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Think about (i) your personality, (ii) your goals, (iii) your strengths and weaknesses, and (iv) what type of book are you writing?
Your best editor is someone whose skills and interests match your needs.
Your personality:
Do you work best with gentle encouragement and feedback, or do you do better when challenged and pushed?
Your goals:
Are you writing something to gift to your family and friends and looking for help in polishing it up? Or do you want your book to be commercially viable (whether small press, Big 5, or indie).
Your strengths and weaknesses:
We are all good at some things and not so good at others. Know where you need support.
Your book:
Are you writing Adult, YA, MG, or PB? Literary, Romance, Speculative Fiction, Mystery or something else? Do you need someone who can support a particular marginalized perspective?
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Pick an editor who understand your genre.
I write (or have written) literary, historical fiction, science fiction & fantasy, poetry, and memoir. I read all of those as well as a great many mysteries and romances.
I have edited science fiction and fantasy novels & memoir, and am now also actively seeking mystery and romance clients.
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You will be supported in working towards your vision, your perspective, your voice, and your book. You will be kindly challenged to reach your best potential in a safe space.
You can count on
suggestions to improve all the big-picture elements of your writing – structure, characters, plot, setting, themes, question, etc. (my NASA analyst background helps with this).
suggestions to effectively use your voice to establish subtext and compelling emotions (I am also a poet).
suggestions to improve your craft.
Schedule an appointment.
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A sample edit lets you try out my services for a few pages of your text (either five or ten).
You will receive a few paragraphs of big-picture feedback, as well as one to three line-edits per page to see if my editorial style works for you. It also gets your closer to polished sample pages to query with.
I am happy to answer a few followup questions about your sample edit via email. A quick second look post your next set of revisions (if you so desire) is included – but please note this is not a full additional edit!
I charge $50 for a five-page edit, and $80 for a ten-page edit. If you go on to get more in-depth editing services on your full manuscript, the price of your sample edit will be applied toward that fee.
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Manuscript review looks at all structural elements of a book – plot, characters, setting, voice, story arc and beats, etc. – but the reading is less intensive and detailed than in a developmental edit.
You will receive a report of about 5-7 pages that describe the major issues of the book and touch on possible solutions. Unlike the developmental editing report, this report leaves much of the work of figuring out how to create and apply the solutions to the writer. Also, the manuscript itself it not marked up with inline comments and feedback.
If you are an experienced writer who wants a second set of professional eyes on your work and you're confident you can independently fix any issues found, this is the service for you. It is a good way to get an idea of whether or not your story structure hangs together before spending time tuning details.
I am happy to answer a few followup questions about your review report via email. A quick second look post your next set of revisions (if you so desire) is included – but please note this is not a full additional review!
The price varies depending on the length of the book/novella/etc. For an ‘average’ novel of about 85K words this is $800; charges are higher for longer works.
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A full developmental edit involves a careful, close reading and look at all structural elements of the book – plot, characters, setting, voice, story arc and beats, etc.. You will receive a 10-15 page report (or possibly more, depending on the book). You will also get an extensively marked-up text with inline comments that point out specific examples of where something is problematic or where it’s done particularly well.
These inline comments include some line editing, providing examples you can follow. (I don’t guarantee to catch everything, nor to do the copyediting.)
The report and the marked-up manuscript, between them, lay out any issues in the structure of the book, suggest possible solutions, and generally give you extensive information to guide your rewrite choices. This includes references, web links, plot diagrams, etc. if appropriatefor the particular book, as well as any basic publishing and market information that might be useful.
A good developmental edit report often takes a while to digest, because it challenges the writer to look at their book a different way. I come to each book with an open mind and the goal of sharing and supporting your vision.
I am happy to answer a few followup questions about the edits and your report via email. A quick second look post your next set of revisions (if you so desire) is included – but please note this is not a full additional edit!
My charge varies depending on the length of the book/novella/etc. The charge for an ‘average’ novel of about 85K words would be $2400; charges are higher for longer works.
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You can count on individualized attention, guidance and support with any aspect of the writer’s life, from how to keep getting your words out on paper to how to get them out into the world.
You will have someone to:
work out ideas with
read and critique your work on an ongoing basis
provide accountability
demystify the writing profession
I can help. I charge $200 for a 45-minute meeting combined with a critique and discussion of 25 pages, or $500 for a three-meeting package.
You get to choose how often we meet. (If you sign up for the three-meeting package, I will keep track of where you hope your work will go over the time we work together.)
If you want a more detailed followup to any of my other services, please schedule a coaching session to allow us to go into deeper detail.