Mission

To empower authors through a seamless publishing process and expert guidance, ensuring every manuscript is crafted into a high-quality book that engages readers and honours the writer’s unique voice.

Introducing the business

Meet the Founder – Marie Pietersz

With decades of experience in writing, editing and book publishing, Marie Pietersz brings exceptional insight into what makes a manuscript compelling, market-ready and reader-focused.

Her career began in the public service as a speech writer and English tutor, where she developed a deep understanding of persuasive writing and audience engagement. This foundation shaped her expertise in evaluating structure, clarity, tone and narrative impact.

In 1996, Marie began working as a manuscript assessment specialist and editor with Sid Harta Publishers and Prints in Melbourne. There, she provided structural editing, copy editing and publishing assistance to both established authors and new authors. Rising to Managing Editor, she trained editorial teams and helped hundreds of writers prepare their manuscripts for publication.

Today, through The Write Touch, Marie provides personalised book mentoring and end-to-end publishing assistance, guiding authors through editing, design, production and self publishing pathways.

Professional Editing and Publishing Assistance for Authors

The Write Touch supports writers at every stage of their journey.

Many new writers feel overwhelmed by the complexity of book publishing. Our structured mentoring approach simplifies the process. From manuscript assessment and structural editing through to copy editing and final proofreading, we ensure your book meets professional industry standards.

Whether you are:

• A first-time author
• An experienced writer
• A returning published author
• An academic preparing research for publication
• An independent creator pursuing self publishing

We provide the expertise and guidance needed to bring your writing to life.

Our collaborative approach combines professional editing, detailed book reviewing and personalised book mentoring to strengthen your manuscript while preserving your unique voice.

Our Editorial and Publishing Team

Our interstate and international team brings extensive experience in writing, editing and book publishing.

Bronwin has been editing in various roles for more than twenty years and freelancing since 2019. She is an IPEd accredited editor since 2024 and continues to engage in professional development. As a published author, Bronwin understands the nuances of the publishing process and the needs of clients. She edits a broad range of written material, from narrative to technical documents. She has particular interest in fiction and scientific texts.

Barbara has worked for 15 years working in the publishing industry and has cultivated an invaluable skillset in publishing, writing and editing. She worked at a literary agency at the start of her career and then moved on to establishing New Author Literary Services. She provides authors with manuscript assessments, mentoring, copy-editing and proofreading. She works with both publishers and individual clients and has helped hundreds of authors polish their manuscripts to get them ready for publication. Her areas of expertise include literary fiction, crime and thrillers, romance, historical fiction, poetry, memoir and autobiography.

Deborah has been a proofreader for over 12 years, and has worked on both fiction and non-fiction books and magazines during that time. Her main areas of interest are biography and autobiography, religion and murder/mystery. However, she also enjoys working in other genres as well.

Dr Gail has a PhD in higher education and a Graduate Certificate of Editing and Electronic Publishing. She is a Professional Member of the Institute of Professional Editors (IPED) and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Southern Cross University. She specialises in academic editing, memoir, and fiction (particularly historical fiction) and is interested in manuscripts that are biographical and autobiographical. Her editing skills include manuscript assessment, copyediting, developmental editing, and structural editing. She has been both editor and senior editor for two higher education teaching and learning journals, and has been an assessor for Australian national teaching awards in higher education for many years.

Dr Jane is an experienced academic editor with a further history of 25 years’ experience as an academic researcher, writer and lecturer and supervisor in higher education. She has extensive experience in editing and proofreading multiple forms of academic texts, including research dissertations (particularly PhDs), journal articles, book chapters and book manuscripts, research reports for internal and external stakeholders, and program accreditation documents. She loves proofreading non-fiction. This experience and her own research background in philosophy make her a thorough proofreader with an eye for detail and clarity. Jane is an associate member of IPEd, the Institute of Professional Editors.

Jenn is a passionate fiction editor, writer and bookkeeper with 10+ years of experience. Working predominately with Australian-based indie authors, she specialises in fantasy, cosy mystery and romance fiction. With a lifelong love of stories and storytelling, Jenn has been writing since childhood. Her editing philosophy is one of nurture and encouragement that sees writers learn and grow in their craft and unlock their potential. Editing is a collaboration between editor and author, where the editor’s role is not just to polish a manuscript, but to offer a fresh perspective that enhances and complements the author’s skill and storytelling. She has a background in archaeology and history of ancient civilisations and so enjoys worldbuilding and getting into the finer details of the plot, characters and setting, making sure all of the pieces work together and offering creative insights when needed. Jenn is a professional member of IPEd (Institute of Professional Editing), and is on the Victorian branch committee.

Kevin is a former newspaper journalist, editing copy and designing pages for major titles including The Australian, the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph. He also has edited, proofread and designed books. He has prepared books for print and online distribution. Apart from proofreading for Sid Harta, in the past few years he has been one of the editors on Grantlee Kieza’s best-selling books on famous figures in Australia’s history. He is experienced in typesetting.

Peter is a graduate of Melbourne, Monash and RMIT universities and been a freelance editor since 2013. He has edited PhDs, self-help books, history, fiction, among many other texts. He has also published short stories and history, and has worked as an editorial advisor on many projects. Peter has many written testimonials to his credit.

Susan remembers the thrill of holding her first published book in her hand. That’s why she likes working with first-time authors to realise their dream. She has recorded and written people’s memoirs and edited everything from business books to self-help manuals. She particularly likes to work with fiction, history and biography/memoir. She can also provide an index at the back of the book that allows readers to find information quickly. She is an Accredited Editor with the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) and sits on the Council of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Indexers (ANZSI). Susan has many written testimonials to her credit.

Dr Sally is an international educator, editor and academic with over 50 published articles, book chapters, reviews and conference proceedings. She is a Senior Editor for Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice and a member of the Institute of Professional Editors. One of her hobbies is growing and judging orchids.

Tony offers a very broad editing experience based on a lifetime spent totally immersed in and around the many divisions of writing, editing and publishing. This includes newspapers, magazines, journals and full-length books – fiction and non-fiction. Tony is a published author of five crime fiction books and two memoirs, with a sixth crime fiction book a work in progress.

Luke has worked on cover design and book layout for many years. He works with both independent authors, organisations and publishers. He particularly enjoys collaborating with authors to help convey the spirit of their work, and to give them a marketable, professional finished product. Extensive author testimonials may be found on his website. He uses Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop to create his designs, and also assists authors with e-book conversion and a variety of promotional material. He has excellent links with illustrators, printers and other related service providers. Luke posts often to his blog, focusing on helpful resources and hints for author clients. Luke specialises in cover design, text design, e-book formatting, author websites, print-on-demand, print management, illustrations and maps, advertising and PR. https://www.workingtype.com.au/testimonials.

Andrew’s printing company has been responsible for printing a wide range of books from the family story through to coffee table books for art galleries. It has a well-established reputation with a variety of publishers and can provide a wide range of print and binding services. It offers a personal and discreet service to all of its customers and ensures a prompt and efficient quality service that meets customer expectations. Having been in the trade for over 45 years it offers good advice on the type of printing and binding that would best provide authors with value for money.

Mal has been operating his printing business for over 16 years producing an unlimited range of print and marketing items for a wide range of clients in Australia. The staff have been involved in printing for over a collective 140 years. Much of this experience has been with the production of book manufacturing. An area of particular expertise is in book production with a strength in short run book printing from as little as 20–50 copies and up to 2000+ books and delivering these Australia wide (and overseas where necessary). Books such as paperback novels, (fiction and non-fiction), children’s books, illustrated books, poetry books, anthologies, magazines, biographies, histories, memoirs, gift/specialities, and also hardcover and soft cover works. He also produces anything that can be printed such as business cards, banners, flyers, folders, slipcases, marketing cards, reports, and much, much more. If You Can Imagine it, he can print it! Quotes can be provided within 24–48 hours and book production within 5–8 days, (except hardcover, usually within 3–4 weeks).

Melissa is a freelance journalist, PR and communications specialist based in Sydney. Her public relations and communications skills have seen her work for large- and small-scale businesses as well as individuals across a range of industries from property to publishing. Her articles have been published across local and national publications, and she loves a good yarn. She has a standard do-it-yourself package which she will coach you through and a customised package which will suits your specific needs.

Nicole is a book publicist among other things like working in media for 30 years. She is also an author and understands author’s needs. Her media campaigns are especially recommended if you self-publish. She can create a captivating individual media release for you and your story, set up social media accounts on many online platforms and secure author talks at libraries and writers’ festivals. Publicity and media strategy packages can be tailored to meet your specific needs and your budget.

Victoria is a proofreader with more than 10 years’ experience. Her main areas of expertise are crime, fantasy, and memoir, but she’s also worked on a broad range of genres including YA fiction, historical romance, science fiction, and a variety of non-fiction publications. Victoria takes pride in being meticulous in her work but with a prompt turnaround time.