Editing, coaching, and classes

I offer developmental editing of novels and memoir, helping clients meet the reader expectations and structural requirements of their genres while helping their voices and personalities to shine. I am actively seeking romance and mystery clients.

I also offer generative and critique workshops as well as one-on-one coaching and mentorship.

I particularly enjoy working with marginalized writers.

  • Ongoing groups

    • Monday Night Poetry

  • Seminars

    • Fueling Our Writing from Our Deep Memories

  • Other classes and workshops

    • Writing with Illness (coming soon)

Testimonials

As a writer herself and as a superbly perceptive writing skills coach Shymala has been a source of electric inspiration to me – encouraging, constructive and practical. She taught me how to have fun with my writing. Her approach has been transformational.

Terence Allan Pritchard, Executive Coach

Shymala goes over your work, teasing out little issues that can grow into larger problems when taken as a whole while also pointing out where you excel. She gives in-depth and detailed feedback, ensuring your writing is the best it can be. I’ve worked with her twice on two different books and I couldn’t be happier. She helped make my novels shine.

Samuel Joseph, Writer and Videographer

…to Shymala Dason, who repaired a broken link and fitted Annie for running shoes.” [from the dedication to her novel Bristol House]

Bestselling author Beverly Swerling

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Think about (i) your personality, (ii) your goals, (iii) your strengths and weaknesses, and (iv) the type of book you are writing.

    The best editor for you is someone whose skills and interests match your needs.

    1. Your personality:

      Do you work best with gentle encouragement and feedback, or do you do better when challenged and pushed?

    2. Your goals:

      Are you writing something to give to your family and friends and are just looking for help in polishing it up? Or do you want your book to be commercially viable (whether small press, Big 5, or indie)?

    3. Your strengths and weaknesses:

      We are all good at some things and not so good at others. Where do you need help?

    4. 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?

    I will encourage you and (gently!) challenge you to do your best.

  • You should 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.

  • 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

    1. 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).

    2. suggestions to effectively use your voice to establish subtext and compelling emotions (I am also a poet).

    3. suggestions to improve your craft.

  • How much work you have ready, and how much help you’ll need in making changes and improving your work will determine what kind of editing is best for you.

    If you have only a partial manuscript and want to get a quick “how’s this look?”, then a sample edit (a quick read and short set of comments) will suit you best.

    If you have a full manuscript and would like a hand evaluating what works and what doesn’t, then a developmental edit will help you to see what’s working and what’s not, and will get you in-line suggestions on things you might do.

    If you have a full manuscript, just need another set of eyes on it, and feel confident you can carry out any fixes that need doing, then a manuscript review will get you a overall evaluation and some pointers as to where you can strengthen your work.

    • Sample edit: I will edit the first five to ten pages of your manuscript. This allows you to see if my editorial style works for you, and gets you closer to polished sample pages for queries.

      Time frame: 1-2 weeks.

    • Manuscript review: Looks at all structural elements of a full manuscript – plot, characters, setting, voice, story arc and beats, etc. My reading is much less intensive and detailed than in a developmental edit.

      You get a report of about 5-7 pages that describes any major issues and touches on possible solutions only. No manuscript editing or markup is included.

      This service is most useful for an experienced writer who wants a second set of professional eyes on your work and who is confident that they can independently fix any issues found: you want to see whether or not your story structure hangs together before spending time tuning details.

      Time frame: about 1 month.

    • Full developmental edit: A careful, close reading of your full manuscript, checking all structural elements: plot, characters, setting, voice, story arc, beats, etc.

      You will get a long (10-15 page or more) report addressing all structural elements (plot, characters, setting, voice, story arc and beats) and extensive mark-up of the text with inline comments pointing out specific examples of problems and things done particularly well.

      Best suited to writers who are looking for more guidance on improving their manuscript.

      Time frame: about one month.

    • Coaching sessions: A one-hour phone or Zoom consultation about your work. You should submit (what?) (how long?) prior to our meeting.

    All editing and review services include a few followup emails and a quick review of one set of your revisions.

Schedule time with me

  • 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.

    Schedule your sample edit here.

  • 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.

    Schedule your manuscript review here.

  • 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.

    Schedule your full developmental edit here.

  • 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:

    1. work out ideas with

    2. read and critique your work on an ongoing basis

    3. provide accountability

    4. 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.

    Schedule your coaching appointment here.