Everybody Needs an Editor

Welcome to the online home of Southern California editor and author Donna Wares.

An avid traveler and nature lover, I'm an editor who likes to write, too, and a news junkie who loves to tackle projects that push my boundaries. My work has appeared in books, newspapers, magazines and online.

I’m an award-winning storyteller with experience working at some of the nation’s top media companies across print, web publishing and social media platforms. My books include The Wonder Years, My California and an Explorer's Guide to Santa Barbara and California's Central Coast. In 2012, I returned to my first love: daily newspapers.

Here’s a snapshot of my work:

Managing Editor, Orange County Register.

Storyteller and newsroom leader at this Southern California newspaper with more than 200 staffers, focused on print and online news.

Business Editor, Orange County Register. Supervised growing business staff as the newspaper restored a standalone business section, doubled staff and dramatically expanded coverage of the Southern California economy. OC Metro named me one of "20 Women to Watch" in 2013.

Contributing Writer and Editor, NBCNews.com. I worked with NBCNews.com (previously MSNBC.com) as a writer and project manager to develop an online business series, New World of Work, with web, video and social media content.

Managing Editor, Entrepreneur Media. I launched and ran the magazine’s innovative startup, SecondAct.com, a daily exploration of jobs, personal finance, health news and midlife reinvention.

National Weekend Editor, Los Angeles Times. My job involved supervising and planning weekend coverage and brainstorming stories with the newspaper's talented national correspondents on breaking news, enterprise reports and in-depth projects. I also worked as an editor on the Times State Desk and as deputy city editor in the Orange County Edition.

Book Editor and Author. Contract book editor and writer specializing in nonfiction projects and web publishing. Favorite project: editing the best-selling anthology My California: Journeys by Great Writers, featuring 27 California novelists, nonfiction writers, poets and journalists. Contributors donated their work so all proceeds from this special book could benefit the California Arts Council and writing programs for children.

What Others Say

“ Donna's editorial instincts and skills are second to none. She also has a true understanding of how journalism and media have evolved. She knows how to leverage the power of social media, mobile and tablets, ebooks and more …. Donna's array of skills, passion for her work and insistence on quality allow her to take a project from concept to reality and refine it in surprisingly original ways. How is Donna to work with? Always professional, enduringly positive, amazingly enthusiastic with enough grit to lead a team to the finish line.”

— Dave Pomije, VP Site Development, Entrepreneur Media

“Donna Wares is a smart, savvy editor, who is flexible and exudes energy and warmth. I love working with her.”

— Jane Isay, author and former Editor-in-Chief Harcourt Publishing

“Donna is a versatile editor and writer--an author of three books, and editor of too many to count. Beyond her stellar skills is her amazing enthusiasm, a buoyant positive spirit that inspires everyone around her and enhances every project. Nothing is impossible when Donna is in the mix.”

-- Paddy Calistro, Publisher, Angel City Press

“She's a pro and she's easy to work with -- a rare combination indeed!”

-Kim Grant, Acquisitions Editor at Countryman Press and Sutro Media

“My heartfelt thanks to Donna Wares for her superb editing.”

--Antonio Damasio,
author of Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain

“Donna Wares is a story's best friend. She is skilled at divining what works are really about and helping writers to communicate that essence – in their own style, not hers.”

— Maria LaGanga, San Francisco writer for the Los Angeles Times

“I've been through a lot of editors in the newspaper and book world, and Donna Wares is among the very few I trust. That's because she trusted me – my instincts, my ear – and trusted herself.”

– Mark Arax, PEN Award-winning author of West of the West

“She listens. She cares. She helps writers say it better. That's what it's all about.”

— Veteran writing coach Jim Hayes