"Jean is a brilliant editor, but her gift of working
with and communicating with authors has been so helpful. She is warm,
understanding, and able to work with diverse authors. She makes them feel
comfortable working on the edits as well as takes time to acknowledge positive
points about the manuscripts. Her expertise makes her a good counselor as she
fields author questions. I am thrilled to see her name assigned to any of my
projects." - Kim Bangs, Editorial Director, Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group (January
2024)
"I had the opportunity to work with Jean on her first
project with our imprint. She was the perfect person for this manuscript. The
insight and expertise Jean brought was beyond what I expected. She communicated
with care and clarity, hit every deadline, and edited with exceptional
precision. The author and I were thrilled. It was a privilege to work with such
a mature professional, and I can’t wait to work with her again."—David
Sluka, Senior Acquisitions Editor, Chosen Books, a division of BakerPublishingGroup (January
2023)
“Jean Bloom is a highly skilled and
capable editor who understands how to tailor her edit to the needs of the
publisher and the individual author’s voice. Jean communicates clearly and
professionally at every stage of the process, making it a pleasure to work with
her. And just as impressive in these days of tight deadlines, I can be
confident that she will deliver her edit on time—or even early!”— Rochelle
Gloege, Senior Acquisitions Editor, Bethany House Publishers (November 2022)
"Some months ago, I was in need of an experienced
developmental editor for a novel we acquired. Someone suggested I check with
Jean Kavich Bloom. She was available, and I assigned the edit to her. She did
so well with the developmental work, I asked Jean to do the line edit too. She
has edited several novels for Kregel since then. I trust Jean to the extent
that when one of my staff editors, who also is an author, signed a book
contract with Kregel, I asked Jean to do the editing. I am simply delighted
with the quality of her work. - Steve Barclift, Managing Editor, Kregel Publications
"I heard wonderful things about
the quality of Jean’s editing from other editors in my publishing house. I
found everything they said to be true. Jean edits the way I do—minimally but
carefully. I love that! She makes good subjective decisions and objectively has
extensive knowledge of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. When I had an
incredibly sensitive fiction author I worried about trusting with anyone, she
gave us the perfect edit for that project, even though it was truly
challenging. I have a passion for fiction and edited it for nearly 20 years,
and it was hard for me to let that go, but Jean skillfully handles story in a
way that honors the reader, the author, and the house. I feel completely
confident giving her novels, nonfiction, and gift books. She is always
gracious, efficient, on time, and professional. But what I value most about
Jean is that my authors love her edits. With her, I never worry I will have an
unhappy author who felt the freelance editor did too much. That takes such a
weight off my shoulders." – Kim Moore, Senior Editor/Lifestyle, Harvest House Publishers
"Jean is great to work with! She
is an excellent developmental editor and a great copyeditor. I love that we can
count on her to see both the big picture and all the little details. She's very
professional and timely in her work and able to develop great rapport with
authors. I highly recommend her!” - Ellen McAuley, Managing
Editor, Bethany House Publishers
"As both an editor and an author,
I know that the author-editor relationship is one of the most important
elements of the publishing process. Jean Bloom is a wonderful editor, balancing
attention to detail and author voice with graciousness. My book is so much
better because of her work." - Janyre Tromp, editor at Kregel Publications and
author of Shadows in the Mind’s Eye
“Jean’s handling of our project was
prompt and professional, and the cost was quite reasonable. I’m happy to
recommend her to any author or editor who needs a skilled copyeditor to make
sure that a manuscript puts its 'best foot forward' in print.” - Joe
Allison, Publisher, Jordan Publishing, http://www.jordanpublishing.net
"I have worked with Jean Bloom
for many years, first at Zondervan, where she was one of the essential team
members without whom everything would have fallen apart, and later at her own
company, Bloom in Words Editorial Services, where she has provided both copy
editing and proofreading services for my company Somersault. In either of those
settings, I have never had any doubt that Jean would perform any tasks assigned
to her with precision and accuracy, and I'm known for being picky. She has
become one of our go-to editors/proofreaders on Somersault projects, and I have
complete confidence in her ability to meet deadlines and exceed expectations.
It's always a relief to me when I find that she's available for a
project!" - David Lambert, Editorial Director, Somersault
"Jean is a joy to work with. She
cares for manuscripts as I would if I were editing them. My experience is that
Jean makes a tremendous impact with minimal changes and delivers well-edited
manuscripts on time and on budget." - Betty Fletcher, Senior
Editor/Women, Harvest House Publishers
"Jean is a very dependable,
proficient, and timely editor who has worked on several pieces for me over the
past months. I highly recommend her skills in whatever capacity you find
yourself needing an editor." – Chris Fann, Off The Page Director, Our Daily Bread
Ministries
"Jean is a highly adept editor
with an admirable work ethic. She always adheres to deadlines and often turns
around projects sooner than expected. She's a great person to work
with!" - Amy Ballor, Project Editor, Trade Books, Baker Publishing Group
"Jean Bloom is one of my favorite
freelance editors with whom to work. Her attention to detail is impeccable, she
never misses a deadline, and most importantly, I think, she has a wonderful
bedside manner with authors. Jean always provides helpful insights and
suggestions but errs on the side of the author's voice, which, I think, is one
of the most important and valued roles of an editor. I would not hesitate to
entrust any project to Jean's capable skills." - Becky Philpott,
Acquisitions Editor (Fiction), HarperCollins Christian Publishing
"Jean was an enormous help to us
with the Jeremiah Study Bible. She joined our extended team at a crucial time,
when we needed not only more workers but dedicated hours from Bible veterans
like her. She was not only conscientious about deadlines but quickly grasped
the nuances of this project and was so easy to work with. She also asked great
questions and brought just the right level of editing to everything we asked
her to do. Jean was critical to our success, and I would hire her again in a
heartbeat." - Kris Bearss, Freelance
Writer and Editor
"I have worked with Jean for
several years and she consistently communicates with clarity and thoroughness
to optimize audience understanding. She is able to turn around projects which
communicate information in a clear, concise, and timely manner. Jean monitors
and evaluates progress on working assignments with no supervision to ensure
timely and successful completion of assigned tasks. I will continue to work
with Jean in the future." - Steve Sammons, president,
Hawkeye Marketing Group, LLC
"I highly recommend Jean Bloom's
editorial services. Jean is the utmost professional in her work, has
exceptional editorial skills, and can always be counted on--from meeting
deadlines to her attention to detail. I have worked with Jean for a number of
years and hope to continue to do so." - Sue
Brower, Agent, Natasha Kern Literary Agency
"Jean Bloom has what it takes to
meet your editorial needs–intelligence, wit, creativity, honesty,
foresight, wisdom, sensitivity, experience, and everything else you could ever
want in an editorial professional. I've worked closely with Jean on several
levels as colleagues at Zondervan and now as she fields a wide variety of
projects through Bloom in Words Editorial Services. I have never been
disappointed in her work. She is trustworthy and dependable, and has a breadth
of knowledge and experience that allows her to add value in editorial projects
that span many topics. Jean has a terrific track record in meeting (and often
beating) deadlines. She floats with graceful ease among various editorial tasks
such as line and substantive editing, rewriting to specifications, and good
old-fashioned proofreading. I couldn't recommend Jean more highly for all your
editorial needs. She is as blooming good as they get." – Dirk
Buursma, Senior Editor-at-Large, Zondervan
"Jean has a broad range of
experience in book publishing, especially in the areas of editing and project
management. She has good skills and insight. In editing, she knows how to
improve an author's communication while at the same time retaining the author's
voice and meaning. Jean has worked with me within the same company and
currently works with me as a freelance editor of my choice. I highly recommend
her for whatever you would like her to do in the publishing field." – Jim Ruark, Senior
Editor-at-Large, Zondervan
"Jean is a fantastic editor. After my first time hiring her to proofread a book, she immediately became one of my favorite freelance contractors to hire. Not only does she have a keen eye for detail and could probably quote the Chicago Manual of Style front to back, she is timely (usually turning projects in early), accurate, and thorough. In addition to her skill as a proofreader, I noticed that Jean went above and beyond, making suggestions to the manuscript that normally only a copy editor would make. I am more than happy with Jean's services, and recommend her very, very highly." – Carly Razo, Editor, David C Cook
"I worked with Jean at Zondervan for many years while she was a managing
editor there, and work with her now as she writes and edits as a freelancer for
Bethany Christian Services. Her work is not only on target with what we ask her
for, but delivered on time, complete, and with editorial excellence. I
recommend Jean for your writing and editing needs. You won’t be
disappointed." - Marla Bliss, Operations Director,
Communications, Bethany Christian Services
"It has been a great experience
working with Jean on various projects this past year. She has a great eye for
detail, is always on time and is truly accommodating. I look forward to
using Bloom in Words for many more projects in the future." -
Shari VandenBerg, Senior Editor (Bibles), Zondervan
"I worked with Jean while she was
at Zondervan, and was very happy to learn she was opening a freelance editing
business. I've hired her for several copy edit jobs, and have been pleased with
her attention to grammar and story details. I trust her when I have a job that
needs a careful eye." - Jacque Alberta, Acquisitions Editor, YA
Fiction, Zondervan (Zonderkidz /
Blink)
"I have a large stable of
freelancers to pull from, and Jean has earned her place as one of my most
reliable and trustworthy. She's easy to work with, very knowledgeable, and
takes instruction to heart. I trust Jean with my projects and know she'll do a
good job on any project I send to her. She accepts projects readily and always
returns them on time, if not early--a huge asset as a freelancer. When I
relocated, I made sure Jean was the first freelancer added to my company's
database, and she continues to be the freelancer I go to for my most difficult
projects." - Tonya Osterhouse, Copy Editor / Production
Coordinator, David C Cook
"Jean Bloom has proven herself to
be an excellent editor and proofreader. I value her input on any writing
project . . . When Jean proofreads or edits a project for me, I am confident
the job will be well done, and I can trust it to be thorough. I highly
recommend Jean for editorial and design projects." - Kim
Childress, Acquisitions Editor, Zondervan
"Jean Bloom is an expert in
designing processes to help your firm work effectively and efficiently and with
less stress and strain. I hired Jean to design a project tracker for our
growing publishing strategy and services agency. The Somersault Group serves a
unique list of clients with a diversity of needs: product development,
editorial direction, product packaging, branding and positioning, social media
marketing, advertising creative, publicity, and more. Jean jumped in and
quickly and expertly designed a project tracker spreadsheet so that we can
review with one glance where in the pipeline each of our projects currently
stand. As a result we are performing better at meeting deadlines, staying
on budget, and accomplishing our goals." - John Topliff, General
Manager, The Somersault Group
