Melanie Spiller and Coloratura Consulting

Copyright 2020 Melanie Spiller. All rights reserved.

Testimonials

Melanie Spiller and Coloratura Consulting

Melanie took charge of a novel I’d been working on for years and helped bring it to a brilliant point of plot and character clarity, consistency, and elegance. Her developmental editing skills surpass even her proof-reading and grammar abilities, which are excellent. I wouldn’t hesitate to engage her again for another novel. And besides that, she’s fun to work with—or is that, she’s a person with whom it’s fun to work? Thanks, Melanie! Mary F. Burns Author of historical fiction: Ember Days; Portraits of an Artist: A Novel about John Singer Sargent; the Sargent/Paget Mysteries; J-The Woman Who Wrote the Bible I have worked with Melanie on an ongoing basis for the past few years. She is thorough, engaging, and fun to work with. I really like it when she goes the extra mile in understanding not just the prose of the content, also the meaning behind the content. Sahil Malek Microsoft MVP, INETA speaker, .NET author, consultant, and trainer I appreciated having Melanie as my first editor more than I can say. She was encouraging and kind, while still being clear about standards and expectations. Melanie went above and beyond what I expected from an editor, working with me to figure out what I wanted to say, in the best possible way for the target audience. I wish every first-time author had a Melanie, and I couldn’t be happier that I actually did. Ashleigh Lodge Application Development Manager, Neovation Learning Solutions CODE Magazine contributing author I have worked with a number of editors over the past 20 years and one editor consistently stood out among the rest—Melanie. Looking back, I’ve known Melanie for close to seven years, beginning with an article I wrote for CODE Magazine in 2013. My first impression of Melanie was that she’s a really strict editor, always eagle-eye hunting for sentences that are ambiguous. But I soon realized that I’m beginning to subconsciously learn to be very careful with my words. All thanks to Melanie for the on- the-job training. Another thing that amazes me is how quickly Melanie learns new topics. While programming may not be Melanie's cup of tea, the questions she asks in my articles clearly demonstrates how quickly she masters each topic she edits. It’s always a pleasure to work with Melanie! Wei-Meng Lee Founder, Learn2Develop.net Contributing Author, CODE Magazine I've worked with Melanie as an editor at Microsoft and as a freelance writer. As a peer, she was an invaluable resource to other editors, helping develop guidance, training, and style sheets while keeping it light and even fun. As a writer, I appreciated her focus on overall flow and messaging. She's not all about the grammar; she understands the challenges in explaining technical concepts and knows how to balance length, hard content, and appropriate tone. J. Takaki Technical editor, translator, and freelance write Melanie Spiller’s editing has had a profound influence on my writing. Each time she’s edited something I’ve written, I’ve learned something new about writing in general, about the piece she’s editing, and about my own writing style. She has unearthed patterns within my writing that, once noted, have enabled me to break bad habits and thus grow as a writer. I believe the most of us have someone who acts as our inspiration as we write—I find that I spend much of my time as I write asking myself, “What would Melanie think of this?” I know for a fact that any success I’ve had as a write can be directly attributed both to what I’ve learned from Melanie’s work, and her ongoing editing of pieces as I write them. Ken Getz Senior Consultant: MCW Technologies, LLC Author of Access Developer’s Handbook Series (Sybex) As an editor, Melanie Spiller is highly skilled, thorough, and creative. Her attention to detail, her patience, persistence, and sense of humor helped to clarify beautifully what it was I intended to say. It is truly a pleasure to work with Melanie. Karen Clark Mezzo-Contralto Melanie Spiller is an accomplished writer, editor, and researcher with whom I had the pleasure of working on an anthology I was preparing for publication. Ms. Spiller contracted to do some minimal editing and to format the book, making it publishing-ready. I was impressed with her due diligence, constructive feedback, and the final product, on which I received compliments; the (self-published) anthology was accepted in local bookstores in San Francisco. Ms. Spiller is a “jack of all trades” and a master of many, which I can confidently acclaim. Andrew Pelfini Psychotherapist/Educator/Consultant/Author Melanie was the first developmental editor I ever worked with, and she taught me that a good editor can make a world of difference, even to an experienced writer. She taught me so many things about good technical writing that I can’t even list them all, and she’s had a lasting and positive impression on my work. Her patient and careful attempts to correct my sloppy writing have ultimately benefited both me and my readers. (Plus, she’s hella fun at sushi restaurants.) Mike Gunderloy Author and co-author of Access and SQL Server Developer’s Handbook, Microsoft Access Developer’s guide to SQL Server, SQL Server 7 in Record Time, The World of Zines: A Guide to the Independent Magazine Revolution, Mastering Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, Automating Microsoft Access with VBA, Access Developer’s Handbook, SQL Server Developer’s Gide to OLAP, MCAD/MCSD Training Guide, and many more. Melanie Spiller is a brilliant editor. I was fortunate to work with her at the start of my writing career. She took some of the most awkward prose ever concocted by a native-English speaker and helped transform it into something book-worthy. I owe a lot to her compassionate tyranny and patience. Every aspiring writer should be so lucky as to work with Melanie on their first book. Mary Chipman Author and co-author of “Access and SQL Server Developer’s Handbook, Microsoft Access Developer’s guide to SQL Server, SQL Server 7 in Record Time, and more I just enjoy Melanie’s posts so much, I wish she’d do it more frequently. One of my all-time favorite books about writing is Stephen King’s “On Writing.” Melanie’s posts give me the same charge—they make me want to go back and rewrite stuff based on what I just learned. Powerful stuff. Marc Orchant Storyteller, VanDyke Software Melanie Spiller, officially a “content consultant” but actually one of the most incredible gurus on technical writing I’ve ever encountered, has a blog that is mandatory reading for anyone who writes technical material for any audience. Having been on the receiving end of edits from her, I can tell you, you’ll never have anyone tougher look at your writing, nor anyone from whom you’ll learn more, dosed with generous helpings of humor. Don Keily River Chaser (and technical author) Melanie and I work with a lot of the same writers on projects, and I bring her a few new writers every few months to “break in.” The writers she works with become more organized, more thoughtful about the writing they do, and they understand that good writing is worth the effort. I’ve seen “green’ writers make significant improvements and they have worked with Melanie over time. As a developmental editor, she is far ahead of other editors I’ve worked with. I’m a professional editor, and I continue to learn from Melanie. If you’ve read testimonials on her website down to this point, you can stop wondering if she’ll bring value to your project. She’s worth your time and money. Erik Ruthruff A23 Consulting Melanie is an amazing editor. Totally professional, technically astute, and most importantly, she always cares about quality. Paul Litwin Principal, Deep Training & Litwin Consulting Conference Chair, Microsoft ASP.NET Connection Microsoft ASP.NET MVP Not only did Melanie make my words better, I learned more from Melanie about writing than I did anywhere else. Peter Vogel Principal, PH&V Information Services “You’ll get feedback on your work so that every time you write, it’s better, and each time you take on a writing assignment, you feel stronger.” That’s a quote from Melanie’s website. I say for myself that every word is true. Melanie not only edited my work (white papers for Microsoft) but she helped me develop skills in areas that needed work. Overall, I learn more from Melanie’s editing than I ever did at school. Martin WP Reid Co-Author Access to SQL Server (Apress) Beginning Access 2003 VBA (Wrox Press) Sybex technical editor