"I enjoyed working with Julie on the final edit of  The Shade Tree before

publication. She not only caught a number of textual errors but also celebrated

some of the better sentences and scenes – a nice balance!  All in all, Julie was

professional, encouraging, and kept the process on track by setting deadlines and

meeting them.  Her editorial suggestions were both insightful in content

and compassionate in tone.  I’d happily work with her again."

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Theresa Shea, author of The Unfinished Child and The Shade Tree, winner of the 2022

Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction (Alberta Literary Awards)

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"Julie made some significant and fundamental edits and suggestions

that made my work the award-winner that it is. Her warmth and support

were also encouraging."

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Wayne Ng, author of Letters From Johnny, winner of the 2022

Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence: Best Novella

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“When my publisher appointed Julie Roorda as the editor for my new

novel, I felt a bit stressed. As a writer of immigrant fiction, I feared that

Julie, being a well-known and talented writer herself, would be

unnecessarily demanding and perhaps inflexible too. On the contrary, her

formidable writing skills and experience made her even more patient,

percipient and persuasive. With her understanding and encouragement,

the editing process – the least likeable part of writing – turned into a

pleasant and rewarding exercise.”

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Pratap Reddy, author of Ramya’s Treasure and

Weather Permitting & Other Stories

 

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“It was my first novel, and I was apprehensive and nervous about the

process. As a newspaper writer, I was accustomed to harsh and insensitive

edits and I feared that with my 'baby,' but Julie was absolutely gentle, kind,

and made the process easy and fun. And she caught factual things that I

had completely overlooked. If you're a newbie...or even an old pro...I'd say

Julie's your ticket to a pain-free editing process.”

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Dave LeBlanc, author of Falconi’s Tractor, and contributing writer for

The Globe and Mail as “The Architourist”

 

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“Julie Roorda is an exceptional editor. She goes above and way beyond not

only editing the words, sentences and paragraphs but also thinking through

the overall consistency of long manuscripts and attending to minute details

of fact, story line, and character development. And, she is a pleasure to

work with.”

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S. Montana Katz, Ph.D, LP, author of Clytemnestra’s Last Day and

Side Effects: A Footloose Journey to the Apocalypse 

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“I have had the pleasure of working with Julie many times. A consummate

professional, she is sensitive to an author’s intent, and readily provides

constructive suggestions and solutions. Not only does Julie have a

discerning eye; she has a gift for making the editorial process fun! I highly

recommend her services.”

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Robin Blackburn McBride, author of The Shining Fragments, and

Birdlight: Freeing Your Authentic Creativity

 

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“Quick, keen, and well informed. These qualities make Julie Roorda an

excellent editor. Her flawless editing of my daughter Rani’s second

collection of poetry has allowed the poems to sing, float, and soar.”

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Patria Rivera, author of four volumes of poetry,

most recently The Time Between

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“As a nervous, first-time novelist, working with Julie was exactly what I

needed. She provided a thorough attention to detail and an appreciation of

the material, and was timely and professional in all her responses. She was

patient and kind, and offered clear, constructive criticism that strengthened

the manuscript.”

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David Kingston Yeh, author of A Boy at the Edge of the World, and

Tales from the Bottom of my Sole

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"A deep bow to Julie Roorda, who read through a substantial

accumulation of poems I was struggling to gather into a manuscript; the

poems seemed random, were unable to converse among themselves.

Julie identified linkages of imagery, repeated words, thoughts, and

preoccupations. Her tactical and tactful work enlarged my

understanding of the project and led to a better and finished MS."

 

Maureen Scott Harris, author of several volumes of poetry, including

Slow Curve Out and Drowning Lessons.

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“When my publisher appointed Julie Roorda as the editor for my new novel, I

felt a bit stressed. As a writer of immigrant fiction, I feared that Julie, being a

well-known and talented writer herself, would be unnecessarily demanding and

perhaps inflexible too.  On the contrary, her formidable writing skills and

experience made her even more patient, percipient and persuasive. With her

understanding and encouragement, the editing process – the least likeable

part of writing – turned into a pleasant and rewarding exercise.”

​

Pratap Reddy, author of Ramya’s Treasure  and

Weather Permitting & Other Stories

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"In June 2018 Julie Roorda edited my 168-page manuscript entitled “Trapped:

A Mother’s Quest to Reclaim her Daughters,” which was published by

Guernica Editions, Inc. April 1, 2019.  Although she did not find it necessary

to make a large number of specific suggestions, I found all  her comments to be

both lucid and insightful, and I quickly realized that I should adopt them all.

Clearly, she was a helpful editor! Julie also helpfully participated in the

selection of the subtitle, which is important in getting across the nature

of the book. Julie was prompt, and her comments were easy to understand.

I would be happy to have her as an editor in the future."

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Alexandra Karb, author of Trapped: A Mother’s Quest to Reclaim her Daughters