“A special thanks to the incredible Dedi Felman (aka the Book Doctor West)—simply the best writing coach and collaborator an author could imagine!

There is absolute magic when someone gets the essence of a project as it takes shape. Your wisdom, humor, logic, professionalism, compassion, and advice helped me stay on the road many times when I found myself veering towards enticing detours. Thank you for helping me navigate this first book to the finish with style. I grew both as a writer and a person throughout our adventure.”

— Kelli Harding, MD, MPH, author of The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier With the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness

“Dedi Felman is nothing less than an extraordinary editor. Her gift is to see right into the innards of a story, and to tinker, ever so delicately, with the invisible machinery that makes a book work. She manages to be both very tough and unfailingly supportive, a rare combination. Working with Dedi is an experience I cherish; she stretched my ability to its limits and got me to write the best book I could.”

— Jonny Steinberg, author of Sizwe’s Test, a Washington Post Best Book of 2008, and winner of the Windham Campbell Literature Prize

“Dedi was a godsend. With an expert eye, she helped me identify the things I was too close to evaluate fairly: what was working, what needed tightening, and what could be cut. Dedi patiently led me through the story beats with pointed questions and observations that brought clarity to the maddening puzzle of my first draft. The revised story won first place at the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference writing contest.”

— Shannon Skaff, author of The Name of the Moon, winner of the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference Contest (fiction)

“Dedi was an ideal partner, motivator, and mentor throughout the process of writing my book. She provided key advice about the work’s themes, organization, and other big-picture issues. At the other end of the spectrum, she edited the text with a fine-tooth comb, suggesting changes at the word, sentence, and paragraph level. The lessons I learned from Dedi still resonate with me years later.”

— Michael Bobelian, author of Children of Armenia: A Forgotten Genocide and the Century-long Struggle for Justice

“From the outset, Dedi—and my book agent who had recommended her—told me she would do whatever it took to get my proposal into shape. Editing, writing, phone calls, accountability, strategic advice, coaching, creativity…

I came to Dedi with what was basically a large hodgepodge of notes, with a previous version of an old proposal. I wanted to write a proposal for a book about the course on influence I teach at Yale, and I needed major conceptual, strategic, and editorial help. And coaching and accountability….

The most magical thing was that the result of working closely Dedi was a proposal that sounded more like me than if I had written it alone…

The outcome for my proposal is that it was received as warmly by publishers as it possibly could have been: I have 25 meetings with editors from major houses scheduled in the next week.”

— Zoe Chance, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Yale School of Management

“[Book Development class] was a great experience–the perfect blend of discomfort and encouragement. I grew a lot and now have a solid outline (and a dilemma) from which to work.

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— Julie Clark, author of The Ones We Choose, developed in Book Development class