Our Services
Tailored editorial precision, communications training, workflow consulting, and writer coaching.
1. Expert Editing
Communication is effective only when the message received is the same as the one intended.
Whether it’s a book manuscript, an e-book, a high-stakes Pulitzer Prize entry essay, an executive white paper, targeted legislative briefings, a corporate annual report, or a biweekly newsletter, Merrill provides editing at every critical level:
- Developmental & Structural Editing: Help in organizing vast amounts of research, identify the narrative arc, establish pacing, and maintain clear thematic continuity.
- Detail & Line Editing: Rigorous line-by-line review for flow, sentence rhythm, clarity, fact-checking verification, and cross-checking references.
- Copy Editing & Proofreading: Precise grammatical parsing, punctuation polish, tone adjustment, and style adherence.
- Stylebook Creation: Create or modernize internal style or brand manuals for businesses and publications to resolve recurring questions, unify your brand’s voice, and eliminate ambiguity.
2. Customized Training & Workshops
Engaging, invigorating, and immediately actionable presentations customized to your team’s real content.
Merrill Perlman Consulting has a 20-plus-year record of training corporate communication teams, law firms, newsrooms, and university students to connect more effectively with their target audiences:
- Writers Without Editors: Teaching writers to think from the reader’s perspective and effective self-editing techniques before submission.
- Grammar & Usage: Demystifying punctuation, common pitfalls, and nuanced word choices.
- Clarity & Organization: Structuring complex material into digestible, persuasive narratives using proven writing architectures.
3. Editorial Workflow Consulting
Streamlining communication pipelines to eliminate bottlenecks and empower staff productivity.
Creating or tweaking communications workflows makes everyone’s work life smoother, more engaged, and more productive:
- Workflow Audits & Optimization: Through direct observation and interviews, identifying inefficiencies in copy routing, approval chains, and editorial production.
- Newsroom & Publishing Restructuring: Helping organizations transition seamlessly between print, digital, and multiplatform publishing rhythms.
- Recruiting & Talent Assessment: Backed by 20 years of recruiting staff editors and reporters at The New York Times, Merrill can advise you on hiring, screening tests, and talent evaluation.
4. Writer & Editor Coaching
One-on-one mentorship that unlocks your full potential and refines your distinctive voice.
For individual writers, authors, executives, reporters, or editors, personalized coaching provides supportive, confidential feedback on actual drafts:
- Narrative Architecture: Applying an appropriate structure for that piece and that audience, using proven organizational techniques.
- Overcoming Writer’s Block: Transforming overwhelming research into structured outlines and clear, manageable sections.
- Confidence & Self-Sufficiency: Developing the instinct to diagnose and fix weak transitions, passive construction, and bloated prose before hitting send.