About Simek Writing Services LLC | Editing and Coaching for Academic and Nonfiction Writers

Lauren Simek, PhD

My role as a writing partner, editor, and coach began more than twenty years ago during my time as an undergraduate writing tutor, graduate teaching assistant, academic journal editor, and then university instructor. Working with university students and colleagues allowed me to realize my enthusiasm for helping people one-on-one through the writing process. I've worked with clients on everything from short essays, book reviews, dissertations, journal articles, nonfiction books, and job application materials to memoirs, family histories, short stories, and novels. I love these opportunities to learn about a wide variety of fields and gain insight into who people are, how they see the world, and the various ways they express what's important to them. Above all it's the connection with people and ideas that makes my work so rewarding.

Experience

2015 - Present

Freelance Editor and Writer
Simek Writing Services LLC

Experience working with clients in corporate, private, and university settings as well as with international writers and APA, Chicago, and MLA styles.
Recent projects include nonfiction book proposals accepted for publication at Harvard Education Press and Routledge.
Skills include copy editing, line editing, developmental editing, writing coaching, co-writing, and ghostwriting.
Documents edited include journal articles, book reviews, nonfiction book manuscripts, book proposals, query letters, dissertations, theses, academic job market materials, memoirs, novels, short stories, and satire.

2014 - 2018

Faculty Associate
Arizona State University
Department of English & Writing Programs

Honors Faculty, Thesis Director, Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University.
Designed and taught upper- and lower-division courses on the short story, critical reading and writing about literature, nineteenth- and twentieth-century British literature, advanced first-year composition, and basic writing.
Nominated for College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Teaching Award.

2006 - 2012

Designed and taught courses on fiction and literary analysis, professional writing, first-year composition, nineteenth-century British literature, and basic writing.
Nominated for Award for Outstanding Teaching by an Associate Instructor.

Associate Instructor,
Teaching Fellow
Indiana University, Bloomington
Department of English

2009 - 2010

Book Review Editor
Victorian Studies

Copy edited more than 150 book reviews and proofread typeset reviews.
Commissioned book reviews and review essays from scholars worldwide.
Communicated regularly with book publishers.
Trained and supervised the Assistant Book Review Editor.

Publications and Peer Review

“Revising Tractarian Reserve: Elizabeth Missing Sewell, Victorian Didacticism, and Novel Form.” Victorian Review, vol. 46, no. 1, 2020, pp. 101-21.

“The Sounds of Narrative in Longfellow’s Evangeline.” Reconsidering Longfellow, edited by Christoph Irmscher and Robert Arbour, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2014, pp. 87-100.

“Feminist ‘Cant’ and Narrative Selflessness in Sarah Grand’s New Woman Trilogy.” Nineteenth-Century Literature, vol. 67, no. 3, 2012, pp. 337-65.

I've also served as a peer reviewer for a number of academic journals.

Education

2014

PhD, English Literature
Indiana University, Bloomington

William Riley Parker Career Award for outstanding advanced graduate student working in field of British Literature (2013)
Patrick Brantlinger Victorian Studies Dissertation Year Fellowship (2011-2012)
David H. Dickson Award for Best Graduate Student Essay on American Literature (2008)

2006

MA, English Literature
Indiana University, Bloomington

First-Year Departmental Fellowship (2005-2006)

2003

BA, English Literature
BA, Spanish
Arizona State University, Tempe

Summa cum laude
Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University
Writing Tutor, The Writing Center (2000-2003)

Curious to know how I think through writing and editing challenges? Visit my blog for tips and reflections.

Email: lauren@simekwritingservices.com

Testimonials

Jim Gaona Ellis, Author of Educators As Designers: The Hidden Architecture of Learning,

forthcoming from Harvard Education Press (2026)

“My work was accepted at a more prestigious publisher because of Lauren’s experience and expertise. Without her guidance, support, and skill, this outcome would not have been possible. Lauren is a masterful editor who demonstrates an incredible ability to guide large, complex writing projects with precision, and helped me clearly define the scope and goals of my book. As a writing partner, she clarified my ideas, elevated them into magnificent prose, and organized the whole thing masterfully for publication. Writing professionally can be taxing, but Lauren's warm and supportive personality made the entire process enjoyable.”