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Jennie Nash
Co-Founder
Chief Creative Officer
JENNIE IS THE AUTHOR OF SEVEN BOOKS -- THREE MEMOIRS, FOUR NOVELS, AND COUNTING
Her book publishing credentials include:
Simon & Schuster
Scribner
St. Martin's Press
Penguin
CreateSpace (Amazon's self-publishing arm)
She has been on staff at:
Random House
New York Woman magazine
She has been featured on the following blogs: Jane Friedman, The Write Practice, Compose, Write to Done, Writer Unboxed, and many others.
She has freelanced for dozens of publications, including:
GQ
Child
Glamour
The Huffington Post
The New York Times
Jennie's Books
Lately, her private clients have been racking up some seriously awesome success — books published by Scribner, Norton, Hazeldon, Ten Speed, and Simon & Schuster; self-published books that have won top awards; and writers who have landed some of the best literary agents in the business.
One client recently landed on the front page of the Sunday review section in The New York Times, and the next week, went on the "Today" show.
She has been an instructor at the UCLA Extension Writing Program for eight years and has served as a private coach to fiction and nonfiction writers ranging from a British soap opera star to a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and has two grown daughters.
Some of Jennie's raving clients:
"Want to change your life? Hire Jennie!"
"You have this amazing ability to explain how a story actually works, and not in a hoity toity way but in a way I actually GET and can DO."
"I've never seen anyone with so much whip-cracking, can-do, positive energy."
MEET THE REST OF THE AUTHOR ACCELERATOR TEAM
Matt Sand / CEO & Co-Founder
Matt Sand has an extensive background in technology and entrepreneurship. He graduated from Tulane University with degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Political Science. Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Air Force as a Communications Officer.
After a brief stint in Corporate America, Matt decided to pursue his passion for entrepreneurship full time. Since then, he has consulted with entrepreneurs, invested in early-stage companies at two Los Angeles-based investment firms, and started three companies of his own. In addition to building his own startups, he is a co-author of The Agile Startup, which was published by Wiley in 2013. Matt teaches courses in entrepreneurship at UCLA and LMU.
Matt earned a Masters in Business Administration in from UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he and Jennie met!
Laura Franzini / Managing Editor
Laura Franzini is a native New Englander with a passion for storytelling.
After earning a degree in journalism and photography from Emerson College, she joined the copy desk at the Boston Globe, where she had covered the city's western suburbs as a regional correspondent. She also delved into the marketing world as part of the Internal Communications team at Natixis Global Asset Management.
She has managed and produced editorial content for an online environmental magazine, as well as for GlobalPost, a digital leader in world news coverage. She is a full-time copy editor at a major metropolitan newspaper.
Jade Eby / Manager of Operations
Jade graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing. Prior to starting her own business, she worked as a Creative Writer at a top-notch higher education marketing firm. She is a hybrid author who has published both novels and short stories. Jade started offering virtual assistant services to other authors to spread her knowledge and passion for the publishing industry and currently works with multiple New York Times and USA Today Bestselling authors.
OUR ALL-STAR EDITORS
Our editors have been hand-picked by Chief Creative Officer Jennie Nash and trained in four key areas: technical proficiency, big-picture vision, commercial viability, and the realities of the writing life. Many of our editors are writers themselves, and we all LOVE to read.
Kemlo Aki
"I love being able to work with writers one-on-one. It's a privilege to get to know them and their unique stories, and I'm awed by the incredible growth in confidence and skills that happens over time."
Favorite genres: (because choosing favorite books is too hard!): narrative nonfiction, essays, memoirs, philosophical commentary, and references; and literary, realistic, and social science fiction, but also philosophical, political, and mythological works
Lizette Clarke
"I get super excited about a writer's work - which then gets them super excited about finishing it - is one of the best feelings in the world."
Favorite books: "The Thing Around Your Neck," "Mysterious Skin," "The Chrysalids," "Written on the Body"
Sarahlyn Bruck
"I love helping writers deliver compelling stories that make it impossible to put their books down."
"Their Eyes Were Watching God," "Cider House Rules," "Light In August," "1Q84," "The Goldfinch," "On Such a Full Sea"... to name a few
Austen Wright
"My favorite part is seeing the progress and refinement of a draft between point A and point Z, and helping authors realize long-held goals!"
Favorite books: So hard to answer! "The Game of Thrones" series, the "Outlander" series, the "Abarat" series, "The Time Traveler’s Wife," any Roald Dahl books
Molly Callister
"I love learning from all of the writers whose work I have the pleasure to edit. I am constantly learning about new things and exploring new ideas."
Favorite books: memoir and/or narrative nonfiction such as "A Homemade Life," "Mountains Beyond Mountains," "The Looming Tower." The journalist in me loves reading real life stories.
Kelly Hartog
"The most rewarding thing about editing is helping someone shape their work into something publishable."
Favorite books: Is this a trick question? There’s not enough room to list them all, but here’s a few: "Jane Eyre," "How Green Was My Valley," "Shantaram," "Gone Girl," "The Madness of a Seduced Woman," "Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married"
Katie Hill
"My favorite part about editing is hearing about authors' lives and experiences. I always feel honored and humbled."
"Stardust," "Peter Pan," "Beauty" by Robin McKinley, "Little Men," and then, of course, all the "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" books. I also loved "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler, and the "All Star Superman" comic book series
Carlyn Robertson
"I love watching things "click" for an author when they finally feel like they're getting the story they want to tell on the page!"
Favorite books: "Harry Potter," "Game of Thrones," "The Time Traveler’s Wife," "Ella Enchanted"
Anna Thorup
"Watching something develop from an idea to an extensive piece of work is really exciting."
Favorite books: "Slouching Towards Bethlehem," "The Cider House Rules," "East of Eden," "Never Let Me Go"
Julie Bausch-Lee
"Editing helps people get better at something they love to do. It helps people create, and I love that."
Favorite books: "Jane Eyre," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Cutting for Stone," "Sophie’s Choice," "Watership Down," "The Gypsy Man," "Ava’s Man"
WITH AN ACCELERATOR MEMBERSHIP, YOU'LL GET...
