Lois Stuck

Lois Stuck – Editor

Editor of nonfiction books for over 30 years. Publishers have consistently trusted me with their most challenging projects.

Overview

I have a B.A. in English and Education, but rather than become a classroom teacher, I chose to put that training to use to help authors create their best work. In my career of over three decades as an editor, I have worked on books with deeply important messages--and sometimes thousands of footnotes! And I enjoyed all of it.
You can trust me with your message because my goal is to help you, the author, do your best work. I want to retain your voice, and I have no intention of inserting my thoughts or preferences. I will help remove obstacles (grammatical errors, sentence structure problems, redundancies, confusing wording, etc.) to help you get your message out as clearly as possible.
I have worked on hundreds of books, across many genres. They include books about becoming a professional public speaker, marriage relationships, recovery from abuse, worship, running an online business,
depression, faith, and much more.
I look forward to getting to know you and helping you get your polish your message.

Since I am new to Reedsy, I am including two recommendations from authors I have worked with--one a first-time author, and the other over an editor I have worked for over a period of decades.

From Jack Bender, author of Skin on Skin, addressing the needs of those living in poverty.

"I chose Lois over a number of other copy editors because of the inquiries that I made. I found Lois to be continually professional and exceptionally fast. I urged her to use her considerable experience to go beyond the standard role of copy editor. I was rewarded for having done so. I wanted to put out a good book and soon realized that she could be an asset toward that end. Lois displays a helpful orientation toward reader reception, warning me that a position I took was reasonable but that it might bother a subset of my audience. She is tactful, always respecting what I’ve written but often suggesting alternatives. There’s a little bit of mystery surrounding her work. I asked myself on more than one occasion how she could dive deeply into my project, yet still provide such good turnaround time. Would I seek her help in the future? Unquestionably, yes."

From Paul Brinkerhoff, previously an in-house editor and now owner of his own editing company:

"When I was at Baker Books many of my projects were the 'thoughtful trade' books, and when I couldn't edit them, my go-to editor was Lois. She's experienced and knows how to edit long and complicated projects (faster than I can).

"I know that trust is essential in Lois's relationships with the people, especially those for whom she works. Such integrity combined with dogged Germanic focus and undaunted tenacity in tackling even dissertations and similar tomes makes her a good fit for editing both academic and trade books. She readily understands and follows instructions, is conscientious, and does a good and thorough job editing manuscripts. Her editorial style sheets are detailed and complete.

" The pleasure is mine to recommend Lois as an expert book editor."

Paul J. Brinkerhoff, Editor and Publishing Consultant, Grace and Truth Communications



Services
Non-Fiction
Business & Management Christian Non-Fiction Education & Reference Health & Wellbeing Humanities & Social Sciences Inspirational Parenting & Families
Languages
English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Zondervan

Jan, 1999 — Dec, 2005 (almost 7 years)

Baker Book House

May, 1993 — Present

Freelance copy editor for Baker Academic and Baker Trade Books. Over the years, the in-house editors have gotten to know the quality of my work and my reliability, and they have trusted me with challenging projects as well as projects that needed a fast turn-around. Two in-house editors have gone on to start their own companies and continue to contact me for freelance work.

Self-employed

Mar, 1982 — Present

Fleming H. Revell

Jan, 1982 — Dec, 1989 (almost 8 years)

Azusa Pacific University

Jun, 1977 — Jul, 1981 (about 4 years)

Edited and supervised production for all university publications. Edited the university’s bimonthly magazine, winning press association awards in 1980 and 1981.

Portfolio

Seeing Is Believing

Boyd, Gregory A

Faithful and Fractured

Proeschold-Bell, Rae Jean

Jesus Skeptic

John S. Dickerson

Lois has 16 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Tessa V.

Tessa V.

Dec, 2023

I appreciate Lois' careful help as I navigate my first book project. Her edits were often exactly in the tone I meant to use, and I appreciate her judgement.
Paula M.

Paula M.

Nov, 2023

What a find! My project felt safe in Lois's hands. She was thorough and thoughtful and I never felt like she was rushing to get the work done—yet she was timely. She was also comprehensive, ensuring all the pieces of information fit and made sense from beginning to end. Bottom line: Lois’s professionalism gave me the peace of mind that the project was solid from every angle.
Lakisha B.

Lakisha B.

May, 2023

Working with Lois was phenomenal. She is very professional and offers great insight. She gave timely feedback and suggestions. We had great communication all the way through. She addressed concerns I had in my manuscript and she made my manuscript better. I am so happy with the finish results. I will definitely use her again for future copy edits. Thank you Lois.
Nicole T.

Nicole T.

Oct, 2022

Lois was a very easy person to work with and showed great humanity as well as good eye for my tendency to ramble on. Very good for very specific projects and basic editing.
Liam S.

Liam S.

Jun, 2022

Lois did a phenomenal job. I enjoyed her professionalism and support in helping to make this book consistent. She went above and beyond in helping with the footnotes and advice on points of confusion that needed to be addressed. It was a joy to work with her and I hope to collaborate with her again soon... I just have to write another book first.

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