S E R V I C E S  &  F E E S 

All fees include a free preliminary e-mail or telephone consultation per project and brief post-critique queries/replies as necessary at no additional charge. 

I offer a wide variety of services to both fiction and nonfiction writers, as follows:


FULL EDIT/CRITIQUE (highly recommended for new writers):

• Read the entire manuscript 

• Edit, annotate, and correct every page

• Write a page-specific critique and marketing analysis

My full-length critiques generally run to thirty pages or more and are divided into in two sections: Literary and Technical. 

Whether your project is fiction or nonfiction, for children or adults, the Literary section always opens with a discussion of your target market and where your book is likely to fall in terms of its marketing potential. Often I see substantial changes that need to be made—for example, developing a subplot in a novel or participatory exercises in a self-help book—and I suggest solutions where authors tell me they are "stuck." I also highlight your strengths so you can capitalize on them in the future.

For novelists and short story writers, the Literary section addresses issues with plot, characterization, point of view, dialogue, conflict, suspense, rhythm of action, scene framing, emotional impact, evocation of time and place, "showing versus telling," and many other conventions of fiction writing.

For nonfiction projects, the Literary section covers content, structure, pacing, clarity, maintaining a high level of engagement and interest, allowing for a gradual mastery of material to assure reader satisfaction, and other conventions of nonfiction writing. 

For juvenile projects, I offer detailed information about how to conceptualize, format, and submit children's picture books, as well as comments specific to the children's and YA markets.

The Technical comments concern language usage—grammar, punctuation, spelling, proper formatting, and so forth. I use the guidelines set forth in the Chicago Manual of Style unless otherwise requested. 

Advantage! In addition to its comprehensiveness, the Full Edit/Critique is designed so that once you begin to revise, you'll find you can work page by page from my notes on the manuscript pages and the page-specific comments itemized in the critique letter. 

F E E S

FULL EDIT/CRITIQUE

I base my fees for the full edit/critique on the word count of your manuscript. If you will be kind enough to e-mail or call me with this information, along with a brief description of the project, I will give you an exact quote. 

• To find your word count in Word, open the document containing your manuscript. Click on "Tools" in the Tool Bar, then select Word Count.
  

• To find your word count in Word Perfect, open the document containing your manuscript. Click on File, then scroll to Properties, then select Information.

SECOND EDIT/FOLLOW-UP CRITIQUE

A second edit and follow-up critique is a flat $1000 for manuscripts up to 400 pages and $1500 for manuscripts longer than 400 pages. 

 

READ-THROUGH, SHORT EVALUATION

This more limited level of service entails a complete read-through, accompanied by a less extensive evaluation of approximately three pages, with few or no page-specific notes. The fee for this level of service would be half of the full-service fee, again, based on the word count of your manuscript.

OTHER

I also offer assistance with:

Marketing (creation of query letters, outlines, synopses)

Development (plotting/organization) for fiction/nonfiction

Line-editing for final drafts

Ongoing writing tutorials

Occasional ghostwriting

Other editorial services as requested

I charge between $75 and $100 an hour for the services marked "other," depending on the nature of the project and the time involved. 

 

TELEPHONE/E-MAIL CONSULTATIONS

If requested, I am happy to offer post-critique consultation/brainstorming sessions by telephone or e-mail, particularly on projects requiring major revisions. These are personal sessions of substantial length (20 minutes or more), billed at $95 per hour. Please note that I do not charge any additional fee for brief post-critique follow-up questions, which are a standard part of my service.

 

TRANSFER OF DATA TO DISK

If you wish, I will arrange with a subcontractor to enter my editorial notes on a disk or CD for you, and for your manuscript to be properly formatted for submission to a prospective agent or publisher. The fee for this service is $20 per hour.

Note: I do not recommend this service for first-time writers, because I believe you will learn more and greatly improve your writing by working through my editorial notes yourself. That way you can really get a feel for what I am doing and begin to apply similar techniques to future drafts. Formatting instructions are contained in my critiques.

 

WHAT I DON'T DO

I do not offer comprehensive copy-editing or technical editing for scientific or mathematical works. I also like to point out that I am not a literary agent, and am not in a position to get your work published. My job is to help you create a professionally crafted book that will have a vastly improved chance of attracting the attention of an agent and/or publisher.