Bio

Doug Wagner is a longtime journalist who spent nearly 25 years polishing the work of others as a copy editor and serving as a movie critic and feature writer. Since the Rocky Mountain News closed in 2009, he's ghostwritten two nonfiction books and co-written the history of a charitable foundation in Colorado. Oh, and he's finally "finished" his first novel.

Doug's writing and editing work has spanned subject matter as diverse as wildlife biology, business, weight loss and the grieving process. He's also put the flesh on bare-bones fiction concepts and developed book proposals for the likes of a Mafia boss's daughter and the only person to have skied down the "seven summits." Specialties include science writing, narrative nonfiction, dialogue and promotional pitches, and areas of particular interest include music and film, food and wine - the good things in life.

In recent years, Doug--who's rarely happy if he isn't learning something new--has made a concerted effort to read almost exclusively the works of authors he'd never read before. But through the haze of all that new information, he can recall having been a big fan of the best efforts of Saul Bellow, John Updike, Somerset Maugham, D.H. Lawrence, Truman Capote, William Kennedy and Tennessee Williams. And any list of favorites would also have to include "The Brothers Karamazov," "Catch-22" and "The Great Gatsby."

In his own words:

While I can provide services ranging from proofreading to ghostwriting for most types of projects in the nonfiction realm, I think the most valuable assets I can offer clients are the abilities to turn information into a story (where appropriate) and to develop and maintain a strong narrative voice. My science writing experience has equipped me to play the middleman, translating complicated information into material that's readable to the average reader. I'm also able to latch on to a writer's voice and ensure that it doesn't waver over the course of his manuscript; at the same time, that allows me to recognize when material should be left well enough alone—one of my goals is to not insert my own voice. In cases where the writer hasn't developed a strong voice, I can help him to find it through a back-and-forth process (often beginning with a manuscript evaluation or annotation) that tends to result in an engaging balance of color and good grammar. And if your project happens to encompass any of the areas of particular interest mentioned above, I'll help you out with any insights that I can. Regarding fiction projects, my grasp of narrative form and respect for a writer's voice serve equally well on that side of the fence.

Preferred Genres

Preferred fiction genres: psychological thrillers, historical or biographical fiction, humor

Genres Doug prefers not to work on: Christian/Inspirational, gay/lesbian, sports

Absolute favorite nonfiction category: science

Other areas of interest in nonfiction: memoir/autobiography, entertainment, history, social sciences, travel, true crime, women's issues, health/mind/body

Testimonials

"Both Jen & Doug were very insightful, and their notes were clear and concise."

Norm Ollestad

Venice, CA

Submissions

Interested in working with Doug? Please visit our editor availability inquiry center.