Book Editing

I have extensive experience editing novels, memoirs, poetry, children’s books, textbooks, reference books, self-help books, biographies and more. Below you will find a list of genres I am familiar with as well as those I specialize in. I offer two different types of book editing depending on your needs, developmental editing/beta reading plus and comprehensive editing. 

Developmental Editing/Beta Reading Plus

This type of editing is all about content. It does not include line editing or proofreading, but rather a focus on your book, what is or is not working and how to make it ready to print. With this service, I read your book focusing on things like pacing, author’s voice, tone of the piece, character development, dialogue, plot, structure, scenes, setting, target audience and marketability, and is comprised of two parts: margin comments and a separate in-depth analysis.

Comments in your manuscript’s margins are paramount as they provide two things. First, a reader’s (me) reaction in real-time. Second, you will know specific areas that need attention as well as what is working great. I will highlight killer lines or scenes, telling you, “This!” and I will address where scenes or pacing lags, where you are telling instead of showing, where a character’s dialogue doesn’t feel authentic. This will be helpful so that when you go back through, you will know what to do, and why to do it.

In my analysis, I cover everything that needs to be said. I hate absolutes, but I do mean everything. Every strength that stands out and every instance or aspect that need to be addressed, major or minor. When I discuss the topics above such as pacing or show versus tell, I do so in great detail, giving examples of where this was an issue and where you nailed it. I discuss other items as well.

I also provide individual character assessments of every main and supporting character in your book and discuss your market, intended or not. Where your book fits in terms of demographics and genre. What agents notice, for better or worse. Once you get through my notes (for full-length books, these are several single-spaced pages) you’ll be confident in knowing everything there is to know, and how to fix the things that need fixing. And after, I’m available for any questions you have. I will not read new material as part of the original service, but I will answer any questions you have about my feedback or ways to address them. I know that some writers need time to digest everything or may decide to take a break from their book for a while and come back to it with a fresh mindset. This is why there is no expiration date on such questions. Yes, if you want to know if an approach might work or asking me a question about what I meant several months later, you can email me, and I will always do my best to answer until you feel like you have a clear path forward. 

This option is ideal for writers who are not sure whether their book is “ready” in terms of story, characters, plot, etc. If there are still things to be done to your book, why pay more for comprehensive editing? You can always choose this service and then select my standard editing service later, then you are not paying for the same thing twice.  

Comprehensive Editing

With this service, you get my developmental editing described above, but also line edits and proofreading.

When I say comprehensive, I mean comprehensive. This means you get the line-editing, comments in your margins and the detailed analysis I described above with one difference. The marketing section of the analysis is going to be more detailed and defined, as your book is likely ready to go, or will be when you make the content suggestions I provide. I cover markets you may want to target if you are self-publishing and if you are looking for an agent I give you the next steps on how to pursue that. I also discuss publishing and reading trends, which shift every 6 months to 18 months, so you know how your book fits into those current trends, etc. Finally, in the marketing section, I talk about what to do to sell your manuscript better, faster.

If you are hoping to publish your book through a traditional publisher, check out my publishing coaching service for help with query letters, submission strategies, landing an agent and more.

When asking for a quote, please include the page count, word count, genre, if you intend to self-publish or go the more traditional route and if you want developmental book editing or comprehensive book editing. Editing in installments is also available, check out my FAQ for more information on that.

I have included client testimonials and a few publications previous clients have published, where they credited me as the editor.

Here is the list of genres I have experience with. Specialties are in bold.

Fiction

• Children’s Books
• Coming-Of-Age
• Contemporary
• Dystopian
• Erotica
• Espionage
• Fantasy
• Inspirational
• LGBT Literature
• Literary
• Mystery
• Mythology Inspired/Retellings (i.e. Percy Jackson, Twilight, Harry Potter)
• New Adult (NA)
• Romance
• Science Fiction
• Self-Discovery
• Thriller
• Vampire
• Women’s Fiction
• Young Adult (YA)

Non-Fiction

• Activism/Advocacy
• Biographies
• Cultural Histories
• Disability
• Diversity
• Essay Collections
• Gender Studies
• Guides on Various Subjects
• History Books
• Inspirational
• LGBT Studies
• Management
• Medical Memoirs
• Memoir
• Mythology
• Opinion
• Other Textbooks
• Pop-Culture
• Psychology Books
• Real Estate
• Reference Books
• Relationship/Dating
• Religious/Spiritual Books
• Sales
• Satires
• Self-Enhancement (Self-Help)
• Social Commentaries
• The “Isms” (Racism, Sexism, Ableism, Homophobia, etc.)
• Women’s Studies