Insightful editing of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays

Editing helps you bridge the gap between the writing you envisioned and what you have on the page.

Representing your future readers, I show you specifically what to leave intact, what needs improvement, and how to make changes that will make your writing sing.

Services

Fiction  ◊ Screenplays  ◊  Narrative Nonfiction  ◊  Memoir

The First 50 Pages (prose) / The first 30 pages (screenplay)

This is the most economical way to begin the editing process. Ideal for early drafts, complete or incomplete, this service determines if your book or screenplay is headed in the right direction.

Manuscript Assessment

For this big-picture analysis, I read the entire manuscript and write an editorial letter addressing the themes, character and plot development, pacing, voice, style, and more.

Developmental Editing

Like the Manuscript Assessment, I go through every aspect of telling a story well, but the developmental edit includes comments in the margin. This way, when you go back to make the changes, you’ll know exactly what needs to be addressed. If the draft is polished, this phase can include line editing.

Line Editing

When line editing, I look at how well your sentences and paragraphs flow. Word by word, I begin by focusing on clarity because nothing stops a reader faster than confusion. Then, I help you enhance the strengths of your prose and eliminate weaknesses.

Though it is not my strength, I will provide copy editing as part of a multi-phased project. I do not provide proofreading services.

Current Projects

• • Developmental editing of a first-time author’s fabulous fantasy book.
  • Editing a very early draft of a coaching client’s first narrative non-fiction book, for which she already has a publishing contract.

Contact me to start the process.

Please complete the quick form below to discuss your project.

Sample projects

• • Provided a manuscript assessment of the first draft of a psychological novel.
  • Edited a bittersweet memoir written for the children of a man who knows he will die prematurely.
  • Edited a draft of Eric Bell’s second middle-grade novel, Alan Cole Doesn’t Dance. An agent expressed interest in his work but requested changes. Eric asked me to help him determine how to respond. Was it one person’s opinion, or would an extensive rewrite make sense? (Eric got a two-book deal with HarperCollins.)
  • Compared three rewrites of a specific section of a novel to determine which one was headed in the right direction.
  • Edited the full-length memoir, Ephemeral Blooms: A Memoir with Roots in Colorado, prior to self-publishing.
  • Read and provided feedback on drafts of a screenplay until it was ready to enter into contests.
  • Edited the first half of a suspenseful fantasy novel by a writer who emulates N. K. Jemisin.