About Peternelle van Arsdale
Photo by Pamela Milam
Writing for an audience of readers is exposing; it’s an invitation for others to take us in and to critique us. As a long-time independent editor, a former executive editor for multiple Big Five publishers,and a published novelist and essayist, I understand this from all sides; I understand how important editing is, and I also understand how vulnerable we are when seeking help for our work, no matter how experienced we might be.
I bring to my clients a well-honed understanding of the complex task of telling a story well, and insight into the practices and expectations of the book publishing industry. From big picture to sentence level, with precision and delicacy, I guide my clients in taking their work to the highest possible level, beyond what they are able to achieve on their own.
My editing and writing clients include bestselling authors as well as not-yet-published first novelists and memoirists. I assist clients at every stage of their projects’ development, and I also offer coaching to those interested in ongoing support while they develop their ideas.
I have been privileged to work with many highly acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors, including Isaac Mizrahi (I.M.), Stephanie Land (Class), Susannah Breslin (Data Baby), J. R. Moehringer (The Tender Bar and Sutton), Renée Rosen (Dollface), Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Sister of My Heart), Andrew Young (An Easy Burden), Tananarive Due (The Between and My Soul to Keep), Steve Lopez (The Soloist), and Cecelia Ahern (P.S., I Love You). Prior to becoming an independent editor I was an executive editor for HarperCollins, Anchor/Doubleday, Hyperion,and G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
I am the author of two young adult novels. My first novel, The Beast Is an Animal, has been described as “a psychologically intense fantasy” (Horn Book Magazine). My second novel, The Cold Is in Her Bones, has been praised as a “dark, magic-infused story lit by bravery and hope” (Booklist). I’ve also published essays and short fiction, and I’ve performed my personal essays for the storytelling series Generation Women.