What I Do & How to Begin

I am booking clients for June 2022 and later.

Need something sooner? See my associates at mseditors.com for editing services or visit larawillard.com for free resources and articles on writing and revision.

Quick Links:

For comics and graphic novels, see my Visual Narrative Editing page.

Let’s get your novel ready for publication.

So you’ve written a complete manuscript. Congratulations! Assuming you’ve already had at least one Beta reader give you feedback, and you’ve gone through a couple rounds of edits yourself, it’s probably time to hire a freelance editor.

But where do you start? What kind of editing services do you need? When should you get them done?

If you are an amateur author who’s looking to be published for the first time, you will likely want to start with the manuscript critique. If you already have an agent or publisher, make sure to get the go-ahead from them before hiring a freelance editor.

Editing Exceptions

Because I become fully immersed in stories, I will not edit certain scenes or genres I want no experience in. Do not send me erotica or horror novels. Please no erotic or rape scenes* in any genre. No explicit descriptions of crimes against children. Please no racist, sexist, or sociopathic protagonists—I really don’t want to live in their heads! Lewd humor is not for me. For graphic novels, please note if any content is NSFW when sending.

*A reference to an act is different than giving a full play-by-play. If it happens “off-screen,” it’s probably fine.

Regardless of the genre or content of your complete MS, I will critique queries or synopses without discrimination, if my schedule allows for open submission.

Big-Picture Help

These services diagnose structural problems of your story or plot.

Manuscript Critique

A Manuscript Critique is a broad look at the entire novel manuscript as a whole, including a summary of repeated errors or areas needing improvements.

Story Consultation

A Story Consultation takes your detailed synopsis and critiques it for content. This is not an edit; it is a way to find plot holes, cut unnecessary scenes, and restructure the plot or reframe the story. Read more for prices and additional info. Story Consultations are included for every student enrolled in my StoryCadet course on Story Structure.

In-Depth Improvement

These services help you grow as a writer, either by coaching you with sentence-level edits or by helping you write better query letters for agents.

Substantive Edit

A Substantive Edit is sentence-by-sentence coaching to improve the mechanics, style, and form of your writing (also known as a line edit).

Voice Enhancer

A Voice Enhancer is an intense (but encouraging) line edit of your beginning pages. Read more for prices and additional info. Line edits are included for every student enrolled in my StoryCadet course on Revision.

Submission Primer (Query / Synopsis)

A Submission Primer is a line edit of your query letter or critique of your synopsis—with unlimited passes. Submission primers are included for every student enrolled in my StoryCadet course on Pitching.

Error-Fixing & Refinement

These services find and fix objective problems before you publish. They do not edit for content.

Copy Edit

A Copy Edit is a check for mechanics (spelling, grammar, syntax) and consistency issues (tense, case, POV) per page of manuscript text.

Proofread

A Proofread is the final check for punctuation, layout, or typographical errors before publication.

Get a quote

NOTE: I am fully booked through May 2022.

For time-sensitive edits, please see my brilliant and capable associates at MS Editors.

To be added to my waiting list for story consultations or query / synopsis edits, fill out the form below for a price quote and time estimate.

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