Book Editing

Do you have a manuscript that needs professional editing?

I do developmental editing: large-scale editing of the structure and arc of the entire book and each chapter, and of the flow and voice of paragraphs and sentences.

I also do copyediting: line-level correction of errors in grammar, spelling, word usage, etc.

If you’re seeking a writing coach to guide you in finding inspiration and motivation, author platform building, and publishing your work, let’s talk.

     📒  Memoir
     ✍️  Novels
     📔  Short stories
     ✒️  Poetry
     📖  Nonfiction

Free 20-minute consultation. Reasonable rates. Inquire here and tell me what you’re writing and what you hope to accomplish.

Speaking & Teaching

I speak at literary events and book festivals. I am an instructor for classes and workshops. Guaranteed to engage your audience and deliver the information they want to know.

     📒  Memoir writing
     ✒️  Poetry writing
     📕  Publishing tips for authors
     📚  Power & value of books & reading
     🎤️  Leadership & community engagement
     📜  Shakespeare & classic literature
     💻  Creating a website with WordPress

View my list of available presentations, the past events at which I’ve spoken, and the upcoming events I’m slated for.

A few presentation examples: In Nashville, Tennessee, I delivered How to Generate a Buzz: Promoting Your Book Launch. In Washington, DC, I will deliver the Memoir Writers’ Lab Intensive Workshop at the 2025 Kwame Alexander Writers’ Lab & Conference sponsored by the Chautauqua Institution.

Looking for a speaker or instructor? Inquire here.

WordPress Design

I help individuals, small organizations, and small businesses design or revamp a WordPress website.

     👩‍💻️  Coding in HTML/CSS
     💻  Navigating the WordPress platform
     📱  Using themes, including child themes
     🤖  Adding plugins & new features
     ⌨️  Altering files on the back end
     💾  Ensuring backups & security

Samples: I created my own website (this one) and the websites of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival and Archival Arts. I assisted with the website of Just Neighbors.

Reasonable rates. Note that I am not a developer and cannot provide custom coding in PHP or JavaScript. That being said, I can create a beautiful and functional WordPress website and resolve any existing problems in a WordPress website. Inquire here.

Testimonials

Here are some client testimonials to my work.

The F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference is a delighted client of Liza Achilles’ website consulting services. We love our new website! 5 stars. ⭐️

Our old website had been done hastily and was too complicated and distracting for many of our customers to use. After a search we hired Liza to redesign the website. We were all impressed that Liza was able to quickly understand the site problems and use her technical skills to revise and streamline the website. In just a few weeks she took our vague ideas and turned them into a sleek, user-friendly site that perfectly reflects our brand as a literary conference which you can see at https://fitzgeraldfestival.com/.

While making the site more responsive to users it now includes many safety features missing from the earlier site. Liza also added a number of functions such as a Newsletter to allow us to inform members on upcoming events. I highly recommend Liza for website design and redesign and would add that she is responsive, creative and a good communicator, easy to collaborate and work with.
—Gary, president of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference Inc. and WordPress design client, July 3, 2025

I’m impressed with your thorough work. I feel I made the right choice working with you.
—Bob, novel editing client, March 19, 2025

I really enjoyed your presentation and found it to be the most helpful of all the presentations that day.
—Dorey, workshop attendee, March 3, 2025

Our website, Archivalarts.com, was in need of a fresh update for an outdated design. Liza was able to recommend some great ideas to make the site flow more efficiently . . . The whole project was fast and efficient. Liza was a great pleasure to work with and understood both the aesthetics of design and the technical details of WordPress.
—Jeff, owner of Archival Arts and WordPress design client, April 23, 2025

Presentations

I am available to give the following presentations. I can also customize presentations to your needs.

Be the Book: How to Meet Your Life Goals Through Reading

What do you want from life—to be a better partner, parent, or friend? To have a successful career, make an impact, help others, or achieve a personal goal? Author Liza Achilles will share how reading can help you fulfill your dreams!

Finding the Time: 10 Tips for Fitting Writing into Your Life

Are you struggling to find the time for your creative writing? Author Liza Achilles will share 10 tips for ensuring that you meet your creative writing goals while living in the busy, stressful, modern world.

How to Generate a Buzz: Promoting Your Book Launch

Why publish a book if no one reads it? Author Liza Achilles has great news for authors: you have the power to generate a buzz surrounding your book launch! She will walk you through 3 steps in getting people excited about buying and reading your book.

Shakespeare’s Sonnets: 400 Years of Timeless Love

William Shakespeare’s sonnet sequence was first published over 400 years ago and still resonates with readers today. “But thy eternal summer shall not fade,” proclaims the most famous of them all (Sonnet 18). The poet addresses these words to a young man known as the Fair Youth; but the words also refer to the poetry itself. Read and discuss Shakespeare’s Sonnets, including the 154 sonnets as well as the short narrative poem A Lover’s Complaint that was published with the sonnets in 1609. Examine the life and times of Shakespeare and learn how he crafted these masterful 14-line poems, which have often been ignored due to their shocking sexual content. Also read selected sonnets by other writers from various historical periods, from the Italian Renaissance through the twenty-first century.

Create Your Own WordPress Website for Beginners

Do you want your own website? A website is essential for small business owners, bloggers, hobbyists, artists, writers, musicians, and anyone who wishes to share something with the world. Create your own website that’s secure, backed up, optimized, free from spam, and ready to be viewed by anyone on the internet. Learn how to format web pages, write web copy, do simple graphic design, and send a newsletter to subscribers. Learning a few technical skills can save you thousands of dollars in comparison with hiring a professional web designer.