Editor

James R. Coggins is a skilled editor with 25 years of professional experience, excelling at producing clear, concise copy. He was an award-winning editor with the Mennonite Brethren Herald for 19 years and currently works part-time as an associate editor with B.C. Christian News / CanadianChristianity.com. He is a member of the Editors’ Association of Canada and ChiLibris and spends a lot of his time as a freelance editor, specializing in substantive editing and copyediting of book manuscripts on a contract basis. He has experience editing both fiction and non-fiction, at the academic and popular levels.

Other editing services include

• manuscript evaluations
• editing of academic theses
• evaluation and editing of shorter pieces – articles, short stories, etc.
• proofreading
• ghost writing, writing promotional pieces, letters, etc.
• polished translations of some written work from French (and Latin) into English.

James R. Coggins’s book editing projects began with Robert N. Thompson’s From the Marketplace (Trinity College Press, 1979). Some of his more recent editing projects are:

Harry Schmidt, The Incredible Dream

As a boy, Harry Schmidt could not have been expected to accomplish much. Born to an impoverished immigrant farm family, he had no money, little education and a serious speech impediment. All he could do is dream. But he took the first job he could get, one thing led to another, and his dreams became reality. He became a successful building contractor in Canada and now travels the world using his acquired wealth to build children’s shelters. More than a biography, this book asks probing questions: Why do the poor have to remain poor? Why do some people succeed while others fail?

Dr. Rafael Bolio, Diets Make You Fat: Eating Makes You Skinny

“Many years ago, when parents were trying to make their children gain weight, being overweight was quite unusual. Now that everyone is trying to lose weight, the number of people with excess weight is on the rise.” A specialist in internal medicine, Dr. Bolio made the remarkable discovery that weight-loss diets often upset metabolic balance and lead to the accumulation of excess body fat. This propelled him to the leadership of a nationwide program to combat obesity in Mexico and made him an internationally recognized expert on the subject. This book is an English translation of his best-selling book in Spanish. Learn how to lose weight by eating well!

Debbie Crouse, Fired: How You Can Prepare Yourself – Just in Case

Coming soon

“You’re fired!” Would you be devastated if those words were directed at you? For Debbie Crouse, they were the doorway to opportunity. Read this book and be inspired to prepare for the unexpected, take control of your life, develop multiple streams of income and support others facing firing or lay-off.

J.C. Di Musto, Cat Purple in Gross Pointe

This is a fascinating medical mystery novel by a highly respected obstetrician. Diane Truong’s pregnancy seems perfectly normal – until Dr. Alfie Santoro detects a second, mysterious heartbeat. Desperately she delves into the past to find some answers. An eccentric aristocrat claims those answers are to be found in ancient folktales, but Alfie’s trust in medical science may blind her to the truth. Will she be able to unravel the mystery in time to save Diane and her baby?

A longer list of book projects is available on request.

• Want to ask about some editing? Contact me.