Jacki Ferro Co-Author and Editor

Memoirist Jacki Ferro believes in the power of honest, well-researched and confronting life stories to both entertain and educate—raw memoirs that inspire personal growth and social change.

Raw Voices. Bold Lives.

Bring your memoir to life with co-writer & editor Jacki Ferro

Write Raw Services

Whether you’d like an Express Memoir or a more in-depth life story, or perhaps you write fiction or in a different nonfiction genre, I can ensure that your manuscript is edited to a professional and artful standard, ready for publishing.

As a published co-author, and qualified editing and public relations professional, while I specialise in memoir writing, I have appraised, edited, and co-written over 40 books — from business books, to adult fiction, to self-help, to spiritual, to historical nonfiction, to children's books — and I provide the following services in a timely fashion, and at prices that suit individual needs.

You may require a combination of these services, such as a manuscript appraisal followed by a copy edit, or a dual structural and copy edit, together with some co-writing. All combinations are possible.

Co-writing Memoirs

As your co-author or editor, I will collaborate with you to shape a memoir that moves and inspires. Through video call interviews and emails, I will help you develop your narrative, producing a professional book ready to publish.

I aim to:

  • listen to your story and collaborate with you, remaining respectful of your unique, raw voice
  • research through FOI, books, policies, news articles, government records, interviews
  • improve dramatic structure
  • polish grammar
  • explore cultures and countries
  • create engaging characters and dynamic dialogue
  • develop your themes
  • unravel the truth, and
  • find the transformative lesson
Jacki and Rhonda Holding Hands

If you have a bold life worth sharing, please contact me.


Manuscript Appraisals (fiction and nonfiction)

Manuscript

A manuscript appraisal provides a report of the strengths and weaknesses of your manuscript, with advice on improving concept, plot, flow, character development, structure, point of view, pace, chaptering, and language. My appraisals also identify your common copy edit errors, and your book’s marketing threats and potential.

Structural Editing (fiction and nonfiction)

Structure

Structural editing, like a manuscript appraisal, happens early on in the editing process. A structural edit provides a “big picture” critique of your book, and involves re-ordering your storyline to best hold the reader’s interest. A structural edit ensures sufficient conflict or tension, a logical plot, and interesting character development. A structural edit examines each story component — carefully interweaving subplots, correcting inconsistencies in point of view, improving chaptering so that the reader is propelled forward in the story, and deleting or adapting sections where the narrative drags.

Copy Editing (fiction and nonfiction)

You Need A Copy Editor

Copy editing happens after a manuscript appraisal and structural edit. A copy edit corrects spelling, punctuation, grammar, and writing style errors, line by line. A copy edit will tighten your sentence structures and help you to convey your messages clearly and succinctly, without repetition, and in an engaging style that remains true to your unique voice. During a copy edit, I will check facts, insert references as needed, advise on possible copyright and defamation issues, and review your story for consistency of pace, dynamic dialogue, effective characterisation, and a strong narrative voice.

Testimonials

If you need assistance writing your memoir, we highly recommend you get in touch with Jacki Ferro. Jacki is an experienced editor and an absolute pleasure to work with. Above all, she is exceptionally passionate about what she does and treats each manuscript with care. The result is always a polished, engaging story that is true to the author’s voice. InHouse Publishing, Brisbane, November 2019
You could not find a more accommodating editor to work with. Jacki has a sweet and caring nature, but is unafraid to suggest minor alterations to tone of voice or direction of history angle. I enjoyed my experience with her, and recommend you give Raw Memoirs a try. Giddy Nielsen-Sweep, author, Woodheap & West Wind, July 2019
My book for new mums and dads is truly something special. Thank you for working with me and making it such a positive, inspirational journey! Megan de Gee, author, Motherhood in the Raw: What NOT to Expect When You’re Expecting, April 2019
Until Jacki came along, I was feeling a little lost as a first-time author. I had a full manuscript in hand and thought it was good enough to publish. With her appraisal and editing work she showed me how strong and powerful a book can really be. David Bayley, author, The Home Within: A Journey of Self-Discovery, February 2021
If you have a raw, powerful story that needs to be told with empathy and honesty, then you're in the right place. Raw Memoirs founder and editor Jacki Ferro is sensational. Juliette Power, author, Juliette’s Angel: Death Desire Destiny, May 2017

Want to discuss your book with me?

Contact Jacki

Raw Memoirs co-written or edited by Jacki Ferro


Juliette's Angel Bookcover

Available Now

By Juliette Power
Edited by Jacki Ferro
Self-published

Decades after her pregnant mother’s suicide, a naive Australian runaway finally faces her grief on Everest. Led into the Valley of Death by her stoic Sherpa guide, she questions her mother’s fate, her own sanity, and her angel.

As a child, I knew three things for sure:
I had an angel
I loved my family
My mother was about to die.

Defined by Death. Driven by Desire. Drawn to Destiny. A mystical journey powered by grief and blind faith: Juliette’s Angel

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“The Himalayas are a truly inspirational place…and it has proven so for Juliette. Juliette’s story shows us how a magical place in the world can lead to far bigger things in life.”

George Hillary, grandson of Sir Edmund Hillary, Review on Juliette’s Angel, 2017

Alice's Daughter Bookcover

Available Now Buy Alice's Daughter on Amazon

By Rhonda Collard-Spratt with Jacki Ferro
Publisher: Aboriginal Studies Press

In 1954, aged three, Rhonda was taken from her Aboriginal family and placed on Carnarvon Native Mission, Western Australia. Here she grew up in the white world of chores and aprons, religious teachings and cruel beatings.

They taught me well. I could speak their language. I wore their clothes. I read their Bible. I sang their hymns. But in my heart, I resented them for trying to make me white. It was like being dropped headfirst into a tin of white paint. The real me was still there. They couldn’t wash away sixty thousand years of Dreaming and history that tie me

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“A powerful message of reconciliation and a positive step towards a healthy nation”

Elaine Fry, The West Australian, May 2017

“Rhonda’s story should be compulsory reading in high schools…funny, poignant and honest, without feeling overtly political”

Kathryn Powley, Herald Sun, May 2017

The Home Within Bookcover

Available Now

By David Bayley
Appraised and edited by Jacki Ferro
Self-published

Twelve years in Adelaide had spanned two careers, six houses, three relationships, and a huge awakening. This final occurrence set in motion a two-year sojourn — a rite of passage into responsible, compassionate personhood..

As a young boy, a woman said something that still moves me to this day. Observing my separated parents and my regular moving from one house to another, while attending various schools, she remarked she was “sad that you don’t have a home.” To find a home, I would delve deeply, and investigate what finding a home really meant.

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