Unlike many critique services, my critiques are thorough and in-depth analyses of all the major components needed in a manuscript. I do an annotated critique—which means I make notations and comments in the margins on every page using Word’s Track Changes. I don’t just write up a general overview or summary at the end, which is what many critique editors do. Your manuscript is evaluated for clarity, structure, pacing, organization, sentence structure, and voice. (Take a look at the critique checklist to see all the components that are analyzed and discussed.)
For fiction manuscripts I also look at character development, dialogue, tension, plot and character arcs, scene construction, climax and resolution, voice, and style. A critique does NOT include any copyediting, rewriting, or proofreading. However, if you have your manuscript critiqued by me, I will give you a 20 percent discount off my regular editing rates on all copyediting services on your submitted manuscript!
Full Developmental and Editing Services
I’m pleased to have a terrific team of editors and project developers on my “team” and a part of my tribe. The editors who work with me on projects have years of terrific experience specializing in various aspects of the editing process, and so if you have a nonfiction project, whether scholarly, professional, travel, or memoir, and you need a proposal or assistance in organizing your material, check in with me.
My fiction editors have dozens of years of professional experience and are published novelists with a great respect for author voice and deep knowledge of novel structure. I will often enlist their help and second set of eyes for the content editing stage, so that you get a thorough first pass through your manuscript. I do all the final copyediting and proofreading so that my hands are involved in every project. Editing services don’t get any better than this–and we believe every writer passionate about their story deserves the best!
My Pushy Philosophy
My clients appreciate how approachable and helpful I am. I love helping writers. It brings me great joy to see so many of my clients take really rough, sometimes pretty disorganized and, well, even awful, manuscripts and turn them into terrific novels that win awards, garner agent and publishing contracts, and sell hundreds of copies a day when published. Your success is my success, and I’m passionate about my tough-love approach in helping writers push themselves to write the best book they can.
Being a novelist, I have a great respect for the author voice and style, and I never seek to try to squelch that to make my clients write like me or anyone else. I believe everyone has a unique gift, talent, voice, and experience they bring to their story, and my job is to nurture and coax that out so it brings passion and uniqueness to the manuscript. I may make you work hard and challenge you, but it’s good for you! No serious author wants a critique partner or editor to just say “good job” and pat you on the back. At least I don’t. I want my critique partners to point out every little flaw, weak spot, bad line of dialog, and plot hole (however tiny), and lay them on the table.
The author life leaves little room for procrastination or pride. It’s a tough road to tread, and it takes hard work to succeed, but the good news is we don’t have to go it alone. Having a writing coach or mentor can be a godsend, and I often wish I’d had someone like me twenty-five years ago to point out the pitfalls and show me my weaknesses in my writing. I wasted two decades of my life thinking I knew it all, when I didn’t. And so, I like to share with my clients what I’ve learned so they don’t make the same mistakes–in their writing or in their writing journey. I want you to know the joy and satisfaction of writing “The End” on the last page of a book you can be proud of!
