Amanda Bell
Trading as: Clear as a Bell Writing Services
Based in:
Dublin 6
Professional memberships
Irish Writers Centre (professional member and on mentoring panel), Irish Writers Union, Hibernian Writers, Children’s Books Ireland, British Haiku Society
Educational qualifications
BA Mod Hons TCD (French and English, first class with distinction) Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Studies UCD Masters in Poetry Studies DCU (first class hons) Irish Tourism Board certification as a bilingual National Tour Guide (French and English) Diploma in Textile Design
Training and professional development
Advanced Copy-editing with Margaret Aherne, Publishing Training Centre, 2019 Writing and Editing for the Web, Publishing Training Centre, 2016 Certificate in Desktop Publishing, Griffith College, Dublin, 2016 (distinction) Book Design, Publishing Ireland, 2015 Onscreen editing with Microsoft Word, Publishing Ireland, 2014 Clé Grammar for Editors, 2007 In-house training as an abstract writer for The H.W. Wilson Company, a leading reference publisher, 1993
Languages
French (fluent), Irish (intermediate)
Experience
Over 25 years’ experience as an editor – in-house with the Lilliput Press (1994–7) and referencing service H.W. Wilson, and freelance since 1997
Services offered
Literary editing, specialising in poetry.
Media
Books, journal articles, poetry manuscripts, websites
Subject areas
Poetry, architecture, arts and crafts, children’s literature, cookery, creative writing, ecology/environment, fiction, gardening, history, humanities, tourism.
Clients include
Academics, indie authors, poets, publishing companies, tourism specialists. Details on request.
Examples of work undertaken
POETRY EDITING: Client list on request (also see under Testimonials). COPYWRITING: Tourism specialists – details on request. COPY-EDITING: Fluid Forms: Liam Flynn, Mary Leahy / Liam Flynn Estate, 2019. EDITING: Poetry Focus 2017 LC, Gill & MacMillan, 2015; The Lion Tamer Dreams of Office Work: An Anthology of Poetry by the Hibernian Writers, Alba Publishing, 2015; Maurice Craig: Photographs, ed. Amanda Bell, The Lilliput Press, 2011. INDEXING: Making the World Safe for Dictatorship, Alex Dukalskis, Oxford University Press , 2021; 80:20 Development in an Unequal World, 80:20, 2016; Memoirs of an Irish Auction House, Goffs, 2016; Proclaiming a Republic: Ireland, 1916 and the National Collection, Irish Academic Press, 2016; We were there: 77 women of the Easter Rising 1916 by Mary McAuliffe and Liz Gillis, Dublin City Libraries, 2016; Positive Economics, EDCO, 2012 PROOFREADING: Dublin City Development Plan, 2016
Testimonials
‘Amanda’s help was invaluable to me in 2021 when I was preparing my poetry collection, Sea-soul, for publication. She combined her finely honed skills and talents as a poet and editor to really get under the skin of the poems and let them breathe. A suggested tweak here and there brought greater clarity, emphasis or flow. Indeed, punctuation was something I struggled with. By getting me to recite the poems aloud, I learned that punctuation too lies within, waiting to be realised. In fact, she delivered a masterclass. Fine tuning at its finest!’
Antoinette Walker, Sea-soul, 2021
‘As writers, we are often too close to our own work to copy edit or proofread it effectively. When I’d completed the final draft of my third poetry manuscript and wanted expert, objective eyes to give each poem the careful attention it deserved, Amanda was the first person who came to mind. An acclaimed poet as well as an editor, she understands the absolute need for clarity and precision; knows firsthand how a stray word or punctuation mark can throw a line off or obscure meaning. Amanda’s warm, professional and collaborative working style make her a real pleasure to work with, and my manuscript is now polished and ready for action!’ Anne Tannam, poet and creative coach, July 2020
‘Amanda edited my poetry manuscript with empathy, grace and painstaking commitment to detail. Her insights helped reshape any inconsistencies as well as add clarity in places where perhaps the meaning was vague or abstracted. Not only did she remedy any technical hiccups, but she was able to spot a limp line and haul it out for interrogation. I got far more than the line edit I paid for, and Amanda asked questions that nudged me gently towards changes. It was such a joy to get the insights and wisdom of someone who knows her way around a poem.’ Alvy Carragher, poet and YA author, May 2020
‘I worked with Amanda Bell for over 9 months. I was lost and confused at times and she helped to put me in the right direction. I gained from her considerable knowledge and experience. As a fellow poet, she is well versed to help other writers to edit and craft their work. She is worth her weight in gold. I would recommend Amanda for anyone seeking professional help with their writing.’
Diarmuid Fitzgerald, poet and novelist
June 2022
Additional information
I am a writing mentor on the National Mentoring Panel (currently under the stewardship of the Irish Writers Centre). As an award-winning poet and author, I have experience of, and insight into, both sides of the writer/editor dynamic. My publications include Riptide (Doire Press, 2021); Revolution (wildflower poetry press, 2022), The Loneliness of the Sasquatch (Alba Publishing, 2018), The Lost Library Book (illustrated children’s non-fiction) (Onslaught Press, 2017); First the Feathers (Doire Press, 2017); and Undercurrents (Alba Publishing, 2016). Awards include the Allingham Prize and the Haiku Society of America’s Merit Book Award; I was shortlisted for the Irish Poem of the Year 2017 in the Irish Book Awards, the Shine Strong Award for best first poetry collection, the Patrick Kavanagh Award, the Touchstone Distinguished Books Award, and more. I review for the Dublin Review of Books, The Irish Times, Children’s Books Ireland’s Inis Magazine, Books Ireland, and other journals. I also facilitate workshops for writing groups.