Auteur : Laura Bontje

Laura Bontje is a freelance editor whose clients include award-winning authors, Big 5 publishers, indie authors and those just beginning their writing journeys. Her areas of specialty include children's literature (from picture books to YA), mysteries/thrillers and upmarket fiction.

When she's not editing other people's books, Laura writes her own. Her picture books include Was It a Cat I Saw? (illus. Emma Lidia Squillari), When the Air Sang (illus. Sarah Whang), Marian's Big Dig (illus. Scot Ritchie) and more to come.

Laura served as managing editor of The Editors' Weekly from 2023 to 2025. She lives in London, Ontario.

Image d’une personne aux cheveux longs souriant et indiquant une date sur un calendrier où plusieurs cases ont été remplies ou marquées d’un X.
Classé dans :

General EAC Laura Bontje Nancy Foran Suzanne Aubin

En quête d’une occasion de bénévolat? Pensez à notre blogue

mai 30, 2024 by Laura Bontje

Un appel aux réviseurs et réviseures francophones! Comme vous le savez peut-être, The Editors’ Weekly est le pendant anglophone du blogue officiel de Réviseurs Canada. Pour l’instant, la personne qui s’en occupe voit également à la publication des billets rédigés en français. Pour nous aider à mieux servir nos membres francophones, nous sommes en quête […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

Sur un fond bleu, le logo avec le caret de Réviseurs Canada apparaît en face d’une page de calendrier blanche sur laquelle on voit une date surlignée en rouge.
Classé dans :

General EAC

Un nouveau site en français pour l’Hebdomadaire des réviseurs

février 6, 2024 by Laura Bontje

Nouveau site web pour Réviseurs Canada, nouvelle apparence pour l’Hebdomadaire des réviseurs. Et ce n’est pas la seule nouveauté : il y a maintenant un site dédié aux publications rédigées en français. Nous vous encourageons à prendre un moment pour y jeter un coup d’œil et l’explorer! Bien que l’Hebdomadaire des réviseurs soit pour le moment […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

Illustration of six people (seen from the back) wearing winter clothes and putting their arms around each other's shoulders. A speech bubble above, adorned with holiday lights, reads "Happy holidays."
Classé dans :

General EAC Laura Bontje

Closing the Book on 2023

Décembre 21, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 2 commentaires sur Closing the Book on 2023

Dear readers, The Editors’ Weekly will be taking a holiday break, with no posts on December 28 and January 4. We’ll be back in the new year with new posts about the academic editing special interest group, the Editors Canada national executive council, embracing neurodivergence as an editor, an exciting new project for language lovers […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

A red bow is wrapped around a stack of books.
Classé dans :

Laura Bontje

Book Recommendations for Editors

novembre 30, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 4 commentaires sur Book Recommendations for Editors

As winter holidays approach, it’s a great time to start thinking about books! This year, we asked the student affiliate Facebook group and the Editors’ Weekly blog team for their book recommendations for editors. Whether you’re looking for a literary gift for the editor in your life or planning to curl up with some reading […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

A woman sits at a desk with a cup and monitor in front of her and a plant behind her. The woman holds a pen above a drawing surface on the desk and there is a thought bubble to the right.
Classé dans :

Iva Cheung Laura Bontje

The Other Kind of Editorial Cartoon

septembre 14, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 7 commentaires sur The Other Kind of Editorial Cartoon

There are certain feelings that every editor is bound to experience: the joy of making a great catch, the frustration of dealing with a difficult project, the excitement of taking a selfie with a favourite punctuation mark — wait, maybe not that last one. That is, unless you’re Bespectacled Editor, the passionate, wry heroine of […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

Illustration of a sailboat passing by a cheerful landscape of rolling hills and mountains. There are two houses nestled in the hills and a hot air balloon flying overhead.
Classé dans :

General EAC Laura Bontje

Letter from the Editor: Write for The Editors’ Weekly

août 24, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 4 commentaires sur Letter from the Editor: Write for The Editors’ Weekly

Happy summer, readers! The Editors’ Weekly is taking a break for the rest of August. It’s time to enjoy the last weeks of summer — and of summer reading! Have you read any great books lately? This summer, I set myself a goal of reading only Canadian literature, and it’s been fantastic! (Need a good […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

Two smiling people with thought bubbles above them stand on either side of a giant question mark. The short-haired person holds a laptop, and the long-haired person holds a dramatically oversized magnifying glass.
Classé dans :

Laura Bontje

Preparing for Traditional Publishing: Tips from Agents and Editors

juin 29, 2023 by Laura Bontje

When a client comes to me for editing, one of my first questions is how they hope to publish. Why? Because an author who is self-publishing will use freelancers for each stage of the editing process, whereas an author who secures a traditional publishing contract will receive additional editing through their publisher.   The journey to […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

Illustration of a parent with long hair and a dress sitting at a table and leaning toward their laptop to work. One child plays under the table and another stands on the parent's chair to build a tower of blocks on the table.
Classé dans :

Laura Bontje

Freelancing While Parenting Young Kids

mai 25, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 7 commentaires sur Freelancing While Parenting Young Kids

Laura will be co-presenting « Introduction to Picture Book Editing » at Editors 23: Editors in Real Life, taking place from June 17 to 18 at Toronto Metropolitan University. Conference registration is limited, so reserve your spot now! Do you want to know the trick to keeping it together when freelancing with young kids? So do I. […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

Illustration of a long-haired person in red heels and a tight red dress over a white collared shirt walking a tightrope. They hold a long bar for balance: a clock is hanging from one side, and a dollar sign from the other.
Classé dans :

Laura Bontje

Editing for Authors on a Budget

février 16, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 6 commentaires sur Editing for Authors on a Budget

As a freelance fiction editor, I find it incredibly rewarding to help an author shape their story or find their voice. And as an author, I know firsthand how transformative the insights of a strong editor can be. But professional editing can be expensive, so what do you do when an author has a limited […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

Illustration of hands over an open lined notebook, correcting text errors with a red pen.
Classé dans :

Laura Bontje

The Pros and Cons of Sample Edits

Décembre 1, 2022 by Laura Bontje | 6 commentaires sur The Pros and Cons of Sample Edits

If you asked 10 editors how they approach sample edits, you’d probably get 10 different answers. Some editors charge for sample edits, some offer samples for free and some don’t do sample edits at all. Some editors begin on page one, and others edit an excerpt from the middle. So if you’re a new freelancer, […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

Illustration of a book lying open. A mountain landscape bursts from the pages as a rocket takes off, launching from the book into a cloud of letters and symbols.
Classé dans :

Laura Bontje

Editing Picture Books without the Pictures

septembre 6, 2022 by Laura Bontje | 2 commentaires sur Editing Picture Books without the Pictures

Picture books: the artwork is so integral that it’s part of the name. But unless you’re working with an author/illustrator, editing a picture book usually means analyzing a text-only manuscript. For contemporary picture books, the illustrations are more than adornments; they’re a critical part of the storytelling. At the manuscript stage, it’s a balancing act: […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

Illustration of a mother working from home on a laptop with a young child on her lap.
Classé dans :

Laura Bontje

On Editing an Editor: Margaret Kingsbury and Laura Bontje in Conversation

juin 14, 2022 by Laura Bontje | 2 commentaires sur On Editing an Editor: Margaret Kingsbury and Laura Bontje in Conversation

Editing a first-time author calls for a blend of sharp-eyed clarity, cheerleading and hand-holding. What if the author is also an editor? As part of a series of blog posts featuring conversations between author-editors and their editors, The Editors’ Weekly asked two editors to reflect on their experience of working together as critique partners. Laura […]

En savoir plus »

Marqués

Tagged

To top