Ben LeRoy started and ran two critically acclaimed independent publishing companies—Bleak House Books and Tyrus Books—until the latter was sold to Simon & Schuster in 2017.
Books published by the two companies won or were finalists for a variety of awards including the Barnes & Noble Discover Award, the Edgar Award, the Lambda Award, and many others. He was a frequent speaker at writing and publishing conferences. He was named to Publishers Weekly “40 Under 40” list of people making a change in the publishing industry. He is the former Executive Director of the Independent Publishers Caucus.
Personal Philosophy
I’m a Midwest dude whose been to and made friends in all 50 states. I’ve slept on couches and had dinner at the kitchen table in most of them. What I care about is bearing witness to others to give comfort and better understand the world I’m living in. I always joke that editing and writing has given me a chance to be an unlicensed therapist and collarless priest. I always joke.
But also, I mean it.
I don’t know how long I’m here. I’m not interested in stacking money or social media fame. I’m just as awed by the questions of why we’re here and what we’re supposed to do about it as I’ve been since the day I was born and found myself inheriting the space among the rest of you.
While we’re here trying to make sense of it all, if I can help you make sense of the things bouncing around inside, let me know. I’m a phone call or an email away.
I’m on the board of two non-profit organizations — Common Wealth Development & Wrath Bearing Tree. Additionally, I volunteer time reading the creative writing of the currently incarcerated.
Seeker. Pilgrim. I’m a Wikipedia rabbit hole enthusiast. As fixated on what is not as I am on what is, both domestically on Earth and the universe outside its boundaries. Definite proponent of exploratory modalities like Reiki, sensory deprivation, light manipulation, sound chaos, and others in pursuit of the brain’s lesser understood capabilities.
Jason Buchholz is the author of A Paper Son, published by Tyrus Books in 2016, and The Cartographer of Sands, scheduled for release in fall of 2025, from Green City Books. He has ghostwritten books and book proposals in a variety of genres and as an editor he has guided the development of dozens of manuscripts, both in fiction and nonfiction. He has also worked as a journalist, covering technology and finance, and as a travel writer, in eastern Europe. His current writing project, a memoir, explores the intersections of wilderness, solitude, movement, and memory. Jason holds a BA in psychology from UC Berkeley and an MFA from the University of San Francisco.
Personal Philosophy
Our stories are the bonds that hold us humans together. By sharing them, we build relationships, establish intimacy, fall in and out of love, incite one another to action, and find the places where we belong in the world. But so many of us struggle to understand our own stories, let alone find places to share them where they will resonate and become part of our collective dialogue. As someone who has studied the art of writing and the craft of storytelling over my whole career, it’s a supreme honor to have the opportunity to help others find their voices, craft their stories, and find their audiences.
An important part of my creative process is getting away from words and noise, so I’ve developed a habit of spending extended stretches of time alone in the wilderness, hiking and kayaking through the wild spaces of my home state of California. My best ideas tend to arrive when I’m not staring at my computer screen, so I treat my brain and soul to regular doses of nature, silence, and solitude. I’m far from a hermit, though—I was initially drawn to editing because of my desire to be in connection with others. I have two children, and I’m a regular classroom volunteer. I play soccer with my team on Monday nights and I’m a member of the East Bay Judo Institute, where I train and serve as a volunteer instructor in the kids’ classes. I’m in constant awe of the richness and variety of the human experience, and of the ways we understand and interpret the world around us, the events of our lives, and the products of our imaginations.
Collaborist is exclusively owned and run by two human beings dedicated to helping other humans tell their stories. Whether it’s a memoir or a novel or a guide helping others navigate their lives, we bring our lived in lives to meet you where you are to figure out what you want to say and how to most effectively say it. We talk about your project, sometimes we mark it up in red pen, other times we help write it for you. Sometimes we are accountability partners and coaches helping you understand craft, walking through your book before you write it.
Collaborist is co-owned by Jason Buchholz and Ben LeRoy, longtime friends and associates in the editing and publishing worlds. Their partnership began more than a decade ago, when Ben, who was then the founder and publisher at Tyrus Books, published Jason’s first novel, A Paper Son. When Tyrus Books was sold to Simon & Schuster, it meant Jason had to find a new publisher, but it also meant they could go into business together, combining their passion, enthusiasm, and expertise to develop and amplify the voices of other authors.
They’ve worked together on countless books across a range of genres, including novels, memoirs, prescriptive nonfiction, and personal development. They don’t believe in one-size-fits-all approaches, so they tailor their services for every project, working in concert with their authors to bring deliberate, artful literature into the world.
Testimonials
books we've worked on...
services we provide
Manuscript Evaluation
You’ve been looking at the same sentences for months, maybe years. Eventually you lose the ability to see what’s in front of you. Despite (and maybe because of) your familiarity with the work, it’s easy to miss little things and more significant issues. A manuscript evaluation is perfect for writers who are looking to query agents and publishers. Likewise, if you’re interested in self-publishing, a manuscript evaluation can catch the things your readers might notice after publication.
We will lightly markup things you might have missed and will give you constructive feedback on your manuscript. Our combination of written feedback and a one hour phone call will help you get clarity and brainstorm as you get ready to put your work into the world. Every manuscript is different, so we’ll select the most pressing topics and provide you with feedback and guidance for your revision.
Line edit
If you’ve got your content right where you want it and would like to make sure that your prose is ready for a public audience, a line edit is the next step for you. We’ll polish your sentences, tracking all of our changes, making adjustments for grammar, syntax, rhythm, sentence structure, usage, and so on.
Query Letter Review
You finished your novel! Yay! Immediately after typing the end on your last revision you decided that it was time to share the book with the world and that doing so means agents! and publishers! Because you wrote a whole book, a one page letter to introduce yourself and your manuscript can’t possibly be difficult. Right? Riiiight…
Over the last two decades, we’ve read a lot of query letters. Good ones. Bad ones. Query letters for books that have been published and query letters for books that were never requested. There are multiple factors that make a query letter get the attention a book deserves. Even though it can be overwhelming trying to understand these factors, sometimes all it takes is an expert. Adhering to best practices here will determine whether your submission goes in the digital dustbin or opens the door for an agent to plunge into your manuscript. With this service, we’ll read your query letter and mark it up, providing you with advice on your tone, content, and structure.
Book Proposal Support
Do you have aspirations for a book contract for a nonfiction project? A book proposal is the place to start. We can help you develop and write it, and we can provide developmental and line editing once it’s complete so you can submit with confidence. Ghostwriting and proposal doctoring are also available. Rates vary, so please contact us for a custom quote.
Developmental edit
Also called “content editing” or “structural editing,” a developmental edit places your work in the hands of a storytelling expert, who will analyze your work and report back to you specifically on overarching issues such as structure, length, pace, voice, and a variety of other storytelling elements. Perhaps you’ve grown so close to your work that you’re unable to see the blemishes that you know must exist. We’ve got a magnifying glass. Working on a novel? In the case of fiction we’ll cover plot, characters and character arcs, tension, description, dialogue, etc.
A developmental edit will tell you what’s working in your manuscript and where you have opportunities to make the kind of changes that will make your work stand out to readers including agents and publishers. Additionally, we’ll roll up our sleeves and work alongside you as you begin the revision process.
ghost writing
Have you lived an exciting life? Made a discovery? Want to leave a legacy for your family line? Some authors have a need for a more hands-on approach. With our collaborative writing services, we take on the responsibility of producing and polishing the manuscript for you. We use the content you provide, whether through conversations, recordings, and selected documents. Our work in this case could take the form of ghostwriting, when we write from scratch, or manuscript doctoring, when we re-write an existing draft. Some projects are a combination of the two. Our collaborative writing services include support with the development and refinement of your outline when needed.
SUBMISSION REVIEW
You’ve done all the hard work, and now you’re ready to send your manuscript to agents or publishers. You only get one shot at this, so if you want to make sure you’re putting your best effort forward, consider a submission review. We’ll go over your materials with you to make sure they’re as professional as they can be.
Coaching
Do you have aspirations for a book contract for a nonfiction project? A book proposal is the place to start. We can help you develop and write it, and we can provide developmental and line editing once it’s complete so you can submit with confidence. Ghostwriting and proposal doctoring are also available. Rates vary, so please contact us for a custom quote.
Let’s talk about your project.
Community building
When we started Collaborist in 2022 the two things we were most excited about were helping people tell stories and building community. Since then we’ve worked with dozens of writers and story tellers to help them with their novels and memoirs and query letters and book proposals. We’ve also produced a podcast that has allowed us to develop relationships with people who would otherwise be strangers.
In 2026 we are going to do our best to expand our efforts with both, simultaneously.
Here’s the deal.
For every hour you volunteer in your community, we’ll volunteer one hour with you and your project up to five hours every six months.
Questions you might have –
Where do I have to volunteer?
Where you volunteer is up to you. Our preference would be that it is for a 501(c)(3). There are so many options available to us all to participate and help make the world a better and more compassionate place. Extroverted and love people? Feed people. Spend time with those who need company. Like your introverted spaces? Clean up parks. Play with dogs. Sort through donations with your headphones on. If you’re within driving distance and you need a volunteer buddy, let us know and maybe one of us will join with you. Find a cause that needs help and speaks to you and sign up. It’s that easy.
What can I exchange my volunteer hours for?
If you’re just starting out with your book, we can speak with you about your plot, character motivation, goals for the finished book, etc. If you’re already done with your novel and you want thoughts on the writing and the opening, we can read and discuss. Happy with the novel you’ve written, but intimidated by writing a query letter? We can work with you to put your best foot forward. These are just some of the ways we can help in exchange for your help.
How do I let you know I’ve volunteered?
Send an email to info@collaborist.org with “Community Building” in the subject line. Not sure what the best way of tracking all of this is, but for now what we’ll do is if you reach out to let us know we’ll deposit that hour in the bank. You can use it right away if you’d like or you can save the hours for use at a later time. At least until we figure out capacity issues, you’re able to claim up to five hours every six months.
I had a good time volunteering! I’m excited about an opportunity! Can I tell you about it?
Please! We’d love to know and highlight the good work people are doing in their communities. Feel free to send an email to info@collaborist.org with anything you’d like to share about your experience. Conceivably, we might read some of these on an episode of Collaborcast or social media so please let us know if you don’t want to be included there, how you would like to be identified, etc.
Why are you doing this? What’s the angle?
There isn’t an angle. We truly believe it’s important for people to be engaged with the world around them in meaningful ways. It’s how we do the human thing. It’s also a great way for writers to learn about the human experience in ways that expand perspective and compassion which means that it shows up in the writing and that’s what we hold dear with the written word.