Maya Berger (What I Mean To Say)

Testimonials

Maya's copyediting work on my novel Far From the Light of Heaven was exemplary.

Tade Thompson, Author (Orbit Books)

Maya was the copy editor for my novel there are more things. She was contracted through my publisher Little, Brown. I was blown away by Maya’s care and diligence with the text, which is formally experimental and includes many words and phrases in Portuguese. Maya checked over 100 Indigenous group names, spotted missing accents on Portuguese words, googled historical characters and checked my timeline, among many other things. I was particularly impressed by her thoughtfulness when it came to language around race, where Maya suggested, for example, that ‘Black’ could be capitalised. Her work made me more confident in my own text. In my opinion, Maya is the kind of copy editor that the publishing industry needs.

Yara Rodrigues Fowler
​Author (Fleet Books)

Maya is professional and friendly, and she’s a really talented editor. Her feedback is thorough and respectful, and she’s a lot of fun to work with. Highly recommend!

Carrie Mumford
Independent Author

Maya’s proofreading work on my book manuscript was in a word, excellent. Before she began the project, she gave very clear information about when she could do the work and how long it would take, as well as straightforward, helpful instructions about the payment process (which went smoothly). When she returned the manuscript with her corrections, comments, and queries (on the exact day she had promised), everything was so clear and helpful that I didn’t need to ask her any additional questions. When Maya edited particular sentences for clarity, she was always careful to ask me to check to be sure she had retained the meaning. I am especially grateful for her thorough work with the Works Cited list and in-text citations. In short, she helped me to shape the manuscript from a final draft (with emphasis on the draft, full of typos and gaps) into a book with a professional presentation. Thanks to Maya’s editing and proofreading help, it is a book I can now feel proud of having written. I also found Maya to be very personable, and I enjoyed our correspondence. I will recommend her to my colleagues working on similar projects!

Laura Castor
​Academic Author

Maya was a superb line manager during my time at *Research, and a meticulous editor and project manager. She was quick to answer queries, calm in a crisis and supportive at all stages. Her editorial feedback on my work was always pinpoint-accurate and extremely helpful. Maya's attention to detail is second to none, and she's a real pleasure to work with.

Kirsten Irving
Freelance Copywriter, Poet, Editor and Voice Actor

Maya's work for us has been of a high standard and we’re very happy with it.

Leah McAteer
Commissioning Editor, Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Maya was always professional and friendly, and a pleasure to work with overall.  Her editing work on my fantasy novel was thorough and precise, and her notes and suggestions provided clarity and were extremely valuable in allowing me to produce the best possible version of my book.  Her perspective on the larger aspects of the story, as well as her attention to detail and consistency with the writing and characters, were never less than excellent.  I’m very appreciative of the job she did, and would absolutely work with her again in the future.

Michael Leibner
Independent Author

It was a great pleasure to work with Maya, everything was so clear and accurate.

Magdalena Ślusarczyk
​Academic Editor and Author

Thank you so much to Maya Berger for proof-reading my PhD thesis. She has done a great job, and I am very pleased with her proof-reading service. With large proof-reading agencies you run the risk that your proofer will be someone without sufficient language or academic skills, but with Maya I could discuss my requirements with her directly. Her working style is very accurate and she pays close attention to grammar, English use, and spelling, and thereby improved my work immensely. She was able to deal with the complexity of human behaviour research and all the vocabulary related to it. Moreover, her comments and edits were clear, precise and comprehensive. Last but not least, her responses were also very quick and she delivered what she promised, namely returning the material back to me in the time agreed. I can definitely recommend Maya.

Joerg Berberich
PhD Researcher

Maya of What I Mean To Say was a pleasure to work with, every step of the way. She artfully combined a tactful and thoughtful approach to my short story, with the literary intelligence and rigour that I would expect from a professional editor. Her structural edits and her proofread queries resulted in suggestions that I in nearly all cases accepted without needing to revert for clarity, and her attention to style and consistency were really helpful. I would look forward to any future opportunities to work with Maya.

Gerard Ralphs
Independent Author

After trying a few editors who wanted to change my writing style and voice beyond recognition, I finally found Maya, and thought, 'Yes!' Maya took care to understand exactly what I wanted and what style I was after, then made fine-tuned corrections and lightly brushed up my story, like polishing something very delicate. She caught my mistakes without changing the story's voice. Excellent!

Marie S
Author

It has been a pleasure to work with Maya. She does an exquisite job. Unlike with some other proofreaders, your work doesn’t fail publisher spot-checks over and over again. She knows how to plan her time, she is friendly, supportive and solution oriented. Her strategic guidance is brilliant. Additionally, her response time is also very quick and she delivers the material back in the time agreed. I definitely recommend Maya. I look forward to working with her on future projects.

A. Kara
Academic Author

Maya worked under my supervision as a freelance editor at Tri Active Media. She sub-edited fiction and non-fiction features across a range of lifestyle magazines, and her language skills, eye for detail and ability to meet tight deadlines were real assets. In addition, Maya was a pleasure to work with, professional at all times, and respectful of sensitive subject matters and our diverse readership. I would highly recommend Maya as an editor and would not hesitate to work with her again in the future.

Sarah Berry

I have to thank Maya for editing my paper. I am impressed with the great attention to detail, improvement in clarity, and overall advice around style and flow of the work. I think service is very efficient and effective, and would highly recommend her.

Mohammad Sarshar, LLB