Editing & Consulting
When I was a sophomore in college, a friend asked for my advice on a paper he was writing for class. It was a solid piece, but after reading it a couple of times I knew which paragraphs to move, which ones to cut, and which ideas needed to be developed more. I saw what the piece was and what it could be.
I had discovered editing.
If you read my bio, you know that I got my start in children's publishing as an editor. Now, having published more than 140 children's books and having worked with many editors, I feel I know the editing process inside and out, from both sides of the desk. I know the intellectual journey as well as the emotional one. I know what it's like to have to scrap everything and start over. I know how to handle disagreement and how to search for the just-right alternative that will solve a problem and strengthen a manuscript.
I have a master's degree in creative writing (Hamline University, 2007) and have belonged to several writing groups. My experiences have taught me to trust my judgment and to express my opinions in a direct but respectful way.
And now enough about me! Let’s focus on you and your project.
The editorial process can vary considerably from project to project, but here is a general overview. (And if you want to learn more, here's a good site.)
- At the top is content editing, also known as developmental or substantive editing. This is the "big picture" perspective.
- Next is line editing, which is about how the sentences are working together in terms of clarity, flow, and style.
- After that is copy editing, which is about consistency, grammar, punctuation, and so on.
- The last step is proofreading--looking at every word, every space, every punctuation mark and fixing any obvious errors.
You may not know exactly what your manuscript needs—and you don't need to. If you choose to work with me, we'll start with a manuscript critique. This is similar to a content edit in its scope, but I won't make any actual changes to your manuscript. I will simply give you my overall impression of the manuscript's strengths and weaknesses and make suggestions for improvement. If you feel I've been helpful and you want to continue working with me, we can move ahead into editing, at whatever level is appropriate.
Because I would rather focus on words, not numbers (and because there is inevitably some overlap between the types
of editing), I'm keeping my fee structure as simple as possible and charging the same hourly rate for all services:
$35 an hour.*
Interested? Send me an email and include this info:
- Your name and email address
- A description of your manuscript, including word count and intended audience
- Your goals for the manuscript
When I get your note, I will let you know what my schedule looks like and we can take it from there!
* This is a pretty good deal! Here are some links to give you more info about editing fees:
Editorial Freelancers Association
Writer's Market
K I N D W O R D S
I just finished going through all your comments and suggestions. I can't tell you how pleased I am with the quality of the feedback you provided! I don't think there is one suggestion that I won't consider.
--Eileen Beha, author of middle grade novels Tango and The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea
