Each year I take on a limited number of edits for novels and short story collections, as a mentor, developmental editor, or to help hone a submission draft.
A submission draft, as the name explains, prepares the manuscript for submission to traditional publishers and combines in one project both a substantive edit and a light copy edit, to make the manuscript suitable for submission to a publisher. The submission edit includes consultation on which publishers will be best suited to your manuscript, and help with both the creation of pitch letters to both agents and publishers, and that important brief synopsis of the book—the hook to catch your fish.
If you have a project close to submission and feel the need for a substantive edit before you send the ms off, email me (ideally with a short sample of the work in question) for more information and an estimate. We usually able to complete edits within six weeks.
If you’re earlier in the process it can be valuable to work with a mentor over a longer period, creating an editorial relationship that will benefit both the early and late stages of your book. Developmental editing is a longer process, working with a writer by questioning and commenting on manuscript pages as they forge the first draft. Again, email me and we can begin the conversation.
I work with several other skillful, widely-experienced and responsive editors, so whether your book is literary or the kind of literary that is called genre, whether it’s an early draft needing a deeper look or a late draft ready for a quick copy edit, we can find someone to suit you, at a price you can manage. My colleagues and I have years of experience both in writing and in teaching at various universities and writing centres, and we can find a good partner who will match and encourage your own efforts.
We enter the editing process with collaborative joy. As well as polishing your manuscript to its best and giving realistic publishing advice, we offer the relief of a sounding-board. Having an expert and objective ear and eye on the text can be a practical solution to the frustration of working alone. Quit hitting yourself!
