- Feb
- 28
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in personal reflections, Publishing

I don’t write book reviews often for this space, but this one is 20 years in the making, so it seems worthwhile. Katharine Graham’s Personal History has been sitting on my shelf for a long time. A former newspaper journalist, I’ve long been interested in Graham, longtime leader of The Washington Post and one of […]
read moreCan I Trust Word’s Grammar Checker?
- Feb
- 04
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing

Although I use Word’s spelling checker regularly (see my 2015 post about my affinity for the squiggly red line), I have never found much use for Word’s grammar checker. It’s wrong so often that I generally just turn it off. But Word 2016 has added a little feature called “frequently confused words” to its spellchecker. […]
read moreHow Do I Remove My Name from Word 2016 Documents?
- Jan
- 21
- 2018
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Writing

My recent update to from Microsoft Word 2011 to to 2016 (for Mac) continues to offer many chances to learn something new. So What I Learned This Week in Editing again is about a changed feature in Word 2016. How Do I Remove Personal Information from a File? When a number of people are working […]
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I wanted to take a moment and thank you for your wonderful work. I marvel at your eye for detail and your ability to make a written text so much better.
This book has been a major effort for me over the past 15 years—both emotionally and in time commitment. Your feedback helped me give it structure. Your insightful questions encouraged me to go deeper in my understanding and intentions, which provided enhanced clarity. Your recommendations provided a professional perspective that I needed towards getting it published. Thank you so much! When entertaining any future writing projects, you will be the first person I contact.
I can’t believe my good fortune to have found Tammy to edit my nonfiction book. I had narrowed down my editor search to ten; then I took advantage of their free sample offers. Nine of the editors were okay. Tammy’s edit, however, really showed her strength for detail and content development. I was absolutely wowed. She suggested, for example, how to improve the Introduction’s hook, added sentences that clarified a paragraph’s thought better, and deleted unnecessary words. She also mentio… Read more
Tammy Ditmore is an excellent editor. My writing improved grammatically, in structure, and clarity under her skilled eye.
I had a book manuscript that had a thorough edit by a copy editor, but there were many changes made and I wanted another set of eyes to look at it carefully. So I hired Tammy Ditmore to do a “final” proofread and flag anything that she found awkward, confusing or ill-fitting. That is a difficult job—to look both for errors and to comment, but that is what I needed. Tammy took it on and did a great job. Tammy also understands a schedule and finished the work on time—even ahead of time. Thank … Read more
Tammy Ditmore was the consummate professional. She was very humble in dealing with me and tailored her editing style to fit my specific needs. She was prompt and punctual with deadlines and was very open to communicating with me. I would hire her again in a heartbeat.”
Tammy is just amazing. Before my book made it over to Tammy, I had used two editors — one a well-known author in NYC. I was unhappy with the editing, and basically Tammy was my last try before I just set my book to the side. Not only did she totally understand my “voice,” but she reconstructed, added, and melded in ways I would have never considered. Use her, trust her. She’s the best!
I appreciate Tammy’s willingness to ask questions when appropriate, flex on deadlines, offer sound advice, and rewrite sentences or sections as needed. Her command of substantive and copy editing make Tammy an asset to any project.
Tammy Ditmore edited my book, The Quest for Distinction: Pepperdine University in the 20th Century. It was a huge assignment, requiring skills that set her apart from most professional editors. She recognized the key themes of the manuscript immediately and proceeded to examine each paragraph, actually each word, in light of those themes. The result was a briefer, more coherent manuscript that will be read with greater interest and understanding.
Tammy’s approach to editing was like telling a story to someone who listens very well and offers suggestions only when something is confusing or grammatically incorrect (or embarrassing).