Editing with Hart Tracy Hart, editor and writing coach

 

Testimonials Tracy is on the Harvard Medical School CME faculty where she leads writing workshops. "Thank you for your valuable contribution to the Harvard CME course, Writing, Publishing, and Social Media for Healthcare Professionals. We recently received the results of the course evaluation, and the attendees’ comments were overwhelmingly positive." 
Mary Alice Hanford, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital "Working with Tracy Hart was a stimulating, fun, learning experience. I knew what I wanted to write, and I knew what to say, but Tracy cleaned up the sentences, trimmed them, made sure they didn’t ramble. She straightened out my tenses, where I’d flip from past to present without realizing it. “Vary the length of your sentences,” she’d advise as I wrote my paragraphs. The book she helped me with is a collection of personal essays I’d written over the years. Several of them I wanted to trash, but Tracy believed in me, and prodded me to continue. For this I am extremely grateful and am proud of the final outcome." Camilla Wall Lee, author of Life Stories, from Reno to the Azores “With the help of Tracy Hart, I was able to take a manuscript that had been repeatedly rejected for publication and bring it to a point where a publisher accepted it. My book, Shrinkwrapped, is on book-stands today. Tracy is a rare combination of enthusiasm, encouragement and attention to detail. Tracy’s sharp sense of word choice enhanced my writing and her love of clean, uncluttered sentences helped me become a better writer.” I. Michael Grossman, author of Coming to Terms with Aging; Shrinkwrapped;The Power and Mike the Moose, Master of Marbles "As a first time author, when I first agreed to work with Tracy to improve my manuscript, editing in my mind was limited to grammar and spelling. Is it, “come a long,” or “come-a-long,” effect or affect? Boy was I wrong! Her first email reply contained more questions than corrections. 'Did he have a threatening voice? How was she dressed? Did that frighten you? Could you sleep that night after your plane engine quit? I’m not convinced your dialog sounds like what a drunken bar fighter would actually say!' So we worked together. Over time, I relaxed, thought back 40 years, and could see and hear my characters speaking. My book, Hardscrabble Lodge-True Maine Bush Flying Stories, is an amateur’s first attempt, but thanks to Tracy, it is immensely superior to my initial submission." Jake Morrel, Hardscrabble Lodge-True Maine Bush Flying Stories “Tracy, I am so glad I am able to work with you. Your support and encouragement are constantly empowering me throughout this new, for me, writing adventure. You were able to understand instantly, then guide and explain, never reducing my voice and only accentuating the needed details. It is always a pleasure to see your professionalism, knowledge and honesty.” Maria Lando, TheMathMom, Massachusetts "Working with Tracy Hart was a pleasure as well as instructive. She was respectful but forthright in her suggestions, all of which made my book better. Her advice was like taking a creative writing course. I recommend her highly as one who can improve one's writing style." Robert M. Reece, MD, author of To Tell The Truth "I was looking for an editor with a heart for children. When I found Tracy, I immediately felt confident that she had the experience and knowledge and most of all a good heart! I was very pleased with how professional and reasonably priced she was for the work I was seeking. Sometimes writing was hard for me because my first language is Dutch. Tracy did an amazing job polishing everything into the right grammar and giving my writings a better structure. Thanks to Tracy's editing I felt that my writing skill improved a lot. Tracy paid attention to details and gave very positive feedback. It was a tremendous help for me! I will recommend her to anyone who wants an editor with a heart. Thanks so much Tracy!!!" Chris Mahoney, author of The Amazing Journey of Clarence Carrot "Tracy won't let you give up! When I was discouraged by the immensity of the task before me, she wouldn't let me falter--she reminded me of my original intention in writing this book, and by doing that, she re-centered me on my heart's desire. What a gift she is--it's a blessing to have a muse and a blessing to have Tracy." Elizabeth Spring, author of: Sweet Synchronicity; Finding Annie Besant, Discovering Krishnamurti “Tracy has been a godsend! She’s everything I was looking for in a writing coach. Besides her excellent editing skills, she has provided me with straightforward, thoughtful comments about the content of my (very controversial) non-fiction book. She constantly challenges me to dig deeper, not only in my research but also within my spirit so I will write from my heart and not my head. If you need encouragement, inspiration, and/or motivation, I highly recommend Tracy Hart”. Nan Yielding, So. Oregon, author of Things I Never Learned in Sunday School “Tracy’s expertise goes further than editing. Her background in Social Work, along with her many other skills, was essential to my book regarding foster care. My needs could not have been better matched than with Tracy Hart. I grew personally and professionally with my published children’s book thanks to Tracy.” Melissa B., Bakersfield, California “Tracy has provided editing feedback for both my adult nonfiction book and my children’s book. Her edits and feedback are insightful and helped immensely in both cases. I have also referred clients to Tracy and all of them have been extremely happy with her editing, coaching, and feedback. She’s wise and savvy about books, and knows how to support a budding writer.” Lisa Tener, Author & Book Coach, Rhode Island “Tracy Hart deserves a medal...she edited a 365 page-a-day calendar for me with suggestions, humor, and positive energy. She was/is professional and a joy to work with.” N. Chupp, Tennessee “I can’t sing enough praises about working with you! I want you to know how much I appreciate your support while I pursue my dream of becoming a published author. I’m really impressed with your creativity, professionalism, passion and enthusiasm for writing. It is contagious! I always look forward to reading your responses to the work I submit to you; your constructive feedback is motivating and inspirational! It’s hard to believe that we’ve been working together for almost a year now- it’s truly been one of the best investments I have ever made. Thank you for what you do. You have a special gift and it is a blessing that you can share it with others.” Vanessa Everett, Massachusetts "I have used the editing services of Tracy Hart for the last 3 years for my series of Halloween e-books. I appreciate her professionalism, sincerity, positive energy, and superior editing knowledge. Not only does she correct my grammatical errors, she points out areas of potential confusion for the reader, offers suggestions on flow, and provides tips on successful marketing ideas. Tracy is a joy to work with, I highly recommend her and I look forward to many more years of working with her." J. Mummey, author of Spooky Jenny Volumes I, II, III. “Tracy’s skills in editing and critiquing have helped our group of writers grow professionally and personally with many publishing successes.” Enid Flaherty, Rhode Island "Tracy Hart edited a children’s book that I wrote as a tribute to my son Skyler. With Tracy’s expert knowledge of writing, she was able to assist in creating a book that blossomed from an outline into a solid and artistic piece of writing, with words that expressed my thoughts perfectly, yet fit into a children’s style of reading and understanding. I really appreciated how Tracy worked on this book with me. Tracy took the time to offer suggestions on writing changes, while she often reminded me that it was my book, and I always had the final say as to what changes I wanted to make on it. Tracy worked with me in a timely manner where she answered my questions and provided feedback to my writing quickly. We worked on this book together, as a writing team. Tracy is a knowledgeable writer/editor, who is also incredibly kind and caring, and I have appreciated working with her very much. Tracy always helped me to honor this book as my writing, as it evolved into a beautiful story and a blessed memory. Thank you Tracy! I value your help so very much.!" Seana Coughlin Tracy's e-mail, ‘Editing with Hart’ (editingwithhart@gmail.com), is more than a way to contact her electronically. It is also the perfect description for the way Tracy edits. Before working with Tracy, I had published several short essays with relatively few problems, and I thought I was a proficient writer. But when I got into my lengthy book, describing my time working as Coco Chanel’s assistant, I quickly realized I needed the support of a professional editor. Tracy Hart was just the right person. She helped me reorganize my manuscript, bring greater clarity to my book, and she helped me polish my vignettes in a way that made the writing come alive. Her comments were always positive and thoughtful. Yet, while Tracy is encouraging and easy to work with, candor is also her special strength. She did not back down when she knew my book could be improved upon. Increasingly as I worked with Tracy, I came to value her ideas, finding it important to listen carefully to her suggestions. Why? Because she was always right on target. Richard Parker, author of The Improbable Return of Coco Chanel - As Witnessed by Her Assistant, Richard Parker “Tracy Hart has been a Godsend. When I thought my book was finished, it was really a conglomeration of vignettes drifting like octopus’s tentacles through the literary water. She made my book happen. She is so professional. Her comments were helpful, thoughtful and while positive, she didn’t let me get away with a thing. With a smile and encouraging comments, she would hand back all the marked pages: redo. She made me a writer. She made me focus on the craft and her sharp editing improved the book. Tracy is wonderful to work with; her caring nature is at the forefront, her insight is right on.”  Carroll Kenyon, author of Azimuth Point "The persistent recollections I have of our successful collaboration, are of Tracy's attention to detail and ability to motivate, in conjunction with her intuitive sense of rhythm and pace, so essential to the smooth flow of narrative. For me, a novice writer, the enthusiasm, patience, and support she provided were indispensable factors in the completion of my maiden effort." 
 Gene McKee, MD, author, of DOC "For the second time, I have relied on Tracy’s editing skill to guide me through the writing process and preparation for publication of a medical memoir. Her organization of chapters strengthened the cohesive flow, and her suggestions and intuitive sense of my expectations for this book were invaluable." Gene McKee, MD, author of Bloodletting to Binary “Working with Tracy was most rewarding – she was enthusiastic and supportive of my work. Tracy is an eagle-eyed editor who always had good reasoning for suggested changes, yet she always said: “But it’s your book,” and left the final decision to me. Frankly, I enjoyed the challenges she posed, and my book improved immeasurably because of her editing.”  Hershey Rosen, author of: Creating a Guide So Your Partner Can Go On Living! "Tracy was FANTASTIC! She clearly knows her stuff and I learned a tremendous amount. There's no question she helped tighten, clarify and improve the overall quality of the books. I look forward to working with her again on other projects." Bradley Grove Hyson "I am so thankful that the Universe allowed me the chance to cross paths with Tracy. I was looking for an editor, and as a first time writer/author, I had no idea what editing a manuscript really entailed- which goes way beyond grammar and punctuation. Tracy understood my voice right away and had a clear and deep understanding of what I was trying to convey to my readers. She not only assisted me in cleaning up sentences and structure, she also helped me strengthen my voice! She is not only an excellent editor, but also a wonderful writing coach. I feel my writing has evolved greatly during my time with her. Beyond editing my manuscript and helping me put together the back cover summary, Tracy really guided me through this process, especially when it became a bit frustrating and I became a little hopeless when it came to sharing my stories with the world. Her light and optimism regarding my messages gave me hope, it helped allow me to finish what I started. I am a month away to launching my book into the world, and I am so thankful that I had Tracy cheer me on towards the finish line. Tracy, you are a blessing, thank you so much for all your help and support- especially during crunch time! And I'm SO looking forward to working with you again on my next book!" Divine Grace Buszka, author of A Little Bit of Grace "Tracy has a special gift of gently stretching a writer's ability. She continually encouraged me to go deeper into my writing. With every new revision my poems were getting better and my message more clear. Tracy is an excellent editor who will turn your manuscript into a professional final product ready to be published. Highly recommended!" Magdalena Sabatino, MA "Finding Tracy Hart as my editor was one of the great blessings of my journey to publish this book. I have a very rough manuscript, which Tracy helped take from mediocre to a project that I can be intensely proud of. She had to fix my tense, rambling sentences and overuse of some of my favorite words. Her knowledge and insight into human behavior was invaluable. She suggested additions where necessary; and ruthlessly cut repetitive themes or thoughts that I didn't even realize I had included. Thank you, Tracy, for taking Summit to new heights. I hope to use you again for future projects, and highly recommend you to anyone looking for a true expert." Cindy Paige