Trusted by 250+ Academics and Writers
Banish high-stakes stress and get your work and your life back on track, calmly and confidently—with the help of someone who gets it.
I won’t trust any other editor!
So committed and professional. I couldn’t ask for a better editor.
Editing Services
You might be feeling:
I know that pressure well, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
That’s why I built my academic editing service around one guiding principle:
to preserve the nuance, care, and politics of your social justice research while ensuring it’s polished and publication-ready.
My expertly informed, fast editing service takes the burden off your shoulders so you’re free to move on to the next project…and rest in between!
Serving social justice scholars in:
and more
Maybe you keep pushing the submission deadline on your book because you’re scared to outsource the tedious editing. Or, maybe you’re hesitant to make the cuts the journal or publisher are demanding because it’s all so important! I get it, and I can help. Here’s an overview of how we can work together:
Tell me about your project, send me a draft (rough is fine), and approve my up-front quote.
I work within your deadline to get your work polished and publication-ready.
Sit back. Relax. Play with your kids. Get other things done. Your clean copy is on the way!
Press that submit button and move on with your life.
Explore my simple packages, designed with your needs in mind
Corrects surface errors at a budget-friendly price. Ideal for manuscripts already in good shape, without sentence-level intervention on word choice, flow, or logic.
Features included:
A comprehensive, line-by-line edit covering everything needed for a polished, publication-ready manuscript. Ideal for complete manuscripts needing a thorough clean-up.
Features included:
High Demand
The most comprehensive service—combining meticulous line-level editing with developmental feedback that sharpens your argument, structure, and flow. For manuscripts that need to be not just polished, but truly publication-ready at every level.
Features included:
Big-picture developmental editing that deepens the impact of your ideas while preserving their integrity. For scholars who need more than clean writing, but an expert collaborator who engages seriously with the work itself.
Features included:
Do you need more than editing?
If you’re an academic or PhD student mom trying to build a sustainable career or finish your dissertation, I can help you via my gentle, accountability-based coaching.
Coaching Services
Finish Your Article, Book, or Dissertation as a New Mother in Academia
It feels like no matter how much you check off, your to-do list just keeps growing, and you’re often left scrambling to pick back up your workflow due to constant distractions.
New motherhood can be so overwhelming and lonely, but unfortunately academic life stops for no one.
The pressure to publish, teach, serve, and be the same intellectual you were before you became a mother never subsides despite the fact that motherhood is your all-consuming new reality.
I’ve been there, and it was miserable. But it doesn’t have to be that way for you.
I wrote, edited, and revised my PhD dissertation while building an academic editing business and caring for my toddler.
I passed my defense with distinction while helping other academics publish articles, books, and dissertations.
How? With a structured, flexible writing method and routine that works for you on repeat, which I’m now sharing for the first time.
My gentle coaching meets you where you are and uses a proven, goal- and accountability-based writing approach to take your project from stalled to submitted—while you stay present at home.
New mothers in academia—faculty and PhD students—who are struggling to achieve their writing or publishing goals in a sustainable, structured way.
In 4 or 8 weeks, you’ll build a consistent, realistic writing routine to finish your manuscript, dissertation, or article on time—without burning out.
Designed for interruptions and derailment, the program helps you pick up where you left off when motherhood’s unexpected moments happen.
Receive regular support, accountability, and gentle motivation to keep persevering through hard days and weeks.
Experience working in community and the relief of knowing you’re not in this alone.
Walk away reconnected to the scholar you were before becoming a mother, with a roadmap for growing professionally while being the mother you want to be.
| INCLUDED | 4 weeks | 8 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Private coaching | 4 weekly 60-minute sessions | 8 weekly 60-minute sessions |
| Text or email check-ins | 2 weekly | 4 weekly |
| Co-working | 1 weekly drop-in | 1 weekly drop-in |
| Optional crisis calls | 1 call, 15 minutes | 2 calls, 15 minutes each |
| Writing resources | Lifetime access | Lifetime access |
| Editing add-on | Projects up to 10,000 words | Projects up to 20,000 words |
In 4–8 weeks, you could have submitted the project that’s been making you wonder whether you’re still cut out for academic life as a new mother…
Register here to find out more about the Stalled to Submitted program, straight to your inbox with no strings.
Professor Donette FrancisAssociate Professor of English and American Studies; Director, Center for Global Black Studies, University of Miami, FL, USALaura is a very thorough editor. She reads closely and carefully raises questions to help the author see gaps and connect dots. I’d recommend her services to all academics and researchers; she’s the best editor!
Ellaina JancewiczMaster of Counselling, City University in CanadaGreat experience with Laura. She was prompt with her work and made very thorough adjustments while still keeping the work my own. Absolutely work with her!
Mohammed HettiniCEO and Founder, UniNewsletterLaura’s eagle-eye attention to detail, commitment to safeguarding scholarly voice, and ability to strengthen argumentation and structure while remaining sensitive to political research set her apart as an editor. She brings deep compassion to her work, understanding the pressures academics face—particularly those balancing caregiving and other significant responsibilities—while communicating with warmth, ease, and a genuinely cheery demeanor. Laura consistently meets even the most rigid deadlines, making her a calm, trusted partner in demanding academic environments.
Miguel AntonyFormer Assistant Editor, Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies JournalLaura is a very skilled editor. Her detail-oriented nature combined with her knowledge of academic publishing workflows help any academic who works with her to reduce the stress and uncertainty that often comes with academic publishing. She is very organized, always meets deadlines, and is a pleasure to work with.
Katey WarrenerMaster of Counselling, City University in CanadaI had a wonderful experience working with Laura. Her edits were incredibly thorough and improved the clarity, flow and overall quality of my paper. The turnaround time was fast, communication was excellent and I truly appreciate Laura’s thoughtful feedback. I highly recommend her services to anyone needing academic editing!
Laura Vasquez Bass (she/her), PhD, is an academic editor and coach who holds a BA in English (first-class honors) and MA in Contemporary Writing from Queen Mary, University of London, U.K., as well as an MA and PhD in English (distinction) from the University of Miami, Florida.
Since her undergraduate years, Laura has centralized transnational questions of race, gender, class, empire, and decoloniality in her research—intellectual and social justice commitments that continue to shape who she works with today, and how. Laura left her home in London, UK, as an international student to begin her doctoral studies in Miami in 2017, going on to become a mother during her PhD in 2022. Balancing the demands of rigorous scholarship with early motherhood shaped both her research practice and her understanding of what meaningful support looks like for scholars navigating competing, high-stakes demands. She completed her PhD with distinction in 2025.
As an editor, Laura helps overstretched social justice scholars deliver on-time, publication-ready work through meticulous, empathetic editing that protects their research subjects’ dignity. She understands the pressure of high-stakes research representing vulnerable communities, and works as a critical advocate for her clients so they can remain focused on advocating for the communities they engage while not sacrificing themselves in the process.
As a coach, Laura helps academic and PhD-student mothers build sustainable writing practices through gentle, accountability-based coaching that helps them show up fully—at work and at home. Drawing on her own experience navigating motherhood and academia simultaneously, she offers a coaching practice that is deeply kind, grounded in real accountability, and shaped by firsthand understanding of the terrain her clients are navigating.
Laura’s editorial career includes serving as a Writing Consultant in the UMiami Libraries Writing Center, where she logged 250+ hours of individualized academic writing support; two years as a Lecturer teaching academic writing through literary and cultural studies; and several years as Assistant and then Managing Editor of Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal, where she shepherded over 180 academic articles through peer review, including the journal’s most-viewed and most-cited Special Issue in its 20-year history, Looking for Black Miami. In 2025, she provided developmental and copyediting services for a forthcoming edited collection under contract with University of Florida Press, before launching Atlantic Editorial.
Laura lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband and son. She still has her accent :).
Please send me a message for any other questions.
A PhD and former journal Managing Editor spilling the tea on academic publishing, dissertation survival, and thriving in academia—without losing yourself in the process. No gatekeeping or jargon. Just friendly and supportive advice from someone who’s been in your shoes.
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Like many people feel when they've found their person, we knew we wanted to start a family. But as broke grad students living hundreds if not thousands of miles away from our families and wider support networks, how would this even be feasible? Could we become parents and still achieve our PhD dreams?
At a time when your work is more necessary than ever, how do you go about producing meaningful, publishable, social justice research?
Whether you’re a faculty member who needs editorial support for an article or a book, or a grad student who’s struggling to complete your dissertation—I can help lighten your load. Let’s chat.
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