I’ve been an editor for a Fortune 40 dot com. I’ve been a content strategist for one of the best online banks in the United States. I’ve edited marketing copy, ad copy, merchandising content, web content, and more.
But my true love is fiction.
Read more about my qualifications here
Keep reading to find out more about my services and genre specialties.
Let’s get more of your words into the world
Editing is a vital step to publishing books that resonate with your audience. As writers, we have a tendency to read the words we meant to write, not the words that are on the page. Our brains make it easy to skip over errors, unclear wording, and inconsistencies in our own writing.
To combat this, writers need editors. Specifically, editors familiar with the audience they’re trying to reach. Editors who aren’t afraid of a few well placed fragments. Let me tell you which audiences I understand best.
Genre specialties
My favorite genres are naturally the ones I read the most often, which means I’m most familiar with their tropes and genre expectations compared to others. I would be of greatest help to you with these genres (in no particular order):
- motivational non-fiction, self-help, authorship, entrepreneurial
- science fiction, alien invasion, genetic engineering, cyberpunk
- space opera, galactic empire, space exploration, space military
- post-apocalypse and dystopian of all varieties
- historical fantasy, fairy tale remakes, Arthurian, alternate history
- epic fantasy, high fantasy, secondary world fantasy
- urban fantasy, low fantasy, paranormal romance
- other fantasy, coming of age, sword & sorcery, dragons
- fantasy romance and romantic fantasy
- reverse harem and polyamorous fiction of all varieties
See some testimonials or keep reading to learn more about how I can help your books resonate with readers.
Types of editing services
Skip down to each editing service:
Outline Consultation
My specialty! I will assess your fiction or non-fiction outline and provide high-level feedback. This can significantly speed up your publication process so you can publish more books per year.
For planners, plotters, and outliners, an upfront outline consultation helps you determine whether you’re headed in the right direction before you waste time writing scenes you’ll ultimately cut later. A little extra finesse on your early outline can save you even more time (and money) on editing and revisions — very important in the age of the indie author!
If you’re a pantser, outline consultations can also be helpful after you’ve finished your first draft. Unsure what scenes to keep and what to cut? Wondering if you have any gaps or subplots you should expand? After finishing your first draft, type up one or two sentences about each scene and send it over to me for a consult that can help keep you from spinning your wheels in revisions.
“It cuts down the time afterwards in terms of the editing and revisions. … It’s probably been one of the best things I could have done.”
— Shannon Mayer, million-selling indie author, talks about how she uses outline consultations with her editor on the Bestseller Experiment podcast.
You can listen to Shannon speak specifically about outlining and sending it to her editor for clarifying questions at about 21 minutes into the episode, but the whole thing is fantastic, so give it a listen!
Outline consultations include:
- in-line comments on your outline of up to 4,000 words (or up to 20,000 words for whole series outlines) using Microsoft Word or Google Docs comments
- an hour of my time via voice or video chat, Skype, or phone call as a follow-up
- up to 4 post-assessment emails to answer any questions you may have or to discuss your ideas for moving forward
Turnaround time for a consultation on your outline is 3 days from when I start the project. Contact me to tell me more about your specific needs and to find out when I’m available to start.
View sample here. View rates here.
Back to top
Editorial Assessment
I will assess your fiction or non-fiction book and provide high-level analysis to help make your next revision pass easier.
When you get my feedback, you’ll know exactly what next steps to take to improve your work. Editorial assessment packages include:
- a 2- to 4-page editorial letter including a summarized action plan to help you move forward efficiently
- an hour of my time via voice chat, Skype, or phone call as a follow-up
- up to 4 post-assessment emails to answer any questions you may have or to discuss your ideas for moving forward
My editorial letter will touch on:
Concept, storytelling, chapter breaks, logic, structural issues, themes, hooks to grab and keep the reader’s attention, worldbuilding, tension, conflict, character arcs, satisfying twists, first impressions from the beginning, identifying causes of sagging middles, lasting impressions from the ending, and more.
Viewing a sample will give you a better idea of what this looks like.
Who should use an editorial assessment
This package is faster and less expensive than a full developmental edit, while still helping make your book the best it can be. This is a great option for authors on a tight deadline or budget.
Advanced writers will likely find this editorial assessment to be a good fit.
For your first ever book or for troublesome books, I recommend doing your own revision pass, getting an editorial assessment to identify major weaknesses, then doing more revisions, followed by a full developmental edit if you still feel you need it.
If this is your first book and you want to work on your craft but can’t afford both, I would recommend a full developmental edit instead.
If you can’t decide between these two options, get in touch. We’ll discuss which may be best given your situation and my availability.
Turnaround time for an editorial assessment of your book is 3 weeks from when I start the project. Provide me with your manuscript and also an updated outline for faster turnaround. Contact me to tell me more about your specific needs and to find out when I’m available to start.
View sample here. View rates here.
Back to top
Developmental Editing
Do Future You a favor and invest in your author career by getting a developmental edit on your early books. Your craft will improve by leaps and bounds, and you’ll be able to apply what you learn to future books.
As your developmental editor, I will provide extensive comments and suggestions at a paragraph level touching on all aspects of your work:
Character arcs and motivation, tension, conflict, pacing, worldbuilding and setting, storyline, plot points, level of detail in description, theme, etc.
Viewing a sample will give you a better idea of what this looks like.
The developmental editing package includes:
- extensive in-line feedback at the paragraph level using your choice of the following: Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or Scrivener
- a summarized action plan via email to help you move forward more efficiently
- an hour of my time via voice chat, Skype, or phone call as a follow-up
- up to 4 post-assessment emails to answer any questions you may have or discuss your ideas for moving forward
Note: While I may point out any major grammatical issues I find here, a copyediting pass will still be needed to catch everything.
Turnaround time for developmental editing is 5 weeks from when I start the project. Provide me with your manuscript and also an updated outline for faster turnaround. Contact me to tell me more about your specific needs and to find out when I’m available to start.
View sample here. View rates here.
Back to top
Copyediting + Proofreading
When people think of editing, this is usually what they’re thinking of. And yes, I believe in ending sentences with prepositions and using fragments when the meaning is clear enough. It’s a new age. If you don’t like it, we may not be right for each other.
On a book project, this is usually the last step. I recommend an editorial assessment and/or developmental edit before you reach this stage. You want to get all of your structural changes (adding/deleting scenes, for example) out of the way before you pay for a more detailed copyedit. This pass covers things like:
spelling errors and typos, misplaced and dangling modifiers, smooth transitions in POV, tightening of sentences, verb tense, stilted or awkward dialogue, character details, dialogue tags, punctuation, identifying unclear meanings, homophones, chapter numbering, formatting of dashes, etc.
This package includes:
- extensive in-line copyediting and proofreading using Microsoft Word track changes functionality
- an hour of my time via voice chat, Skype, or phone call as a follow-up
- up to 4 post-assessment emails to answer any questions you may have or to discuss your ideas for moving forward
- updated style sheet (see example from my own book below)
Voice, sensitivity, and continuity
I’ll generally make two passes on my own using track changes in Microsoft Word before sending it back to you. I will not make any invisible changes to your manuscript — I will only track my suggestions. Instead, you will go through to determine if there is anything you disagree with before accepting the rest of the changes. (I can walk you through how this works if need be.)
This is how we maintain your authorial voice. When we’re done, your book will still sound like you, but without any embarrassing typos or unintended grammar goofs.
I’ll throw in incidental fact checking, sensitivity, and continuity issues I notice, but I recommend using others to thoroughly comb over your work in those three areas. (Beta readers and fellow authors are great for that.)
Using a style sheet
I offer a $50 discount if you provide me with a style sheet when you send over your manuscript! A style sheet helps maintain consistency throughout the entire book. For example, any of the below are perfectly acceptable, but it’s up to you to decide which you prefer, and I’ll help you stick to it throughout your entire project:
- ok vs. okay vs. OK
- dove vs. dived
- Melissa vs. Melisa
If you don’t want to create your own style sheet before sending over your work, I’ll create one as I find inconsistencies. Then we can review it together to ensure I applied your preferences throughout. If you already have one, I’ll ensure it’s updated as I make my first pass.
View the style sheet from my book here (PDF)
Turnaround time for copyediting + proofreading is 3 to 4 weeks from when I start the project and is faster with a style sheet. Contact me to find out when I’m available to start.
View rates here.
Back to top