Randy Burgess bio
I’m a full-time professional writer and editor with just enough intellectual curiosity to keep me restless. I started off writing for the public as a newspaper reporter. My 10-year career saw me go from a tiny, now-defunct weekly in Greenwich, Connecticut, to the state’s biggest newspaper, The Hartford Courant. At the Courant I specialized in front-page features on odd subjects: the difference between people who let their cats out and those who keep them in; why fortune cookies no longer tell fortunes; life in a town cut off from all television reception; etc.
Having burned out covering one school board meeting too many, I decided to go to graduate school at Hollins College to get my MA in fiction-writing. After that I still had to make something of a living, so I switched from newspapers to a mix of marketing writing, journalism, and book doctoring (basically, helping authors with everything from structure to style). I’m still doing that mix today. I’ve authored or co-authored a number of books myself, including several on poker, once a huge hobby of mine, and I write occasional articles and personal essays for magazines.
Here is a little information on each of my professional specialities:
Copywriting & editing for businesses & non-profits. This includes brochures and other collateral, reports, white papers, print and Web articles, newsletters, etc. Recent business clients include A.T. Kearney and TRAFFIQ; recent non-profit clients include the National Child Labor Committee and the American Radio Choir.
Book doctoring and collaborations. As mentioned, I’ve authored and co-authored several non-fiction books in recent years. This has given me the experience needed to help other authors create successful nonfiction book proposals and manuscripts of their own – check out my posts in the News about authors I’ve worked with category. I don’t quote fees without seeing a manuscript first, but here are some ranges: critiquing a book proposal, $100 – $1,500; editing or ghostwriting a proposal, $5,000 – $10,000; editing or ghostwriting a complete book: $20,000 – $50,000.
I like talking with writers, so if you’re not sure about your project, contact me anyway. Even when I can’t help, I sometimes recommend other resources, from writing books to fellow editors who specialize in different genres than I do, for example fiction.
Coaching. I enjoy working one-on-one with persons who are smart, passionate about their chosen topic, and want to learn professional writing techniques for greater assurance and fluency. Specific skills I teach include brainstorming, researching, fast drafting, learning new genres, self-editing, and more. I’ve taught these same skills to business people and students at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Coaching can range from a simple critique of an existing manuscript to an ongoing relationship. Fee arrangements are on an individual basis.
For questions and inquiries, email me at this address:
