Academic Editor | Nonfiction & Fiction Editor | Writing Mentor & Coach
I work with scholars, artists, and writers on every aspect of the writing process and the writing life, including a wide range of writing genres. As an editor for academics and creatives, I guide writers through every step of their projects, from idea generation and coaching support to developmental editing and end-stage copyediting. I work with my clients to strategize work plans, personal statements, funding applications, publication goals, and more.
Because of my own experiences as an artist, academic, and writer, I am equally at home with a diverse range of writing forms, including dissertations, journal articles, short stories, memoirs, and everything in between. In fact, one of my superpowers as an editor is my fluency across writing genres and languages. As former Assistant and Associate Professor at an R1 university, I regularly counsel academics on translating their interdisciplinary scholarly research into narrative throughlines that are accessible and enjoyable to public audiences, and as an award-winning writer of creative prose, I guide fiction and nonfiction writers on approaches to incorporating research into works driven by voice, atmosphere, and story. As an artist myself, I also understand the challenges faced by artists who must articulate their visual and performing practices into written language for funding applications.
Fiction | Nonfiction
Memoir, novels, short stories, essays, prose poetry, and researched nonfiction—I edit, support, and coach writers in all genres of creative prose and at all stages of the writing process and the writing life, including idea generation, book outlines, manuscript evaluations, developmental editing, final proofreading, and query letters. Depending on your goals, we can also work together to develop productivity schedules, accountability practices, personal statements, funding applications, and publication plans. Writers I’ve worked with have gone on to win prestigious contests, awards, and fellowships and to be published in prominent venues.
Academic Editing
I edit all manner of academic manuscripts—chapters, articles, dissertations, papers, book proposals, and books—from developmental feedback and line editing to end-stage copyediting and proofreading. With fifteen years as a faculty member at an R1 university, including ten years building an interdisciplinary humanities program, I excel at helping academics translate their research into compelling narrative throughlines accessible to diverse audiences. I also mentor marginalized faculty, including BIPOC, immigrant, and first-gen academics, on navigating publishing, tenure requirements, and the job market.
Editing for Artists
As an artist myself, I understand the unique challenges faced by artists who must articulate their visual, conceptual, and performing arts practices into written language for award and fellowship applications and exhibition proposals. Artists are under a unique obligation to “explain” their work, which can seem completely counterintuitive to the way we work on our studios. As an artist, art critic, and creative writer, I bridge the world of visual arts and written language.
Business Materials
I edit professional materials for organizations, businesses, and individuals, including newsletters, annual reports, fundraising appeals, gallery and museum guides, and job application materials (resumes and cover letters), and a variety of other documents. My edits focus on communicating power, persuasiveness, accessibility, and effective idea flow. Let me know what you’re looking for and we can discuss if my editorial eye would be helpful.
Testimonials
“Leila Nadir is a phenomenal developmental editor and interlocutor, and I can’t recommend her highly enough. When I was stuck in the process of conceptualizing a chapter of my book, I knew that she was the person to call–in part because of our shared interests in environmental humanities and geopolitical histories, but mostly because of her unique ability to get inside a text and figure out what it’s trying to do. Her acute intelligence and careful reading helped me to restructure the chapter and draw out the key connection and narrative throughline needed to make the chapter click into place, thereby strengthening the book as a whole.”
– Eleana Kim, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
“Leila edited my artist statement and identified ways to articulate my video installation proposal with a strong narrative for a fellowship application. Her feedback was constructive, supportive, and even sometimes funny! I really loved how she would identify moments in my writing when my passion came through so I could see what was working. I feel grateful to have had her talented eyes on my work. Her writing tips sharpened not only this particular proposal but also my writing skills in general. Working with Leila was a wise investment that I’d recommend to artists seeking to strengthen their written materials.”
– Gazelle Samizay, Multidisciplinary Artist and 2024 San Francisco Arts Commission Artist Grant recipient
Leila approaches editing as an art in itself, providing articulate, intentional, and thoughtful comments. Her feedback is constructive and balanced, responsive and in-tune with the writer. It’s rare to find an editor who takes so much care with someone else’s work. Leila’s invested feedback inspired and challenged me, imparting a new awareness of an area of growth I could build towards. Her collaborative approach allowed me to enter into a dialogue about the work, gaining valuable craft knowledge I could apply not only to the revision at hand but to my practice going forward.
– Jodie Noel Vinson, Nonfiction Writer, 2023 Bread Loaf Scholar, Pushcart nominee
“Leila Nadir has been a keen eye on each piece of writing she’s helped me develop. Through her depth of literary knowledge and honest yet compassionate feedback, she has encouraged my voice and shown me where I can elevate my craft. I’d recommend her guidance at any stage in the writing process.”
– LiXin (Jessica Winkler), Nonfiction Writer, 2024 Periplus Fellow and Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellow
Leila is an astute, clear-eyed editor who gives her full strength and focus to a manuscript. Her instinct for sentence-level writing is always on-point, and the explanations she gave for her edits made me take my sentences more seriously and treat them with greater care. Any manuscript would be very lucky to have her attention.”
– Maggie Whitehead, Nonfiction Writer, Tin House alum, Pushcart nominee
I learned a great deal from workshopping my memoir-in-progress with Leila. Not only did she offer encouraging and specific feedback about my work, she also helped me to dive deeper between words to bring out subtext and submerged emotions. Leila is a sensitive reader who refuses to let you get away with simple sentimentality. In other words, she’s the best kind of mentor and editor.
– Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho, Nonfiction Writer, Tin House alum