Services
Book Coaching
Hey you. Yeah, you. You’re the one with that book you’re dying to write, but you haven’t been able to make it happen yet. It’s all right there in your mind, but you have little on the page. Or you’ve made a bold start only to find yourself mired in the hopeless confusion of the middle. Or you’ve struggled to find the time despite knowing that a little work every week would lead to something big. And your dream remains deferred.
The fact is, there are countless reasons why the book someone wants so much to write never materializes. Writing a book is incredibly difficult! As a book coach, I can help you meet the challenge. Together, we will map out the goals of your project, break it down into sections and steps, and develop a realistic plan of work—and I will keep you accountable. When you get lost in research, mapping, writing, or revising, I can help you see clearly through the fog and guide you back to your path. I’ll offer feedback and suggestions on both your process and your written work. I’ll offer resources to solve problems.
You will write that book. And you will be immensely proud of it.
Developmental Editing
Developmental editing looks at the structural elements of your book to ensure the ideal fit and flow of all aspects. A developmental edit is not concerned with sentences, grammar, or similar language issues, though it may address glaring problems that inhibit the overall health of the text.
For fiction, I examine story elements such as narrative structure, conflict, point of view, characterization, setting, world-building, scene dynamics, pacing, authenticity, plausibility, continuity, theme, tone, and more.
The developmental concerns of nonfiction relate to the book’s thesis and the organization of the arguments and information that support it. I read closely to identify problems in clarity, logical flow, pacing, balance, consistency, and comprehensiveness. It ensures that the promise you make to your readers at the text’s outset is fulfilled throughout its progression.
At the end of a developmental edit, I return a manuscript rearranged as necessary to enhance its structure, and further marked up with queries that require your input. I also provide the author an editorial letter detailing my assessment of the book’s structural strengths and weaknesses as well as my reasoning for the edits I made, broken down in clear, digestible terms.
Line Editing
Line editing is all about the clarity and beauty of your sentences and paragraphs—what poets Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux call “the music of the line.”
For nonfiction, line editing asks whether your authorial voice is clear and consistent, whether the tone of the prose suits the subject matter and purpose of the book, whether the sentences and paragraphs flow so well that the reader feels carried along by a gentle current as they turn the pages.
For fiction and memoir, line editing also addresses things like the voices of the narrator and the various characters, and typically strives for a more lyrical and poetic feel than nonfiction.
In my editing, I place high importance on respecting and retaining the author’s own voice. It’s not my book, and I’m not a co-author. I love absorbing the author’s voice as I read and offering revisions perfectly in tune with the existing text.
Line editing is distinct from copyediting, which ensures perfect grammar, usage, style, consistency, and accuracy in a more objective, rules-based way, though there will often be overlap between a line editor’s work and that of a copyeditor.
At the end of a line edit, I provide the author with two versions of the edited manuscript, one marked up and one clean.
Pricing for all services is per project and determined case-by-case based on several factors we discuss before entering into contract. Get in touch for more information!