I work as an editorial consultant. This ranges from assessing book proposals or submissions for publishers to preparing other people’s work for submission I specialise in helping first-time authors by ensuring their typescript has a professional polish, without losing its unique character.

Have a look at The Ship of Seven Murders which I wrote based on co-author Kathy Bunney’s thesis and additional research. Other books I have worked on books have to stay anonymous: the author gets full credit for my work as ghost writer.

I can also help you reduce your CV to a punchy and informative short biography to make the maximum impact on Facebook, Linked-in and other social media sites.

I am probably best known for my travel guide work. I have been working for Fodor’s, the New York-based guidebook company, on their Ireland guide since 1986, when I rewrote the whole book. These days Fodor’s puts a lot of emphasis on its website, which has 3.5m unique users a month. Currently I cover counties Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway and Mayo, visiting the areas annually and writing all the hotel and restaurant reviews to the exacting standards of the New York office.
You can see my work at these links:
http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/ireland/county-clare-galway-and-the-aran-islands
http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/ireland/connemara-and-county-mayo

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/ireland/county-cork/
http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/ireland/the-southwest/

Since 2001 I have also been working for Insight and Berlitz, updating their guidebooks to Ireland. I also wrote Ireland Step by Step (with Tara Stubbs) and Cork and Southwest Ireland Step by Step for Insight.
http://www.insightguides.com/search/shop/?searchTerm=Ireland

Alannah came highly recommended to provide editorial assistance with our book ‘Heritage Trees of Ireland’. Her input and our benefits from her involvement were much more than simply correcting typos, punctuation and grammatical oversights. While trees are not her speciality, she also willingly researched specific issues and brought added value to the material through pertinent questions and astute asides that prove she is both informed and deeply well read on a wide range of subjects. She will tactfully challenge any vagueness, confusion or inconsistencies in a script to ensure that the writing becomes clearer and better while remaining respectful of the writer’s style and intended message. Her work is completed in a timely, efficient and concise manner, with meticulous attention to detail and a wonderfully pleasant demeanour. It has been my pleasure to work with Alannah and I would not hesitate to call upon her talents and professionalism again.

Mary Keenan, Former Executive Director,
Tree Council of Ireland