Your words deserve quality care. As a writer, editor, and writing coach, I’m here to help.
We say we love writing, until the going gets hard. The sentences stop flowing. The writing process feels “off,” and you’re not sure what to do. That’s why I think of editing and writing coaching as “words with care.”
My goal is to help your writing become the best possible version of itself that it can be. Whether we work together on editing or in coaching, I’ll help make sure your writing gets to where it needs to go.
I have over 6 years of experience guiding written work, particularly academic writing, nonfiction, and creative nonfiction. I’ve edited everything from short essays to dissertation and book-length projects, as well as online periodicals and publications in a variety of genres.
I enjoy thinking creatively about how best to further your particular project. Depending on the person or the project, there’s not always a fine line between editing and coaching. I sometimes call the people with whom I work “editees” rather than clients, along the lines of a mentor and mentee (without the hierarchical assumptions!). Editing and writing coaching are two related ways of providing “words with care.”
Editing Services:
Copy-editing:
- For your academic or non-academic manuscript, including journal articles and conference papers, theses/dissertations, and fiction, non-fiction, memoir, or other manuscripts. I catch typos, inconsistencies, subject/verb agreement, grammatical errors, formatting inconsistencies, issues with logical flow, and other small or large infelicities.
Developmental editing:
- I’ll read your work with an eye for the project as a whole, looking for where your argument, essay, or story wants to go. I’ll help you sort out the sentence, paragraph, and even chapter or section organization that will best highlight your main points.
Academic editing:
- For your dissertation, thesis, journal article, proposals, and other work. It can help to have another trained, academic set of eyes look at your work before the official readers do, taking a weight off your shoulders. Let me lighten the load with developmental editing, copy editing, or other project needs. Ask me about English language editing for non-native speaker sand writers!
Formatting for dissertation / thesis:
- I have a keen eye for the funny little details that a dissertation requires, like spacing, formatting, text size, margins, and other nitty-gritty requirements. Let me know what formatting your dissertation requires, and I’ll make sure it’s good to go.
Personal statement / personal essay editing and coaching:
- It takes time and many drafts to write the perfect application essay. I whittled my own personal statements down from many pages of background to a concise, well-written argument for why each school or program suited my goals. If you work with me as an editor and writing coach for your essays, yours can do the same.
Writing Coaching:
Coaching works best when we’re working towards a particular goal, sometimes within a particular timeframe. Sometimes coaching happens as part of the editing process, as when we talk about what you’re trying to accomplish with your writing. But sometimes you’re looking for focused effort to keep your writing goals moving along on track, and you’re not looking for someone to edit your words. It’s “words with care” that emphasizes coaching rather than editing.
- a single 1/2 hour session to check in about your writing. For writers who feel stuck and need an outside view to get things going again!
- a set number of 1/2 to one-hour sessions structured to help you achieve your goals.
The Fine Print:
Rates differ based on your individual needs. Most editing projects work best on a per project fee, rather than a per-hour fee, depending on length and type of manuscript (conference proposal, article or essay, dissertation/thesis, book manuscript, etc.) See more on my policies and fees page.
I offer a free half-hour phone call or video conference to discuss your work and your needs. If desired, this also includes a half-hour call at the conclusion of edits. Contact me for a free conversation about your writing!
If you’re looking for a service not discussed here, or have a question about existing services, please let me know. I’m sure we can work something out! I want to help you with your writing, and with what you need to get the high-quality attention your words deserve.
