Bio

Betsy Tice White has worked in some area of publications all her adult life. She moved on from her start at McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology to freelance editing (U. of VA, U. of Miami, U. of NC, John F. Blair among others) when her children were young, then became the first medical editor at East Carolina University School of Medicine where she coordinated with U.K. editors on a multivolume atlas of surgery. A later stint editing a college alumnae magazine was followed by a move to Recovery Communications, Inc., specializing in books on addiction and recovery.

Her published work includes a book collaboration of Blue Ridge mountain tales, Le’s Whittle Awhile; two books on teen addiction and family recovery: Smoke Screen and Turning Your Teen Around; and, purely for fun, Mountain Folks, Mountain Foods.

Invited by long-time friend Renni Browne to join The Editorial Department, Betsy edits both fiction and nonfiction, with special expertise in the areas of medicine and addiction/recovery. For nonfiction, memoirs, biography, and autobiography are favorite genres, while in the fiction field she particularly enjoys work on mysteries, police procedurals, suspense, and thrillers, and has completed ghost-writing assignments as well.

A Tennessee native, Betsy says she was “vaccinated” with printer’s ink early through her father’s position at Kingsport Press, then the world’s largest manufacturer of books. An ardent Anglophile, for recreational reading she seeks out books by U.K. authors, along with favorite Southern writers James Lee Burke, Lee Smith, Silas House, and Dorothea Brandon Frank. She and her physician husband live in a suburb of Atlanta and enjoy the nearby mountains when they can get away.

In her own words:

Editing for me is 95% fun, rarely work. I enjoy getting to know authors and marvel at their myriad book ideas. As an editor, I'm always humbled by an author's trust and willingness to give my comments and suggestions thoughtful consideration before making a final choice. Having begun as a nonfiction editor, I've come with time to take great pleasure in editing fiction as well, plus ghost-writing and help with memoirs. Definitely not my bag are romance and science fiction, though the rare, really well-done piece with a supernatural flavor can ring my chimes. If the author makes me believe it, great. Otherwise my credibility will only stretch so far.

As to editorial services, I appreciate the extra oomph of an Annotation, though I'm also happy with Manuscript Evaluation. For a work in progress I find consultation on an hourly basis best for exchanging ideas with the author.

Language and style matter a lot to me. I treasure what E. B. White once wrote me in response to an editorial challenge I'd written him about: "There are very few thoughts or concepts that can't be put into plain English, provided anyone truly wants to do it. But for everyone who strives for clarity and simplicity, there are three who prefer to draw the clouds across the sky—for one reason or another." If an author manages to achieve both clarity and simplicity, thereby creating a pleasant style, I'd call the result literature.

Articles

Five Questions with Editor Betsy White

Words That Earn Their Keep

Preferred Genres

Absolute favorite fiction genre: mystery

Preferred fiction genres: crime, detective, conspiracy thrillers, legal thrillers, forensic, medical, or scientific thrillers, psychological thrillers, political thrillers, Christian/inspirational, historical, biographical fiction, humor, satire, women’s fiction, literary fiction, mainstream fiction

Other genres Betsy enjoys working on: action-adventure, horror, military thrillers, techno-thrillers, eco-thrillers, young adult, multi-cultural, western/frontier

Genres Betsy prefers not to work on: fantasy, science-fiction, romance, erotica, children’s, middle grade, gay/lesbian fiction

Absolute favorite nonfiction category: autobiography/biography

Areas of interest in nonfiction: narrative, creative, autobiography, memoir, Christian, cooking, food/wine, crime/criminals, current events, education, entertainment, government, health/mind/body, history, home/garden, outdoors/nature, parenting/families, politics, professional/technical, reference, religion/spirituality, science, sports, travel, transportation, true accounts, women's studies

Testimonials

"Betsy Tice White helped me add humor and clarity to my writing. This, in addition to her superb editing, organizational skills, and constant encouragement makes her first class editor."

John S. Palmer

Washington, DC

"The two things that have impressed me the most about The Editorial Department are the speed at which you responded to my submission and the personal attention you've shown me. Allowing someone outside my close circle of friends and family to read my writing was a big step for me and I appreciate the respect you have shown to both me and my writing. I felt like the information Ms. White provided in my critique was valid and her suggestions for improvement have been helpful. My plans are to finish my manuscript and submit it for line editing."

Jana H.Muscle

Shoals, AL

"Thorough and professional. Betsy White gave valuable suggestions that have led to a major rewrite of my manuscript"

Harold Thorpe

Milwaukee, WI

"Betsy White was exceedingly helpful, insightful, encouraging, and most important, always available. My experience was a very positive one."

Lloyd Holm

Washington, IA

"Excellent input, great communication. Felt personally connected to each person I spoke with. Their caring and support are incredible. Plan to use again in the future. I especially enjoyed the honest feedback and the way the criticisms were given. I have become a better writer as a result of my interaction with Betsy and the rest of the Editorial Dept."

Tommy Black

Midway, GA

"I've been very pleased. I feel that the quality of my writing has increased tremendously in my work with Betsy White."

John Middleton

Hurst, TX

"I really like the job she did. I also liked the timeliness in which everything was processed. I will definitely use your service again."

Judy H.

Ocala, FL

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Submissions

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