What can I help you with?

  • Assessments

  • Developmental Editing

  • Coaching

  • Copyediting

Assessments

A manuscript assessment is a holistic evaluation of your work as it currently exists. What's working? What isn’t? What do you need to add, eliminate, or change to get your manuscript to the next level—to get it to a place where it is ready for publication?

My approach to assessments is to read your manuscript in full, taking notes along the way, and then to provide detailed feedback—including examples—that highlights specific areas where further work is needed. These areas of focus can include narrative arc, voice, plot and character consistency, structural consistency, tense consistency, pacing, transitions, showing vs. telling, and much more. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds!

Assessments are a great way to get high-level feedback and guidance on how to proceed without the investment required for a developmental edit. It’s also a great way to get early feedback on a manuscript before you become too attached to it, and when you still have the energy to rework it.

Developmental Editing

A developmental edit is similar to an assessment in that it takes on the big issues: narrative arc, plot, character, structure, consistency on every level, and more. The primary difference is how granular the feedback gets. Whereas in an assessment I provide a stand-alone document with feedback, in a developmental edit I go through the manuscript itself, paragraph by paragraph, offering commentary and asking questions along the way. An assessment is a road map; a developmental edit leads you through the whole route, talking you through the revisions you could make at each step along the way.

Coaching

Coaching is a great way to overcome whatever hurdles are holding you (or your manuscript) back, and is something that can benefit you at any stage of your author journey. Whatever you’re in need of—encouragement, guidance, accountability, constructive feedback, or even just a sounding board—coaching can be an important resource. It’s a collaborative relationship that’s tailored to your needs and meets you where you are right now, whether you’re still playing with early ideas, are halfway through your project and feeling stuck, or have a completed manuscript but know it’s not quite where it needs to be. Through a combination of hands-on editing and one-on-one calls, coaching can help you break free of writer’s block, improve your craft, find your voice, set and stick to deadlines, and get your book over the finish line.

Copyediting

A copyedit is a line-by-line edit done to ensure that every sentence of your manuscript is clear, sensical, repetition-free, and grammatically correct. A good copyedit isn’t just about making sure you’re dotting your I’s and crossing your T’s, however; it’s about keeping an eye on the bigger picture even as the micro issues get addressed. A copyeditor’s job is to make sure every sentence reads well and makes sense within the greater fabric of your book. To catch words that you use a little too often. To make sure that the story your character tells in Chapter 23 is consistent with that other story they told in Chapter 4. To catch anything that may have fallen through the net during your developmental edit, or that has come up post-developmental edit, during revisions. Copyediting is not the very last step (that’s proofreading), but it should be close to the last step.

Some manuscripts require a more heavy-handed copyedit; others require only a very light touch. Since this is so case by case, I like to start with a check-in to establish expectations, then take things from there.

Not sure what you need? Drop me a line — we’ll figure it out together.