Editing Services
I offer thoughtful, story‑centered editing for fantasy manuscripts across middle grade, young adult, adult fantasy, and romantacy. My approach is gentle and encouraging, focused on helping you strengthen your story at every stage of the writing process. Below, you’ll find the services I offer and how I can support your work.
Developmental Editing
I offer thoughtful, story-centered developmental editing for fantasy manuscripts. I look at the big‑picture elements that shape your story’s impact: worldbuilding, character motivation, plot cohesion, and the emotional throughline that carries readers from beginning to end. My goal is to support your vision while helping you create a story that feels immersive, heartfelt, and engaging for your intended audience.
My approach is gentle, encouraging, and deeply collaborative. You’ll receive clear guidance on what’s working, what could be strengthened, and practical next steps to help your story shine.
Developmental Assessment
$100 Flat Rate
You’ll receive:
A 2–4 page editorial letter
Notes on strengths and opportunities
Feedback on clarity, tension, and character motivation
Suggestions for next steps
Optional recommendations for which service to pursue next
This is a low‑risk way to get big‑picture clarity and direction.
What’s Included
A focused, affordable starting point
This service is ideal if you want professional insight before committing to a full edit or coaching package. I review your first chapter (up to 5,000 words) and synopsis to evaluate the strength of your story’s foundation: character setup, worldbuilding clarity, plot promise, tone, pacing, and reader engagement.
Developmental Coaching
$0.02 per word
Ongoing support as you draft or revise
Developmental coaching is a chapter‑by‑chapter partnership designed to help you strengthen your story as you write or revise. This service is ideal for writers who want guidance, accountability, and clear direction throughout the process.
What’s Included
You’ll receive:
Chapter‑level feedback on structure, pacing, and character arcs
Notes on worldbuilding consistency and reader immersion
Suggestions for emotional beats and motivation clarity
A running revision roadmap
One round of follow‑up questions per submission
This service helps you grow your story with confidence, one chapter at a time.
Full
Developmental Edit
$0.03 per word
A deep, comprehensive big‑picture edit of your entire manuscript
A full developmental edit provides a complete, holistic review of your manuscript. I examine your story’s structure, character arcs, worldbuilding, pacing, emotional continuity, and thematic clarity. This service gives you the insight and direction you need to revise with confidence.
What’s Included
You’ll receive:
A detailed 3–6 page editorial letter
Scene‑level notes throughout the manuscript
Guidance on worldbuilding logic and reader immersion
Suggestions for strengthening emotional beats
A clear revision roadmap
One round of light follow‑up questions
This is the most in‑depth, transformative option for writers ready to take their manuscript to the next level.
Sample Developmental Edit
Below is a short excerpt along with the kind of big-picture feedback I provide during a developmental edit. This sample reflects my focus on clarity, emotional continuity, pacing, and world-building.
Writing Sample
Liam turned, wide-eyed, to the forest now pulsing with light. “Are they all fairies?”
“Oh, no,” echoed a velvety, purring voice from the treetops. Only the tassty onesss.”
Without warning, every firefly and fairy light blinked out, as if snuffed by unseen hands. The trio looked up. At first, Liam saw only blackness. Then two golden orbs appeared in the darkness, blinking, one… And then the other. An outline bled slowly from the shadows. Blue-black feathers catching the faint firelight. Their iridescence reminded Liam of oil on water.
The creature fluttered down to a lower branch and twisted its head unnaturally to regard them. Liam blinked. At first glance, it was an owl: feathers, wings, a broad head, and round, glassy eyes. But closer inspection revealed the wrongness: feather tufted ears, a cat’s nose and bobbed tail, and a wide predator’s mouth lined with teeth.
“Grishere,” Gallgrump spoke the name as if he’d swallowed a rotten worm.
“Hello, Gallgrump.” The owlcat slunk along the branch, pacing on four feathery paws tipped with enormous talons. His voice hissed through the dark. “What pray, are you doing in this part of the woodsss… So close to Grimvault?” He stopped and tilted his head, blinking one eye, then the other. “And most importantly, where is your ssstaff? It seemsss to be misssing.” Grishire’s mouth spread wide, a grin too full of teeth to be anything but sinister.
Hrmph. “Never you mind.” Grumbled Gallgrump.
Developmental Review
What’s Working Well
This scene immediately draws the reader in with vivid sensory detail and a strong sense of atmosphere, using light, shadow, and sound to build tension in a way that feels perfectly suited to middle grade fantasy. The creature reveal is especially effective: the gradual emergence from darkness, paired with specific visual cues such as iridescent feathers and mismatched features, creates a memorable, delightfully eerie moment. Dialogue adds personality and contrast, with Grishere’s sibilant voice and Gallgrump’s gruff responses hinting at history between the characters. Overall, the excerpt balances wonder and danger well, offering young readers a compelling mix of mystery, magic, and suspense.
Areas to Address
Some moments in the scene would benefit from a bit more grounding to help young readers track the action and the characters’ emotional responses as the tension rises. Clarifying where each character is positioned and how Liam, in particular, feels as the creature emerges would deepen the sense of immediacy and strengthen the reader’s connection to him. You might also consider tightening some dialogue beats to sharpen the rhythm and ensure each line reveals character or advances the scene. These refinements would enhance clarity and heighten the suspense already present in the excerpt.
“I was provided with a comprehensive developmental edit that touched every aspect of my work. I was also provided with encouraging pros contrasted with what needed attention, which gave a balanced view of my skills and how I could use them to strengthen other areas of my work. I both appreciated and needed her attention to detail and consideration for an artist's ideas.”
— Jade S.