FAQ

  • I’m a line editor. Line editors focus on sentence structure, word choice, flow, clarity and rhythm, while developmental editors work on the story, such as the characters, plot, pacing, and worldbuilding. I will occasionally make developmental suggestions if it's interfering with my ability to edit, if something is incredibly unclear, or if there’s a glaring mistake/inconsistency, but otherwise, I’m strictly focused on the writing.

  • You email me with information about your project, including the word count, genre and a short synopsis. Tell me what you’re looking for, such as copyediting or a more robust line edit, and your timeline. I’ll review and respond within two business days with a quote. Once we move ahead, you send me your files, I edit, and I deliver by our agreed deadline. I always follow up with questions if something is unclear in your draft, and you’re welcome to check in at any point in the process.

  • My personal preferences are irrelevant; this is about helping you, not me. Whether you write literary fiction, fantasy, chick lit, young adult, or anything else, I’ll help you polish it into the strongest work it can be. Nonfiction and academic writers are also welcome.

    • Fiction that is gratuitously violent. Blood Meridian is the bar; if you make that look like Paw Patrol, I’m not your guy.

    • Erotica or smut. It’s fine if your work features erotic or sexual scenes as long as they’re not the focus. But if clothes are non-existent for most of the runtime and there’s (somehow) an infinite amount of body fluids being sprayed about, I’ll have to decline.

    • Anything racist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic, antisemitic, etc. It’s one thing if your writing contains a character who has some of these traits, but they’re clearly meant to be someone deplorable and/or experience growth by the end; it’s another if your story is about going on a vigilante mission to round up people of color and inflict as much pain as possible on them. Fictional characters don’t (and frankly, shouldn’t) have to display perfect morals and beliefs, and they don’t even have to be likeable, so long as the core of your work isn’t hateful.

  • Depends on how you define “harsh”: I am direct, thorough and don’t sugarcoat my feedback, but remember that I do so out of respect for your work and our goal of helping you create the best story possible. I never insult or condescend, and I’m always open to hearing you out if you disagree on an edit.

  • Rates depend on several factors, including:

    • Manuscript length

    • Timeline

    • Complexity (for example, will I have to do any research or fact-checking?)

    • Which service you’re interested in

  • This depends, but across all services you can expect a document with clear, actionable feedback:

    • Query Package: Annotated feedback on your query and synopsis; comments and notes on up to fifteen pages of your draft.

    • Critique: Feedback highlighting your writing’s strengths, areas for improvement, what you should prioritize in your revisions, and next steps to take.

    • Copyediting: Your draft with tracked changes and margin comments.

    • Line Editing: A copy of your draft with tracked changes and comments; a “final draft” with my edits implemented.

    • Mentoring: This includes the “Line Editing” package, plus up to five one-hour one-on-one sessions over your platform of choice (Zoom, Discord, etc.) where I guide you as you revise and rewrite. Each session is followed by a summary of the meeting and the feedback given.

  • Feel free to email me, I’m happy to find something that works for both of us.

  • Sure, here are several examples of my work:

    Novel excerpt (~350 words)
    Academic (excerpt from a qualitative thesis on Tunisian workers, ~1,300 words)
    Midnight in the City (short story/contemporary fiction, ~1,000 words)
    Journalism (on schools and social justice in central Illinois, ~1,400 words)
    A Micro-Essay on Motherhood (~250 words)

  • Email me for a free sample edit on anything you’ve written, up to a thousand words

  • No

  • No

  • No