Testimonials for Deborah Turner Harris

Since I seemed to have been away from school the day they taught plot, it is important for me to have someone with whom I can discuss plot and how my characters react to it when I am mired in a manuscript. For the past eighteen years, Deborah Harris has been that person for me. Anyone who gets to arm wrestle with her over a story is lucky indeed.

Jane Yolen, author of over 300 published books.

Debby Harris not only has the analytical ability to go right to the heart of a writer’s weakness, she can also see how to make it into a strength. Her comments helped me see what I needed to do to write the story I wanted to write. She made a huge difference to my work and without her I would almost certainly never have been published.

Elizabeth Kerner

Debby Harris is an imaginative writer and an incisive editor.
Having ‘tinkered’ with my writing for many years, working with Debby inspired me to develop my writing style from scraps of ‘journalese’ into longer, more balanced pieces of work. As a result, I have had some short stories published and am currently working on a novel.

Debby is unfailingly friendly, positive and enthusiastic, and I would recommend her skills to any writer in need of editorial support.

Claire McLeary

Debby Turner Harris is a dedicated, insightful editor and consultant. I had the privilege to work closely with her as I redrafted my first novel. Throughout the process she acted as a mentor, editor and creative sounding board, guiding me through the common pitfalls of novice novelists. I came to her with a partial draft, a lot of theory, and numerous narrative conundrums. Working with Debby is like working with a creative whirlwind that has been tempered with invaluable wisdom. Our brainstorming sessions would often have me thinking backwards and upside-down and would result in ingenious solutions to intricate problems.

As a consultant, she is approachable yet professional, neither patronizing nor coddling, and always adaptable to individual writers. With Debby you never feel like just another advisee. She treats every writer and project with respect, nurturing individual, signature strengths while arming a writer with the various skills needed to overcome weaknesses. I believe her commendable methods are due to her unique and extensive experiences as a professional writer and an academic.

I will always be grateful for my opportunity to work with Debby as she has done far more than help me develop my first novel; her assistance, insight and skills have been a driving force in making me into the writer that I am today.

Deborah Anderson Gallant

I first met Jamie when he gave me feedback for one of my stories on Wattpad and he was the first one who gave me editiorial feedback on my work. His attitude toward editing is straightforward and professional. He is very attentive to detail and not only corrects mistakes, but also leaves comments and tips for future use. From reading his comments, I learned a lot.

For example, my novel has a specific action scene in which he suggested several ideas to give "more" to it. I followed all his suggestions and have since received feedback from my readers that the action scenes are very well-written. My readers say that in their mind's eye, they could see the characters and the events as though it were in a movie.

For me, Jamie did a splendid job. After reworking the manuscript, my romance novel, The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract was published in February 2014.

Needless to say, I would highly recommend Mr. Jamie Harris for all new writers out there like me.

Alyssa Urbano

Jamie Harris has one of those minds; he loves being analytical, and he likes being honest in appraisals and critiques. It also happens that he is extremely>good at lucidly commenting on, and editing, pieces of writing. Being an accomplished writer himself - and he became so by combining his natural creative flair in conjunction with his skill at editing - he is able to cast an eye on the writing of others and to give pertinent and constructive help. Whilst he was a student of mine I grew to value and to welcome his thoughtful comments on other student's work more and more. His is an uncommon talent, and it deserves to be celebrated.

Eddie Small