Brienna Burroughs
Brienna Burroughs is a senior ghostwriter, developmental editor, and long-standing member of the Writers of the West editorial team, with more than a decade of experience working with the company.
Her work encompasses professional ghostwriting, manuscript development, editorial refinement, and a broad understanding of the book publishing process. Having contributed to projects across numerous genres, she understands how to develop an author's ideas into a professionally structured manuscript while preserving their individual voice.
University of Arizona
About Brienna Burroughs
For more than a decade, Brienna Burroughs has contributed to the writing and editorial work of Writers of the West, developing manuscripts and helping authors transform their ideas, knowledge, and experiences into books.
Brienna holds a master's degree in English Literature from the University of Arizona. Her professional background combines creative storytelling, manuscript development, developmental editing, and knowledge of the publishing industry.
During her years with Writers of the West, she has worked within a collaborative environment involving ghostwriters, editors, project managers, designers, and publishing professionals. This experience has given her an understanding of the challenges authors encounter throughout the writing and publishing process.
Her editorial work involves developing book-length manuscripts from interviews, research, incomplete drafts, personal recollections, and original concepts. She focuses on narrative organization, chapter structure, pacing, clarity, consistency, and preserving each author's intended message.
Her experience encompasses fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, biographies, Christian literature, business books, children's stories, and personal development manuscripts.
Beyond writing and editing, Brienna understands how manuscripts progress through proofreading, formatting, cover design, publication preparation, distribution, and book marketing. This knowledge allows her to approach manuscript development with an awareness of the complete publishing process.
Genres and Areas of Specialization
Memoirs, Biographies & Autobiographies
Developing personal histories, interviews, life experiences, and biographical research into structured narratives that preserve the author's voice and perspective.
Fiction & Creative Storytelling
Supporting novel development across literary fiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thrillers, and crime fiction. Her editorial focus includes characterization, dialogue, plot development, and pacing.
Business & Thought Leadership
Transforming entrepreneurial experience, professional knowledge, research, and interviews into coherent nonfiction manuscripts for executives, business owners, and industry professionals.
Self-Help & Transformational Writing
Developing motivational and personal development manuscripts through clear organization, engaging examples, practical lessons, and purposeful narrative progression.
Christian & Inspirational Literature
Working with faith-centered memoirs, testimonies, inspirational nonfiction, devotional themes, and manuscripts requiring sensitivity to the author's beliefs.
Children's Books & Young Adult Fiction
Supporting storytelling structure, age-appropriate language, characterization, readability, and engaging narratives for children's and young adult books.
Over a Decade of Ghostwriting & Editorial Experience
Brienna has been part of Writers of the West for more than ten years, contributing to manuscript development and editorial work for authors across multiple genres.
Her long-standing involvement with the company has given her familiarity with the complete publishing workflow, from initial author consultations and manuscript planning through editorial revisions and publication preparation.
Working alongside the company's writing, production, and publishing teams, she understands how different services contribute to a finished book.
Confidential Ghostwriting & Client Authorship
Most of Brienna's professional ghostwriting work is confidential because she develops manuscripts on behalf of authors through her role at Writers of the West. These books are ordinarily published under the names of the clients who commission them, rather than under the ghostwriter's name. As a result, her publicly credited publications do not necessarily represent the full extent of her professional writing and editorial work. Writers of the West respects client confidentiality, intellectual property ownership, and the author's creative vision. Individual client manuscripts are therefore not publicly attributed to Brienna without appropriate authorization.
Her Approach to Writing & Manuscript Development
Brienna approaches manuscript development by considering three essential elements: the author's intended message, the reader's experience, and the structure required to connect the two.
Preserving the Author's Voice
Professional ghostwriting begins with understanding the author's perspective, vocabulary, experiences, and communication style. The goal is to develop a manuscript that reflects the person behind the story.
Strengthening the Manuscript
Developmental editing examines the organization, structure, pacing, and consistency of a book, helping identify opportunities for clarification, expansion, and refinement.
Considering the Reader
Effective writing addresses the expectations of its intended audience. Genre conventions, readability, narrative progression, and clarity all contribute to the reader's experience.
Understanding the Complete Book Publishing Process
Beyond manuscript writing and editing, Brienna's extensive experience at Writers of the West gives her a broader understanding of how publishing projects progress from initial planning to production and distribution.
This includes familiarity with developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, book design, interior formatting, publishing coordination, and book marketing.
She understands the distinctions between traditional publishing and self-publishing, copyright and author ownership considerations, ISBN registration, and the role of publishing platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and IngramSpark.
Her publishing knowledge also encompasses book metadata, genre positioning, distribution considerations, print and ebook preparation, and the importance of presenting books professionally to their intended audiences.
Although different specialists within Writers of the West handle these production and marketing responsibilities, understanding the complete process allows experienced editorial professionals to make informed decisions throughout manuscript development.
Writing About Books, Authors & Publishing
Alongside her ghostwriting and editorial responsibilities, Brienna contributes educational articles to Writers of the West. These resources address professional writing, editing, self-publishing, book production, distribution, and decisions authors encounter throughout the publishing process.
Drawing on her experience within the company's editorial environment, she helps explain publishing terminology, professional services, available platforms, and practical considerations for aspiring and established authors.
Her articles are listed below and are associated with her Writers of the West author profile. This collection is updated as additional articles are published under her name.
