Write
After years of helping friends polish their manuscripts, I launched BLUE SPARK EDITORIAL, LLC to help bridge the creative vision of the author with the business goals of the publishing team.
As a developmental and substantive line editor I aim to:
Help scribes find the balance between the art and the craft of the writing process
Help agents and publishing teams produce a captivating story that will find shelf space in today's market and bring value to modern readers
WHAT SERVICES DO I OFFER?
Developmental / Substantive Line Edit
Query / Proposal Packaging
Ghostwriting / Collaborative Writing
Publishing Consult
Featured Editorial Works
WHAT ARE CLIENTS SAYING?
“I had the honor of working with Julie on my latest book and found myself eagerly anticipating each new round of edits. Her ability to find holes, aid in research, and streamline phrasing strengthened the manuscript beyond what I thought possible. Partnering with her not only improved my book, but my writing ability as a whole. Intuitive, wise, and kind, I can't imagine a more perfect collaborator.”
— Jill Winger, author of The Prairie Homestead Cookbook & Old-Fashioned on Purpose
“Julie Cantrell is a gifted, sensitive editor and writer who brings the highest standards of sense and sensibility to her work. When I need a second-eyes assessment on a project, I could not do any better than Julie.”
— Jacquelyn Mitchard, number one New York Times bestselling author of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club pick The Deep End of the Ocean
“Julie Cantrell and I wrote a magazine column together for years and critiqued back-and-forth with one another on novels. She’s not only a talented writer, she’s a crackerjack editor... and fast!”
— Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
“Julie Cantrell is one of the finest editors I’ve had the privilege of working with. She possesses all of the qualities one would want from a partner: talent, wisdom, kindness, patience, with an unapparelled gift for storytelling. Those character attributes, along with her astute eye and ear, have enhanced all of my writing and made it a pure joy to work with her. Julie is also one of the most encouraging people I have been around, and every writer needs encouragement and someone who can help them to produce their very best work. She is also one of finest writers in the country herself, and I am blessed to have partaken of her services, services I highly recommend to anyone wanting to take their writing to the highest level possible.”
— Zoro, world renowned drummer for Lenny Kravitz, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, author of Maria’s Scarf: A Son’s Memoir
“After a year of collaborating alongside Julie Cantrell on the book Crescendo, I can honestly say that it has been both a pleasure and honor to work with someone so talented and personable. Julie sees the world through a unique and beautiful lens and knows it to be a truly kind, hopeful, and inspiring place even through life’s most difficult and consuming times. Through her powerful and poetic writing, she instinctually knows how to show this to others in dramatic and redemptive stories such a Crescendo. Thank you, Julie, for sharing your incredible talent with me and so many others. You were surely placed on this earth to create and share words that make it a better place.”
— Allen Cheney, film producer and bestselling author of Crescendo
“Julie was so helpful with my book proposal during the Fall of 2019! In addition to sharing her expert advice on how to best structure the book proposal, Julie used her years of experience as a successful author to help me understand how writing a chapter for a book can be different from writing a blog post. But what I treasured most from my short time with Julie while working on my book proposal was our conversations on the phone when she offered kind words of encouragement, giving me a boost in confidence to know that my story mattered, that my writing was good, and that my voice was going to make a difference and help other women out there.”
— Naomi Davis, Love Taza, A Coat of Yellow Paint
“Julie Cantrell has proofed and edited three novels for me. I strongly recommend her skills as book doctor and editor. She not only ferrets out grammatical errors, misspellings, and awkward diction but keeps track of characters’ names, unintended repetitions, and awkward redundancies. Regarding her editorial judgment, she makes wise suggestions as to restructuring chapters, character motivation, themes, settings, and when to expand or tighten. But above all she is candid and honest, covers the author’s back, and saves him from errors he might later regret. She is diplomatic in editorial discussions but does not stroke the author’s ego. There is no substitute for honesty and clarity in an editor, and Cantrell absolutely delivers.”
— Larry Wells, author and publisher, Yoknapatawpha Press
“Julie is an outstanding editor with a lot of valuable suggestions. She completed the edits well before the deadline, which was a great bonus. She knows exactly what it takes to write & edit a bestselling book (she is a NYT bestseller herself). Great experience.”
— Jimmy Naraine, global speaker and course developer with more than 220,000 students around the world
“Julie is such a pleasure to work with and in all my book projects, I felt full confidence in her talent and ability in editing my manuscript. She has such a gift for helping to shape a manuscript into the best form it can be without affecting my voice or the goals of my message. Julie is also a great encourager and supporter during the whole editing process!”
— Tracie Miles, author of six best-selling books and Founder of the Living Unbroken Divorce Recovery Program, Director of COMPEL Writers Training at Proverbs 31 Ministries
“Julie Cantrell provided a comprehensive content edit on my manuscript. She was very professional and efficient, first seeking to understanding the objectives of her client. I found Julie’s advice invaluable as it helped me to breakout of certain thought patterns that I otherwise would not have seen, while still leaving me the choice to weigh it up against the essence of my message. I also found her very encouraging and inspirational. As a new author, I was seeking an editor that would tell me the truth about my manuscript and Julie did so in a way that brought the best out of me. So glad I chose her!”
— Joanne Sojinu, author of A Mother’s Prayer, Week by Week Devotional for Your Unborn Child
“I was thrilled to work with Julie Cantrell in an editorial capacity, especially because I’ve been a longtime fan of her writing. With her keen eye for what makes a powerful story, she immediately honed in on what would strengthen my manuscript. From start to finish, working with Julie is an absolute joy and I credit her insightful feedback for helping this novel reach its fullest potential. I hope to work with her again on future projects.”
— Heather Bell Adams, North Carolina’s 2022 Piedmont Laureate and award-winning author of The Good Luck Stone
“Julie Cantrell is a prolific writer who captivates audiences with her heartwarming stories and stroke-of-genius writing style. I recently had the privilege of working with her on my debut book project, Finding My Father. Julie’s insight, guidance, and experience as a New York Times bestselling author was invaluable to me. One of the things I loved most about working with her was that she gave my project the same level of care and attention that she gave her own. She was also reliable, always honoring deadlines in a time-sensitive manner. Julie is an amazing editor who I look forward to working with again in the near future.”
— Christa Armstead, pastor of Bayside Church, mother of Arik Armstead, and author of ILLEGITIMATE: A MEMOIR
“I feel very fortunate to have benefitted from Julie’s talent and experience in the preparation of my manuscript. As a first-time author, I needed the wisdom she shared about making my book more directly reader-focused. She contributed many important suggestions, from the smallest details to sweeping changes to the format of the book's content that greatly improved the presentation of my material. Yet her remarks never came across as criticism, and I was able to feel emotionally at ease throughout the editing process. Julie’s compassionate, positive perspective aligns with what I seek to communicate. The thoughtful affirmations she sprinkled in among her keen insights made for a joyful collaboration.”
— Jo Verdis, multidisciplinary artist and creativity coach
“As a first-time memoirist, I was sensitive to the personal nature of my work and Julie was the first human being to read my story. She was incredibly adept at giving me stark, valuable feedback without stepping on my delicate ego. But I was clear at the beginning of our collaboration that I wanted the bad news as much as the good. Otherwise, why bother? But I also needed someone to help me keep on working, to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Julie gave me both. I also wanted to know exactly what it would take to get my story ready for publishers. Julie was spot-on with all of her feedback. I'm so happy I chose her to work on this project with me. My expectations were exceeded. Thank you, Julie!”
— Drew Ross, cancer survivor and author of How to Survive a Throat Punch: A Memoir of Love, Learning, and the Fight for What Matters Most
“I cannot imagine working with anyone more professional, talented, timely, or gracious than Julie. I had very high expectations entering into the partnership, and she blew every expectation out of the water. I would recommend her 10 out of 10 times, and I anticipate working with her on every book I write in the future. Yes, that's how great she was. Thank you, Julie. I am truly grateful for lending me your gift and helping me turn my simple words into a compelling story.”
— Chris Field, bestselling author of Disrupting for Good and founder of Mercy Project