How can I help you?
I specialize in science fiction, fantasy, and YA, though I'll edit most genres. (While I do mean most genres, there are a few I have too little experience with to be helpful to you. If you're writing poetry or erotica, you should look elsewhere.)
I especially love worldbuilding and brainstorming solutions to problems created by worldbuilding.
If you haven't worked with an editor before, we should talk. I'd like to learn from you what you think is going well with your story and what your biggest concerns are. In other words, what is causing you to seek out an editor? That information will help me guide you to the right edit for your needs.
I always offer to edit up to 1000 words from your work in progress, preferably from the middle. (The beginning tends to get reworked considerably, and the ending tends to be rushed.) While that sample won't show you much about what a developmental edit can do, it does give you an idea of how I communicate.
If you want to know...Is the story good?
Is the writing good?
Is the story ready to share?
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then you need a...developmental edit
line edit
proofread
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which focuses on...story- and chapter-level structure
paragraph- and sentence-level style
sentence- and word-level mechanics
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Developmental edit
Rate begins at $0.02 per word
I read your manuscript twice. The first time, I take extensive notes about characters and character arc, setting and worldbuilding, plot and structure, literary elements, genre reader expectations, and more. I use these notes to create a detailed editorial plan and letter.
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On the second read, I gently mark up the manuscript, using Microsoft Word and its Track Changes and Comments features. Markup includes questions, pinpoint suggestions, and occasional line edits to provide an example for modifying the writing to address issues of point of view, characterization, dialog, etc.
You’ll receive from me a marked up manuscript, a style sheet, an editorial plan, and an editorial letter. The editorial plan details suggested structural changes such as adding or deleting scenes, moving scenes, and ways to heighten tension within scenes. The editorial letter explains what’s working, what needs improvements, suggestions for those improvements, and a list of books that have elements similar to yours.
I recommend doing a developmental edit when you’ve received confusing or conflicting advice from beta readers, or when you have taken the story as far as you can on your own and you want solid guidance and concrete advice for improving it.
Line edit
Rate begins at $0.025 per word
I read your manuscript line-by-line and suggest changes (using Microsoft Word’s Track Changes and Comment features) to improve the writing. I do not address deeper issues such as story structure, plot continuity, or characterization in a line edit. (A developmental edit does that.)
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Line edits include fixing errors such as subject/verb agreement, antecedent/pronoun agreement, incorrect verb tense, and misused words. Line editing suggestions include eliminating passive voice, offering stronger noun and verb choices, and removing redundancies.
I also offer rewrite suggestions for fragment and/or run-on sentences (when those choices have gone from stylistic to confusing) and suggest when to break apart or join together paragraphs.
You’ll receive a heavily marked-up manuscript.
I recommend doing a line edit when you feel comfortable you have no large rewrites ahead of you due to plot holes, timeline issues, or other deep structure changes. Typically, if you haven’t received any feedback from anyone, if you are the only person who has laid eyes on your manuscript, you’re not quite ready for a line edit and should consider a developmental edit instead.
Proofread
I correct punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. I ensure you are using the correct homophone (what I learned to call a homonym in grade school: the words “they’re,” “there,” and “their” are an example). I fix spacing issues, ensure you are following the manuscript formatting of your choice, and ensure your chapter numbers are in order. In short, I look out for all the nitpicky stuff.
You'll receive a clean copy of your manuscript with all changes accepted and a marked up copy showing the changes I made.
Copyediting will not improve your story or your writing style; it just keeps you from being rejected because of technical mistakes. Do a copyedit when you are confident your story and writing are as strong as they can be, and you're ready to publish.
Contact me
Contact me with questions or to schedule your editing service. I'll take some basic information from you and use that to give you a complete bid that includes the final cost for your project and the expected date I'll have your feedback ready.
A note about guarantees
In short, there aren't any.
I cannot guarantee an error-free manuscript, though I'll do my best to try. The accepted industry margin for error is 5%. Some of this is because editors are only human (although even computers get grammar wrong). Some of this is because some "rules" of the English language aren't rules at all, which means some people will always find an error where there is no actual error to be found, just a style choice.
I cannot guarantee your manuscript will be bought by an agent or an editor at a traditional publishing house. Some days the decision to buy a manuscript comes down to whether the purchasing agent ate a bad breakfast burrito that morning.
And I can't guarantee people will buy your story if you independently publish. I wish I could!
I can guarantee that I'll care about your story almost as much as you do, and do my best to help you create the very best story you can.