TESTIMONIALS
AUTHORS I’VE PUBLISHED
JAN CARSON
Author of THE FIRE STARTERS, THE RAPTURES & QUICKLY, WHILE THEY STILL HAVE HORSES (2024)
‘Alice Youell is hands down the best editor I’ve ever worked with. Over the course of four books, she helped me both recognise and realise the potential in my stories. She has an incredible knack of noticing both what’s not working in a book and exactly how to fix the problem and all her editorial advice is delivered in such a warm and genuinely helpful manner it doesn’t feel at all like critique. There’s no one I'd trust more with a manuscript. Alice Youell was the making of me as a writer and I’m so grateful for her advice and encouragement.’
Caryl lEWIS
Author of DRIFT
‘I had the pleasure of working with Alice on Drift and was immediately enamoured with the way she talked about the book. It is one thing to take a book on, but Alice has a love of literature that makes her want to take care of it intellectually and emotionally. She is able to enter the world you have created and stand by your side helping you push out the edges of that world whilst switching on lightbulbs along the way. Her notes are utterly transformative. A writer needs a second pair of eyes; a second heart and the superhuman ability great editors have of holding the world of the book in their head whilst arranging and re-arranging it in different ways. When the day arrives that Alice’s notes drop into your inbox, they are generous and inspiring. Attempting an edit can sometimes feel overwhelming, but with a fantastic set of notes and the care that Alice gives, you will be uplifted and energized and truly excited to get going.’
BEA SETTON
Author of BERLIN and PLAYTHING
‘The most incredible thing about Alice is her ability to tune into the ‘soul’ of the novel she is editing and to guide it to its best form. She wades into the nitty gritty, sentence by sentence, but also has an instinct and mind for the bigger picture — how the novel hangs together and the rhythm of the cumulative chapters — which is often something that authors, who are so deep in the work, struggle to keep in mind and to balance effectively. She is also just a creative genius in her own right and I know that my novel would not have been as strong or compelling without her input when it came to characterisation and plot twists. It is rare for an author to find someone else who cares as much about their work as they do but Alice is so intellectually and creatively generous that I felt I had someone entirely in my corner. I learnt so much working with her, I developed as a writer, and also had good plain old fun in the process.’
SUSANNAH DICKEY
Author of TENNIS LESSONS and COMMON DECENCY
‘Alice is a dream editor – she has an innate ability to sense where a manuscript is lacking, combining her sensitivity to her author’s ambitions with a respect for the reader’s experience. My books always became stronger versions of themselves under her influence, and I’m so grateful to have had her assistance, particularly during that bewildering period when a novel has been mine alone for iterations upon iterations, and I'm this close to losing my mind and rewriting it as a rock opera. Thanks to Alice, I have written two novels I’m immensely proud of, and that have found their ideal readership, and zero rock operas.’
CONOR O’CALLAGHAN
Author of NOTHING ON EARTH and WE ARE NOT IN THE WORLD
‘Alice remains the best editor with whom I’ve ever worked. She found my first novel on the slushpile, after many rejections, and helped me make it better, and brought it successfully to a readership. She has faultless taste and very high standards. I consider it the greatest of good fortune that I found an editor as exacting as Alice, and I am a better writer for working with her.’
Sarah Leipciger
Author of COMING UP FOR AIR and MOON ROAD
‘It is deeply reassuring and inspiring when a fiction editor reads your manuscript and understands, far beyond the page, what you’re trying to achieve with your story. You feel all warm and fuzzy when she flags the parts that nail it, and you know you’re in the hands of a passionate and experienced professional when she highlights the bits that don’t – giving no quarter! Alice Youell is one of these editors. Alice has edited my last two books, and in the process has taught me a thing or two about storytelling. Her suggestions are enlightening and succinct, and she has weathered my many bouts of insecurity with warmth, patience and support. Alice will respect the space and time you need to work, but with a gentle push when necessary, and she is a flexible, available teammate. She will dedicate herself to your writing as if it were her own.’
LOUISA REID
Author of THE POET
‘If I were to choose anyone to edit my work, it would be Alice. Expertly incisive, her attention to detail ensures that the editing process – from structural to line and word level – is meticulous. Her skill with story and character will support you in making your narrative sing, and Alice’s genuine commitment to her authors makes editing both joyful and extremely rewarding. What is particularly special is Alice’s ability to instil self-belief in the writer, to the extent that their work becomes better than they imagined it could be. I cannot recommend her highly enough.’
Alex McCarthy
Author of THE UNBROKEN BEAUTY OF ROSALIND BONE
‘The impact of Alice’s light-touch editing on my novella was profound. Alice has an uncanny ability to put her finger on the subtlest spot and ask just the right question of the author to enable the writing to bloom. I felt utterly supported throughout. Writing can be a long, lonely and frightening journey; the final push and the editorial process were none of those things thanks to Alice, her warmth and her literary insight.’
