I offer editing services for fiction works of all lengths, and specialize in novels, novellas, and other book-length manuscripts.
Developmental Editing:A comprehensive look at your manuscript at a structural level. I will evaluate your story’s plot, characterization, pacing, world-building, dialogue, tone, style, and flow, as well as other high-level structural elements, with a firm focus on your piece’s overall impact.
You will receive a detailed critique letter and revision plan by email and up to two hours of one-on-one discussion via phone or video chat; for this alone, I charge 0.03 CAD per word. I can also add an additional polishing and feedback pass to my edit for more granular advice; depending on the manuscript and the extent of the comments I expect to add, I would charge between 0.04 and 0.055 CAD per word.
If you’re looking for more clarity on what kinds of things my edit would address, you may find my Revision 201 guide to be helpful; I’ve also linked to it from my Resources page.
If, after I’ve provided an edit, you’d like me to write copy for your back cover or sales page, please let me know! I’d be happy to help with that kind of thing, and, as someone with nearly as good an understanding of your book as you have, I’d be in a good place to make people excited to crack the cover. I would charge 150 CAD for this add-on service.
Query package critique:Writing a great query letter may be one of the most important skills an author can develop to be successful in the traditional book market. However, authors are rarely taught what makes an effective query letter, or how to make the other materials in your query package stand out from the slush pile. Like developmental editing on a smaller scale, I will evaluate the structure and organization of your query letter, synopsis, and the first 50 pages of your manuscript. This will help you develop a query package that will catch an agent’s or publisher’s attention in a positive way. I will provide emailed critiques for up to two revised drafts of your query letter, plus an hour of follow-up chat via phone or video.
For this service, I would charge 0.05 CAD per word.
Coaching and Courses: If you want help with an in-process manuscript, or if your needs are otherwise outside the above services, we can work something out. Coaching includes anything done best in real time, whether by voice or video. If you have questions about craft, career, or anything else writing-related, I’d be happy to talk. Likewise, if you need a cheerleader, accountability buddy, or someone who will help you work out drafting problems as they come up, this might be the best service for you. For those who want to do the heavy lifting themselves, I also teach one-on-one correspondence courses on novel revision. Learn to see your manuscript with an editor’s eye! As this is a more flexible service, please contact me for pricing.