“You could scour the journalism and publishing worlds for a lifetime and never find an editor as good as Merrill Perlman. She is tough, sensible, rigorous and devoted to the power of words, which she approaches with an unmatched degree of erudition and respect. She has also successfully managed a large group of idiosyncratic and sometimes cranky professionals (the copy editors of The New York Times). This is a crowd that doesn’t dispense respect easily. Even in this demanding group, Merrill’s editing was regarded with awe.”
Jonathan Landman
Staff Editor, Bloomberg Opinion
“We hired Merrill to put together and deliver a customized copyedit training course for a team of a dozen editors. We were very pleased with both her preparation and results. She was not just thorough and precise, but very communicative and customer service-oriented. We certainly recommend her work, whatever your editing needs.”
Refet Kaplan
executive editor, foxnews.com
“I learned more about writing and managing my work in three weeks with Merrill than I have in my entire 15-year career. I didn’t want to let her go after the course ended. Her approach is welcoming, respectful, honest and funny. Every newsroom, every writer, needs a Merrill.”
DAN TEVLOCK
Investigative Producer for WIVB CHANNEL 4
“I’m a prickly writer — defensive when I’m wrong and imperious when I’m right — but there has never been a moment when I questioned Merrill’s critique of anything I’ve written. She’s gentle and deferential, but she’s meticulous, and she’s always right.”
Tony proscio
author and communications consultant
“A number of recommendations here say that Merrill is an editor’s editor. And this is very much true. But there’s more. She is also a writer’s editor, because she makes good stories great, work that will make the writer proud without feeling a loss of ownership. And, perhaps most important, she is a reader’s editor. She will have already asked and answered the questions that otherwise would have left readers scratching their heads. I know these qualities because Merrill has made me a better editor, through her lessons and guidance. I first met her during my tryout with the Times News Service in 2001. I was overwhelmed during that grueling week. But the gracious feedback on my editing that she gave me each day was invaluable, and I learned more in that week than I had in the previous year at my job at the time. As much as she can make stories better, her coaching makes for better editors. She’s a wonderful person to work for, and with, and she makes it all look effortless.”
Justin Swanson
Copy editor, The New York Times
“I’m pleased to recommend my former colleague Merrill Perlman, and can do so without hesitation. Merrill has a sterling resume as a journalism and communications professional. She is among the smartest and best editors I’ve known. The writing, editing and people skills, creativity and work ethic that were the hallmarks of her journalism career are transferrable across a wide variety of fields. Merrill’s quick wit and intelligence make her a joy to work with.”
kathleen richardson
dean, school of journaism and and mass communication, drake university
“Searching for the consummate communications professional? You’ve found her. For years, I have followed Merrill’s career, attended her workshops and even borrowed her materials to use in teaching the finer points of editing. Merrill’s level of communications knowledge is incredibly good. But she is more than that: She is personable, highly ethical, incredibly capable. She is quite simply as good as it gets.”
john nEwland
Counsellor (Clinical Placement) at Highgate Counselling Centre ranay Gupte
“ Merrill Perlman … is such a pro and made some invaluable suggestions! ”
armistead maupin
author
“Merrill sets the standard in the this country … perhaps for the world … on how to be precise in language, how to be factual so the story is more compelling, how to be clear so that individuals can make up their own minds about what the story means, how to be dogged so the full story is told. These very characteristics are the ones that can carry us … as a global community .. forward as we all live by stories. Merrill leads. We, and the world’s citizens, would do well to emulate her veracity.”
Jean Gaddy Wilson
Director, New Directions for News , University of Missouri School of Journalism
“The compleat copy editor (and she would have a ready dissertation on how that differs from its homonym), Merrill is as fine a manager of people as she is of prose. Many of her colleagues at The New York Times remember her as a skilled and professional colleague, others as a valued mentor and still others as a patient yet demanding teacher. And more than a few would say all of the above. It doesn’t hurt that she makes a mean lemon bar and a bodacious brownie, which is another way of saying that she is one of the kindest and most generous people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.”
Cass Peterson
former Copy chief, Business Day, The New York Times
“Merrill Perlman is a creative, energetic newsroom manager who is in her own right a master practitioner of the editing craft. Her ability to spot and effectively deploy outstanding editing talent helped The New York Times for years maintain its position as one of the best edited newspapers on the planet, and her knowledgeable, well-researched and often outrageously witty columns on usage for the Columbia Journalism Review are in a league with those written by the likes of William Safire.”
Joe ritchie, staff editor, new york times international edition
“Merrill has written two four-page features (the longest we do) for my magazine, The New York Times Upfront. The executive editor and I gave her a rough idea of what we had in mind for each story, but she researched them and came back with various approaches we could take. Even her first time out it was clear she completely understood who our readers were and what they wanted. She needed minimal editing, and was a pleasure to work with when she did. I worked for Merrill at The Times — she was a total pro as a boss, and is a total pro in her current role.”
Elliott Rebhun
former Editor & Publisher, The New York Times Upfront at Scholastic
“If you’re seeking an editor who will bring truth, insight, clarity, and zing to your copy, look no further than Merrill Perlman, who was hands down one of the best editors I encountered during my 20 years at The New York Times. Merrill also was adept at identifying and cultivating talented young reporters and editors, many of whom ultimately became mainstays of The Times’ news coverage. In a sea of extremely talented journalists, she definitely stood out.”
Calvin Sims
President and CEO at International House
“Merrill has presented numerous seminars for ACES: The Society for Editing. Her presentations are tremendously popular and informative; their content is relevant and enlightening; and her presence in the room is engaging and energizing. Merrill is top-notch at what she does, and I thoroughly recommend her.”
CHRIS WIENANDT
FORMER ACES PRESIDENT
