Lodestar

What services do I provide?

As a writer, it can be really difficult to look at a project that’s become your obsession/nemesis and accurately assess what it needs. Therefore, I will take a look at a middle section of your manuscript and—in consultation with you—arrive at the level of editing or coaching I think it requires.

Manuscript Assessments

If you are looking for a new perspective on your work and/or your budget is tight, then I might suggest a manuscript assessment.

This service includes one round of reading, after which I write a comprehensive letter that suggests areas for improvement and possible solutions. The topics I cover in the letter will vary based on what kind of text you’ve handed me. But in general this service accounts for bird’s-eye-view issues like voice, style, pacing, thin spots in the text/world/characters, argument, narrative thrust, cohesion, theme, and “vibes”—that indescribable quality that makes a text sing true to itself, your goals, and your eventual readers.

Developmental Editing

If you have wonderful ideas, but you’re struggling to start a new manuscript or get your footing in your ongoing work, then I might suggest a developmental edit.

This includes everything in a manuscript assessment and also a second round of editing where I go into the text and get my hands dirty. I’ll leave you marginal comments and questions that will help you to apply the advice in my editorial letter, and I will also suggest cuts and reorganizations that fix issues with narrative flow, argument, pace, etc.

I take all of my editing very seriously, but developmental edits are my particular forte. I shine here as a deeply empathetic and meticulous editor, with a knack for organic character-building in fiction and narrative revisions in academic texts. If you have the budget for this service, I highly recommend it.

Line or Stylistic Editing

If your text has already been through a developmental edit, either by me or another excellent editor, and you are looking to improve the feel and sound of your text, then what you might need is a line or stylistic edit.

This type of edit varies by editor. While some of us are more mechanical, others are looking to make music. With a degree in vocal performance, and two decades of voice lessons, language study, and stage roles under my belt, I definitely fall into the latter group.

My line edits zoom in closer to the page than a developmental edit, looking for issues at the sentence level. Again, my approach varies based on the text, but broadly I attend to things that affect readability: graceful transitions, clarity of intention, consistent tone, word choice, paragraph/sentence order, rhythm, style, diction, and flow.

Writing Coaching

And finally, I offer a variety of coaching packages for writers who really want that one-on-one time with a professional editor and award-winning educator.

In coaching, we can talk about pretty much anything that’s on your mind: the emotional stakes of the piece in your hands; the schedule you need to keep to meet a deadline; the components of your built world; the direction of your research. You name it, we can do it.

You can also hire me hourly for project follow-up if you want help applying any of the edits I’ve passed back to you, or extra time on Zoom to brainstorm your revisions.