Get Release Day Ready
My editing services are for authors who are looking to independently publish their book. If you’ve committed to the process, have a production schedule in mind, and just want to make sure everything is as clean and professionally done as possible, let me offer you…
Customization
- As a kinaesthetic learner, I believe nothing is more important than learning or processing in a way that empowers you
- You’ll be free to tell me what you need—comp reads, movie/tv references, a call to talk things through, etc.—to get the best of each round of edits
- We’ll tailor your editorial experience to make sure it’s positive and constructive
Clarity
- It’ll be your story—your vision—but stronger
- I will work with you to develop and restructure your story to maximize impact and feels
- You’ll have clarity on why and how suggestions will help you improve your story and your writing in general
- I’ll empower you with tools and self-awareness that you can use to self-edit your future books
Knowledge
- I am an open-minded, well-traveled editor who wants to see you succeed
- I’ve worked with Amazon, NYT and USA Today bestsellers, and authors who’ve been featured in Publisher’s Weekly, NPR, etc.
- You’ll benefit from all my experience—my knowledge of the romance genre and the more eclectic factoids I’ve picked up on my travels—to bring realism and and depth to your writing
Developmental Editing
Turnaround
20 business days
Payments
20% deposit at booking
30% when the work starts
50% on delivery
Add-Ons
Discounts
5% for referrals
15% for students
Developmental editing should be the first type of professional editing that gets done. It involves taking your idea, characters, and plots, and building them into a solid foundation to base your story on.
More specifically, I’ll look at:
Main Characters
Their character arcs, GMCs, emotions and reactions, professions (AKA competence porn), relatability, likability, unique habits and dialogue, etc.
Secondary Characters
Making sure the secondary characters have arcs of their own, and exploring their impact on the main characters
Romantic Arc
I’ll take a look at the shape of the arc, how tropes are used, the believability and completeness of the HEA/HFN ending, etc.
Plot
I’ll look at the effectiveness of the set-up of your story, the conflicts explored, pacing issues, scene setting and ordering, unresolved plot threads, world building, overall believability, etc.
Other Elements
Any other elements that come up as I read your story. This could include things like erroneous subplots, series setting (AKA series baiting), etc.
Your story is your baby, and I want to work closely with you to make sure that you get the best version of the story you wanted to tell on paper.
Please note that this service does not include a line edit pass (or a review pass) after you have revised the manuscript.
At the end of the work, you’ll receive:
- A mandatory 30-minute Zoom call to discuss your vision for your book, specific areas of concern, and to clarify any expectations
- An extensive editorial letter (≥ 8 pages) outlining what you’ve done well, what could be strengthened, how it affects the story and reader experience, with suggestions as to how you could fix it
- Extensive in-manuscript comments via Track Changes
- A Revisions Cheat Sheet (≥ 5 pages) or timeline
$0.015 – $0.02/word
Line Editing
A line edit really hones in on the things that could impact the reader experience, beyond the structure and concept of your manuscript. Think of it as the interior design elements that dress the foundation of your story in a way that makes the reader eager to settle into your book.
If you’re worried whether readers will pick up what you’re putting down, have had betas mention difficulties connecting to your characters or story, or just want to make sure your writing flows, this is the service for you.
The focus here is maintaining readability, flow, and clarity of meaning to make sure that one wordy sentence doesn’t take your reader out of the wonderful narrative you’ve crafted.
More specifically, I’ll look at:
Showing vs Telling
How can you rephrase this to better draw your readers into the story? Does the way you’ve constructed this sentence distance the character from their thoughts, feelings, or actions?
Character Consistency
Are your characters behaving in a way that is true to what the reader knows about them? Are there enough explanations to sudden changes in personality or decision choices? What happened to their beloved cat, who disappeared half way through the story? I thought her handbag was on her left arm?
Dialogue
Is it easy to track who is saying what? Does the dialogue sound authentic? Are there any idiosyncrasies that you need to pare back on or add in more of? Do you have enough dialogue tags and blocking to make it clear how things were said and what was happening as the conversation was taking place?
Word & Phrase Repetition
How many times are you using a particular word or phrase in a sentence, paragraph or page? Does your character always “grin devilishly” and “swipe their hair off their face”? Is the repetition adding value and emphasis, or is it grating on the reader’s nerves?
Sentence Length and Structure
How well do your sentences flow as a paragraph? Are you using too many short sentences and it sounds like the characters are angry? Or do you have too many long, wordy sentences that make it hard to keep track of what is going on?
Sequencing of Action & Verb Tense Issues
Are you revealing and sequencing events in a way that makes sense? What order did these things happen in? Are you putting the character’s reaction before the stimulus they are reacting to occurs?
Word Choice
Did you accidentally use a homonym? Is this the right word to evoke the feelings of this particular scene or character?
Point of View
How does this character know this since they weren’t at that event? Who is telling this sequence of events? Whose head is the reader in at this point? Would it not be better to tell this part from another character’s perspective?
Autonomous & Self-Conscious Body Parts
“His hand ran up her back” is giving me Addams family flashbacks! Saying “She grabbed her bag with her hand” is a little redundant because people normally grab things with their hands.
Clarity of Meaning & Readability
Will the reader be able to understand what you’re saying here? Can we rephrase for clarity? This is an unintentional double entendre, but given the seriousness of the scene, maybe try…? That’s a lot of big words for the reader to process in one sentence, maybe say..?
Please note that this is not copyediting or proofreading. This means that your grammar, punctuation, and usage errors will not be corrected (outside obvious typos) nor will there be any fact-checking or formatting. I highly recommend you hire a separate copyeditor and/or proofreader before you publish your book.
The line edit service includes one edit pass.
At the end of the work, you’ll receive:
- A comprehensive editorial letter (≥ 6 pages)
- Extensive in-manuscript comments via Track Changes
Turnaround
30 business days
Payments
20% deposit at booking
30% when the work starts
50% on delivery
Add-Ons
Discounts
5% for referrals
20% for students
$0.019 – $0.023/word
Developmental/Line Edit Package
Turnarounds
20 business days for the DE pass
20 business days for the LE pass
Payments
20% deposit at booking
30% when the work starts
50% on delivery
Add-Ons
Discounts
5% for referrals
15% for students
If you know you need developmental and line editing done on your manuscript, then the DE/LE Package is the most cost-effective editing option for you.
This service includes two edit passes and a total of 1.5 hours call time.
At the end of the work, you’ll receive:
Developmental Edit Pass
- A mandatory 30-minute Zoom call to discuss your vision for your book, specific areas of concern, and to clarify any expectations
- An extensive editorial letter (≥ 8 pages) outlining what you’ve done well, what could be strengthened, how it affects the story and reader experience, with suggestions as to how you could fix it
- Extensive in-manuscript comments via Track Changes
- A Revisions Cheat Sheet (≥ 5 pages) or timeline
Revision Period
- A 30-minute revision plan coaching session
- You then have ≤ 30 days to revise your manuscript and get it back to me for line edits
Line Edit Pass
- A comprehensive editorial letter (≥ 6 pages)
- Extensive in-manuscript comments via Track Changes
- Optional 30-minute Zoom call to discuss the Line Edit editorial letter
Please be aware that if you take more than 30 days for revisions (i.e. > 1 month between me sending you the developmental edits and you sending back the revised manuscript for line editing), the two services will be charged separately.
$0.0175 – $0.021/word/pass
Final Review Pass
Sometimes you don’t know if the changes you’ve implemented after edits (or a critique) address the issues raised in the editorial letter or comments. And just knowing whether you’re on the right track or you have to go back a do a little more work is an invaluable step in revising your book.
If you’ve asked yourself, “Does that answer her question?” or “Would a scene like this work?” then the Final Review Pass service is for you.
I’ll take a look at all the changes you’ve made, and give you feedback on whether those changes have strengthened your work and how this newly revised version of your book could be received by readers.
This service includes one reading pass.
At the end of the work, you’ll receive:
- A detailed editorial letter (≥ 4 pages) that breakdown my thoughts on any major changes to story and plot, and the overall readability and flow of your book
- 1 email (≤ 500 words) responding to any questions you have about the editorial letter
$0.008 – $0.01/word
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