Book Editing

After spending the last 15 years writing grant applications and RFPs and being awarded several million dollars for the business incubator and the  regional business cluster, Susan decided she knows what makes a good story.  

In April, 2017, she became the editor for “The Shortest Straw,” a non-fiction adventure by mountaineer and rock climber Dean Rosnau recounting the stories of his 33 years as a search and rescue (SAR) professional in the eastern Sierra Nevada in the June Lakes/Mammoth region.  

The book is definitely a page-turner and tough to put down.  It is available on Amazon where it has received 55 5-star reviews — so far. 

Other books Susan has edited are “Man Mission” and “Head Waggling in  Dehli” by author Eytan Uliel.  Both books are still in the process of being published.  

“I am definitely a story editor,” says Susan.  “I am a lazy reader, so if I find I don’t remember what I just read or the author is just telling me too much and not leaving anything to my imagination or interrupting the story with too much detail, then I know the story needs some work.

“I like to make sure the reader is inside the book, so I look for ways to bring them right into the scene.  With Dean’s book, it was a matter of taking his already excellent descriptions of harrowing events in the high Sierra and adding conversations that the reader can listen to, for instance.

"I knew we had succeeded when I gave the book to my 88-year-old friend, Vera Bohan, and she told me, ‘I couldn’t go to bed last night till I got those boys down off that cliff!’ “

Dean Rosnau is currently speaking at REI stores across California and the nation.  The schedule for his talks can be found Here.



© Susan Barich 2015