Gail M. Kearns founded her company, GMK Editorial and Writing Services, in Santa Barbara, California, in 1995, and has helped dozens of authors shape their books for publication. Kearns has broadened the scope of traditional editing services to include layout, production, printing and vendor coordination. She is also founder of To Press and Beyond, a full-service book shepherding agency that grew out of numerous requests from clients. She helps manage projects from inception to completion and supports clients by providing editing, advertising copy, news releases, press kits and Internet writing, as well as innovative plans for marketing and promotion.

Books of all genres, shepherded by To Press and Beyond, have garnered such awards as the prestigious Independent Publisher's Award, The Benjamin Franklin Award, Foreword's Book of the Year Award and Writers Notes Magazine Book Award.

Ms. Kearns is a member of PMA, the independent book publishers association, and SPAN, Small Publishers Association of North America.

Previously Kearns was a story analyst and development executive in the motion picture industry: with RKO Pictures in New York City, she scouted for books to produce as movies; in Los Angeles, she worked with several independent production companies and their writers. Before that, Kearns spent a decade as a film production supervisor.

Her editing and publishing consulting has taken her throughout the U.S. and abroad.  She has a BS degree from Hunter College, CUNY.