Manuscript Evaluation

This bird’s-eye view of your text will point out what really shines in your writing and what needs more attention.

In a detailed letter (4–6 pages) I’ll analyze your manuscript’s most significant features. For fiction this includes narrative structure, action and dialogue, character development, theme, and setting. For memoir I’ll address similar elements, though based on the reality of lived experience. For narrative nonfiction I’ll review the effectiveness of storytelling, the deployment of argument and theme, and the ordering of ideas. For all genres I’ll comment on the text’s possible fit in the marketplace.

In a manuscript evaluation I’ll also comment lightly on the pages to point out details that I found especially articulate and some that need clarification. Together, the information in this package will set you up to do a major revision of your book. A one-hour phone consultation is included.

Developmental Editing

This level of editing is more intense. My analysis will include the main components of a manuscript evaluation while also going deeper.

In fiction and memoir, I’ll give closer attention to the structure of individual scenes, voice and tone, and specific narrative complications and resolutions, for example. In narrative nonfiction, I’ll discuss which stories or sections need more sustained development, which can be passed over lightly, and which might be cut. I’ll provide a detailed editorial letter (about 15 pages) and extensive margin comments throughout the file. I’ll also line-edit a few paragraphs.

This editing package will prepare you to develop both your manuscript’s overall structure and its individual features. A one-hour phone consultation is included.

Line Editing

Line editing is an option to consider when you’ve completed the impressive task of revising your book manuscript.

After a well-deserved break, you’ll come back with “fresh eyes” to rediscover the pages with vibrant language that makes reading an effortless pleasure. It’s not unusual, though, to find areas of unnecessary repetition, awkward wording, or unclear logic. Line editing can elevate all your writing to the level of your finest passages. Clear phrasing, evocative word choice, sound sentence structure, and conciseness are its hallmarks. The best line editing preserves and enhances the writer’s voice. I aim to do the best line editing. I’ll include a one-page summary memo with the completed manuscript.