If you have written a novel, a developmental editor can be very helpful by giving your manuscript a professional read-through and providing one-on-one feedback about your plot, setting, character, and theme; helping you clarify the story you want to tell; offering suggestions for revision; and encouraging you in your writing journey. Having a developmental editor read your manuscript can be the difference between your story being lost in the slush pile and getting considered for publication.
For those with a shorter piece of writing, such as an academic paper, a college application essay, or a query letter, or for those with a complete manuscript who are satisfied with their overall story but want help with language and proofreading, a copy editor can offer extensive line edits to help you polish your work to make it the very best it can be. Copy editors can also check for consistency throughout your manuscript.
With over thirty years of experience in teaching English and as an award-winning author of five published novels, I want to help other writers achieve their dreams of publication. Nothing is guaranteed, but it’s absolutely possible, especially with the right guidance.
What I can help with:
- Complete or partial adult novels (full manuscript, first 50 pages, opening chapter, etc.)
- Developmental editing
- Copy / line editing
- Short stories
- Query letters
- Application essays (college, scholarship, internship, job)
- Academic essays
- Synopses
- Basic publishing strategy: querying, agent vetting and selection, general publishing process
- Coaching/mentoring: the creative process; finding your voice; dealing with self-doubt, being stuck, imposter syndrome
- Crime/mystery/thriller fiction
- Literary fiction
- Speculative fiction (science fiction or fantasy)
- Contemporary general fiction
- Autobiography
- I am happy to work with authors in other genres with the understanding that I am not as familiar with their specific genre expectations.
What I can’t help with:
- Middle grade or picture books (I could do some YA but might depend)
- Flash fiction
- Academic or technical nonfiction (beyond copy editing—see below)
- Self-publishing (while I can help make your book as good as it can be, as a traditionally-published author I don’t have much knowledge or insight to offer regarding self-publishing)
- Marketing (I can offer advice and guidance, but otherwise I cannot market your work)
Fees
- Query letter / application essays / academic essays up to 10 pages
- Send letter/essay ahead of time along with prompt or purpose
- 30-minute Zoom/phone conversation
- 2 rounds of rewrites with feedback
- Costs $75 (more for academic essays over 10 pages)
- Starter package (query letter, synopsis, first pages)
- Send me query letter, synopsis (up to 1,200 words), and first 5 pages ahead of time
- 30-minute Zoom/phone conversation
- 2 rounds of rewrites with feedback
- Costs $150
- Developmental editing for full or partial manuscripts
- Start with free Zoom/phone conversation (15-30 minutes)
- In-document feedback
- An edit letter
- A one-hour follow-up Zoom or phone conversation
- Areas of focus:
- your story’s genre
- story structure
- characterization
- setting
- theme(s)
- point of view
- Costs $0.03/word (for an 80K-word manuscript, that would be $2,400)
- Copy editing for full or partial manuscripts
- Generally for a finished manuscript that doesn’t need or want big-picture advice on the story structure, characterization, or other story elements
- Start with free Zoom/phone conversation (15-30 minutes)
- In-document feedback
- Focus on language and consistency:
- correct usage of grammar, punctuation, mechanics
- quality of prose–how to improve and polish
- consistency across scenes and chapters
- I look at language and consistency as a developmental editor to some extent, but I’m paying much more attention to larger story concerns (see Developmental editing, above); as a copy editor I focus almost entirely on line edits and consistency
- Costs $0.02/word (for an 80K-word manuscript, that would be $1,600)
- Real-time conversation (discuss plans, ideas, brainstorm, coaching, mentoring, etc.): $75/hour
- Deposit required at the outset for developmental or copy editing
Please contact me here to talk about your project.
