Martine Bellen was recommended to me by a publishing agent to edit my book on spirituality, religion, and politics. As the subject matter suggests, the manuscript was a potential minefield and needed to be cogent and well-organized to be effective. The collaboration with Martine was excellent and converted my manuscript into a book. Martine understood my purpose, style, and central objectives and skillfully transformed my set of ideas and arguments into an effective and readable text. I am greatly indebted to Martine for working with me to move this project forward.
—Grady Means, author of Meta-Capitalism and The New Enlightenment

Martine Bellen's help with my novel, Snaketown, was invaluable, wonderful—and gentle. Among so many other things, she helped me see that who I thought was my most important character was, alarmingly, not needed at all, and, in fact was confusing to my story. I gave Martine everything I had: first, second and third drafts, a first- person change to third, and probably a few hundred italics; flowers, places, names, and exclamations. She kept her calm, and with sincere focus and sensitivity, helped me toward the light. I loved working with her. She continues to be available and helpful when I have questions or need advice. That she has been an editor at a major New York publishing house, gives her the insight into that complicated world, that she is a poet, I believe, gives her the sensitivity to find the beauty of a writer's individual work. 
—Kathleen Wakefield

As a novice, writing my first novel, I was amazed by Martine's ability to visualize my entire novel and make succinct  comments that were specific to a particular sentence while referring to the structure and narrative of the entire work. I showed the nine pages of suggestions and comments in the editorial letter to two friends who are published authors. Their responses to Martine's work were identical: "I paid a lot more and got a lot less to have my book edited.  Could I have her information for my next novel?" I am very pleased.
—Erik R. Brown

Since [Martine] sent the letter and the ms., I have not left my desk—-I am working nonstop. [She is] the best editor in the world. —Deborah Henry

Martine Bellen is a joy to work with and someone I recommend most highly to other writers.  She is a skillful, sensitive editor with excellent judgment and tremendous respect for an author's voice.  Whether she's commenting on the overall arc of a story or zeroing in on a specific phrase or line of dialogue, her comments are always insightful and constructive.
—Amanda Filipacchi, author of Love Creeps, Vapor and Nude Men

Martine Bellen is the kind of editor every writer should be so lucky to have. She knows how to praise, as well as how to dispense useful criticism. She completely absorbed what I was trying to do in my first go at a novel, and in an amazingly detailed editorial letter (and later by phone) she pointed out weak spots and incongruities, plot threads that led to nowhere, and deficiencies in characters. She uncovered potentials in plot and character that I had overlooked, often making creative suggestions for strengthening the story. I am very grateful for her kind attentions.
—Donald Smith

Martine Bellen is a very clever, intelligent,  thoughtful, and thorough editor.  She is nurturing yet highly professional, with keen eyes and ears.  She hones in on the heart of the matter and delivers the goods...a goldmine for any author.
—Taylor Barton

It was a pleasure working with Martine Bellen.  She grabbed immediate hold of the dangling threads in my manuscript and weaved them into a cohesive and comprehensible story.  Whether critiquing or complimenting, she is thoughtful and astute.  When she takes on a project, she is accessible and focused.  I found her insights invaluable and look forward to working with her again.
—Rochelle Weinstein (North Miami Beach, Florida)

Martine Bellen's thorough editorial review identified the weak spots and structural problems in my novel.  In our follow-up conversation, her insights helped steer me in the right direction as I embarked on the necessary revisions.  The novel that emerged reached the semi-final stage of the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, where it was described by a Publishers Weekly reviewer as "a winner in every way."  —Richard Hine

Each time I go over [Martine's] comments, I marvel at how good they are.   —Terris McMahan-Grimes

Martine Bellen is that special someone who can be trusted to take an author's manuscript, cast her cold eye upon it, grasp its 
strengths and weaknesses from overall structure down to the smallest petty detail, and tell it like it is. In short, she's an author's 
antidote to wandering in the wilderness. 
—Thomas Lisenbee

After researching many, many book editors, I chose Martine Bellen because I was impressed with her extensive list of accomplishments, 
both as an editor with top publishing houses and as a poet and author in her own right.  I was beyond excited when she agreed to
take me on as a client, so the fact that she actually managed to exceed my (already sky-high) expectations was quite a feat!  The best 
way I can describe Martine’s critique of my novel is that she took a manuscript that had completely gone off the rails in terms pacing and 
focus, and put it squarely back on track – somehow she was able to see through all the extraneous, meandering subplots and envision the 
work as it was meant to be. As my editor, Ms. Bellen not only extracted (read: rescued) the core story from its runaway cast of supporting 
characters and sub motifs, but went on to cultivate the roots of that core story until it transformed into a road map of the simply but poignantly 
plotted, character-driven literary novel I had sat down to write more than two years before. 

To cite an example, one of Ms. Bellen’s most profoundly helpful suggestions was to eliminate an under-developed character who had a pivotal
role in both my protagonist’s transforming identity and then to recast in this same role, a very strong, developed character who had ended up 
falling by the wayside by end of the my novel. This one suggestion was so natural, and obvious, and organic once it was made that I found 
myself stunned and somewhat dismayed I had never thought of it myself!  Through this relatively simple “character swap,” not only
did my outline become exponentially more cogent and compelling, but I was able to cut (pain-free!) a 70-page subplot that I could now see 
was distracting ultimately, nonviable.  For a manuscript that was already well over the 100,000 word maximum recommended for
a first time literary fiction author, it was nothing short of a miracle. 

In addition to several such fundamental plot fixes, Ms. Bellen also provided a meticulous list, complete with page numbers, of every chronological
inconsistency, every mix-up of a character’s name or background, and every oversight in which I had unintentionally and prematurely revealed 
plot twists and other information to the reader.  I was blown away by how thoroughly she knew every detail of each and
every character and minor event of the novel inside out, in just two weeks – in this way too, she had become more versed in my own novel 
than I was at that time.  Throughout the editing process, Martine was very generous and patient with me in answering my millions
of questions about her invaluable feedback and suggestions.

In summation, through her spot-on, razor sharp analysis and critique of my first novel, Martine Bellen not only deciphered my original, 
long-since misplaced intentions for the narrative, but she also went on to help me construct a solid blueprint from which I can finally carry out 
those intentions in my rewrite.  Oh, and my praise of Ms. Bellen would not be complete if I did not mention that after helping me to “cut
the fat” from my overstuffed novel, she also zeroed in on a few, undeveloped literary devices that I had no sooner created than all but 
abandoned in the manuscript’s first draft.  Through her usual deft language and incisive (but always gentle) suggestions, she made
me see the value in these nearly accidental “diamonds in the rough” and advised me well on how to excavate and polish them.  So, with 
these unearthed gems in hand, I feel confident that I’ll not only be able to rewrite the novel in accordance with the new, cogent outline 
Martine helped me create, but also, to use this restructuring to push the narrative, and the writing, to its fullest literary potential.  
—Carrie Wharton-Hanford, first-time novelist