Editing, Writing, Research & Education Consultant
Welcome
Writing well can be difficult. It helps to have someone on your side. You have the bright ideas, now let me help make your writing shine!
My name is Kelsey Keyes. I am a professional editor and writer, as well as a voracious reader and lover of all things written. I provide editing and writing support for personal, professional, academic, and technical writing.
I am a Professor Emerita, with graduate degrees in English Literature and Library and Information Science. Over two decades in higher education has made me particularly well-equipped to edit academic writing, from peer-reviewed articles, to promotion and tenure narratives, to academic monographs.
In fact, I have first-hand experience with the entire book publishing process, as the author of an academic book myself. I can help you write a book proposal that gets results, provide writing coaching (including helping you create—and stick to!—a writing plan), edit your book, and even do a final review of page proofs.
I go above and beyond to make sure you get the help you need. I can work with you throughout the entire writing process – providing consulting and coaching – or work with you in the final stages – whether you need extensive copy editing, light proofreading, or formatting – to prepare your final draft.
As part of an initial consultation, I will work closely with you to learn your goals and your deadlines, so you can be confident my work will be done well and on time.
Want to learn more? Contact me today for an initial consultation, and find out more about what I can do for you.
My Story
Academia
After spending over two decades studying, researching, writing, and teaching about literature, composition, rhetoric, research, and information science I am now working as an editing and writing support consultant.
As an Professor Emerita and research librarian, I worked closely with undergraduate and graduate students, as well as academic professionals on all aspects of researching, writing, and editing. I am now the Managing Editor for an academic journal at a top university press.
I particularly enjoy working with clients who are non-native English speakers, or international students. I greatly admire that they are writing in a second language, and I enjoy helping polish their writing so that it clearly expresses what they want to convey.
In my 13 years in a tenure track, and then tenured, position, I have written and edited numerous peer-reviewed, scholarly articles in high-ranking journals, personal narratives, CVs, grant proposals, research proposals, scholarly presentations, tenure narratives and more. I have also authored a full-length book published by the leading press in my field (available in 2023). I am well able to support students and professionals in any stage of their career.
In my own work I have done qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research, and am comfortable reading and editing writing in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields. In addition, I have a certificate in data analysis, so I can understand and edit statistics, charts, and other figures as needed.
I am familiar with APA, MLA, and Chicago Manual of Style and am happy to work with other citation styles as needed. In addition, I will be sure to adhere to any other guidelines you or your institution requires.
Popular and technical writing
As a lifelong avid reader, story lover, librarian, and writer myself, I am excited by the prospect of supporting you in your writing journey!
I have graduate degrees in English Literature, as well as Library and Information Science. In addition, I have served on and led a national American Library Association book selection committee. What does that all mean? It means I read a lot and am deeply familiar with a large variety of writing – from creative non-fiction, to memoirs, fantasy to romance, long- and short-form articles, blog posts, newsletters, young adult, middle grade, and children’s books.
I can also help you with technical writing, such as cover letters, resumes, business documents, slide decks and more to ensure business communications that are clear, concise, and consistent.
I can help you at every stage of the writing process, from developing your writing ideas and finding your unique voice, to organizing your plot, to supplying encouraging feedback and coaching, to providing any level of editing you need.