You want to craft a clear, compelling manuscript that precisely conveys the nuances of your discoveries and thoughts. But it’s hard to get the distance you need to edit your own work.

I can bring fresh eyes to your project. I edit with an eye to audience and to helping make your work accessible and engaging for your target readers. Depending on your desired level of edit, I can provide thoughtful feedback on structure and argument or home in on sentence- and paragraph-level details to ensure a logical progression of ideas.

I’m Ellen Tilton-Cantrell, Ph.D. As an editor, I am inspired by William Germano’s call to be “attentive, objective, compassionate, relentless.” My mission is to help you realize your vision for your work: I respect your unique voice as I assist you in expressing complex thoughts clearly.

My love of deep, engaged reading and wordsmithing drew me first to academia and later to editing. I earned my Ph.D. from Yale University in Japanese literature and my editing certificate from UC Berkeley Extension. I have now been editing for scholars full-time for six years. My clients have published books with a variety of presses, including Princeton University Press, Columbia University Press, University of California Press, Duke University Press, Johns Hopkins University Press, The University of Chicago Press, Oxford University Press, University of Virginia Press, University of Michigan Press, Routledge, University of Hawai’i Press, and University of Toronto Press.

I named Tilia Editorial after the linden tree (genus name Tilia). Linden trees are everywhere in the area of Minneapolis where I work. Also, I think of editors as being like arborists for manuscripts—pruning, shaping, and helping them grow into their fullest potential. I edit to help your writing project flourish.

Credentials & Experience

• Ph.D., M.Phil., and M.A. in East Asian Languages and Literatures, Yale University

• Editing certificate, UC Berkeley Extension, Professional Sequence in Editing

• B.A., magna cum laude, in English and Japanese (double major), Carleton College

• Professional development: courses on academic developmental editing and scholarly book proposal development through the Editorial Freelancers Association, Ideas on Fire, and Manuscript Works. Coach training through MentorCoach.

• Visiting assistant professorship in Japanese language & literature, Carleton College

• Position as creative writing instructor, The Blake School

• Writing consultations with students as campus writing center tutor, Carleton College

• Experience doing professional Japanese-to-English translation, both freelance and as part of a job at the Aomori Prefectural Government