Lenore Hietkamp, MA

Profile

I am an editor, book designer, and creator of ebooks. I specialize in information technology, art history, and architectural history--and mystery novels. I love it when these subjects and all my skills come together in one manuscript, particularly in projects that I nurse from beginning to end (for self-publishing clients and occasionally for publishers). I bring passion, wisdom, and a great deal of patience to my work.

Read a selected list of contracts on the projects page of my website. I am the ongoing editor for Architectural Histories, an online academic journal. Other recent work includes the editing and production of The Embodied Violinist, by Gwen Thompson-Robinow (for which I was shortlisted for the EAC's editorial award in 2018); a multi-author volume on a 17th-century Jesuit philosopher (publication details to come); Measuring Programming Skill: Construction and Validation of an Instrument for Evaluating Java Developers, by Gunnar Rye Bergersen; 16 mystery novels; the Nordic Journal of Architecture; the 5 volumes of the Secret Beaches of Vancouver Island Series; and the major book on Paul Kane published by the Royal Ontario Museum.

I believe an editor must practice humility and compassion (which of course isn't recommended for a posting such as this!). It's not always easy, but it is always important.

I am based in Victoria, BC. I have an MA in art history. I pursued a PhD for seven years through the University of Washington (Seattle), specializing in architectural history. Having spent six years at a high-tech company, I have a sound understanding of many aspects of information technology; helping authors of high-tech material explain their work in plain language is a particular skill. I also edit for academic and trade publishers (University of Washington Press, Royal Ontario Museum, Danish Architectural Press) on complex academic publications, often books on art and architecture, and other subjects in the humanities. I also work with TouchWood Editions and Heritage House, editing nonfiction--and mysteries! For two years (2016–2018) I was in-house at Heritage House Publishing, first as an editor and then as the editorial coordinator, so I am very familiar with the entire publishing process.

I excel at identifying patterns and problems in material written by authors whose first language is not English (EFL/ESL). I have studied Mandarin and Chinese history. In the work I do for the online journal Architectural Histories, I help academic authors publish articles to a high standard.

My first love is academic writing. I encourage my academic clients to explore the depths of their topic; a managing editor at the University of Washington Press calls this my "intelligent eye."  I taught writing to college students for several years, and I also have intensive training in the multi-disciplinary field of art and architectural history. And I've done way too much reading when I could have been out playing....

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Client testimonials

From Tijana Vujosevic:

Lenore helped me craft a scholarly monograph, Modernism and the Making of the Soviet New Man, published in 2017 with Manchester University Press. She did much more than a standard copyeditor, giving me ideas about the general structure of the book, ensuring my writing is engaging enough, and always helping me find the right word or phrase for what I want to say. Most importantly, and the reason why I have recommended her to several colleagues, is that she is honest and forthright when things do not work. In other word, she calls people on their pretentiousness and an unnecessary lack of clarity when needed. As a result of working with Lenore, my book has garnered a lot of praise for its language. Out of seven reviewers (the book was very popular), two or three commended it for its captivating style and it entered the Oxford Bibliography of Literature on Russia and the Soviet Union as a book "written in novelistic style". I cannot be happier and cannot wait to work with Lenore again. (LinkedIn, written in May, 2021)

From Gunnar R. Bergersen, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo:

"I learn so much about writing English when I read your comments and suggestions for improvement. The writing [of a PhD] can be frustrating, but it is enjoyable when I get good feedback from the clarity of the ideas from you (it really helps improve my thinking about the topic)." (Fall 2012)

From Mari Lending, Editor-in-Chief, Nordic Journal of Architecture:

"You have now fans all over in my Nordic environment. I am absolutely overwhelmed by your editing and forever grateful." (Fall 2012)

From the acknowledgement page in the mystery by Stephen Legault, The Vanishing Track (TouchWood, 2012):

"In particular, my thanks goes to Lenore Hietkamp, who was the copy editor for The Vanishing Track. You have my gratitude, and my sympathy." (2012)

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Keywords: Information technology, software engineering, academic writing, mystery writing, novels, fiction, PhD dissertation, thesis, journal article, academic book