EDITING SERVICES
I work with artists and authors to support their writing at its various stages, offering developmental editing, copy-editing, and editorial review of book proposals targeted to academic presses.
I work with writers who write about and around art, its politics and histories. In particular, I prefer to work with under-represented writers, first-time book writers, first-generation academics in the humanities, and visual artists and activists writing in any genre.
My own research interests include Latin American and Latinx Artists and Histories, Central American History and Visual Art, Studies of Race and Identity, Gender and Sexuality Studies and LGBTQ Artists, the U.S. South and Gulf Coast Region, Oral Histories and Interviews, Artist Activism, Poetry and Poetics.
I am not currently accepting new clients. Please feel free to connect with me about my waitlist.
What you get: I provide one round of in-text edits and a written summary describing the book’s strengths and areas for improvement. My revision recommendations offer clear and focused advice for each part of the book, from start to finish, with a suggested order of work.
Developmental editing can take place one chapter at a time, or with the full manuscript in hand. I recommend you work with a developmental editor while the content is still somewhat in-process, but the draft exists in a coherent form. Normally, this is before you send it to a publisher, but it might be after you’ve gotten your editor’s feedback or reader reports, and you’re working on a strategy for implementing their advice.
Timeline: Full book manuscripts generally require 25-30 business days to review. Journal articles or individual book chapters usually require 10-15 business days.
2021-2022 rates: $0.10 per word.
DEVELOPMENTAL A developmental editor helps you clarify the overall picture of your work. From your main premise and how you describe it, to the structure of the project, we think about content and your voice, your sources, your readers, and how all the moving parts will fit together.
COPYEDITING Copyediting is detail work. We look for correct grammar usage, punctuation, citation formatting, typos, and clarity in your sentence structure. Think of it as the polishing that allows your ideas to sparkle.
What you get: I send you one round of in-text edits. You also receive my style sheet (working from Chicago Manual of Style), that we use to ensure consistency across the entire project.
Timeline: Determined by manuscript length and level of readiness, but most book manuscripts require approximately 30 business days. Journal articles or book chapters usually require closer to 15 business days. Copyediting can happen right before you send the manuscript to your editor, or while you’re working on getting a book contract, or when your final manuscript is in hand and you are doing the last round of polishing before it goes to production.
2021-2022 rates: $0.10 per word
PROPOSAL EDITING When you’re putting together your book proposal and looking for a press, I offer a focused look at every piece of your proposal draft, thinking about how it represents your manuscript content, and also offering a tight copyedit of the final proof.
What you get: You get one round of in-text developmental edits and copyedits. I also send you my style sheet (based on the Chicago Manual of Style) and my editorial summary. The editorial summary describes the proposal’s strengths and weaknesses, its relationship to its intended genre, and identifies specific areas for improvement.
While I do not provide advice for which presses to pitch, I do prefer to work with the proposal submission guidelines of your chosen presses, and will include specific feedback for each press’s requirements, if you provide them.
Timeline: 15 business days.
2021-2022 rates: $950 flat
THE SMALL PRINT
* All editorial work requires a 50% deposit before we begin. // Secondary review (looking over a text a second time, once you’ve made the requested changes) is available on a case-by-case basis, and is charged at an hourly rate of $95. // Writers with significant financial hardship should contact me for special rates and payment plans. My work is here for you: we can find a way. // All edits are provided in-document with the Track Changes function of Microsoft Word. I do not edit on Google Docs or Dropbox files. Your edits will be sent as an email attachment, not via a Cloud service. // All work is entirely confidential. I will never tell anyone that you are my client or discuss your writing without your express written permission. // Some projects may not be suitable for my particular editorial eye. Once I receive your document, I’ll spend three hours reviewing it carefully. If I see a potential conflict of interest or feel out of my depth, I’ll let you know and return your deposit, minus a three-hour reading fee of $90. // Business days are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 6 pm Mountain Time (USA). // While I am fluent in Spanish and can work with you in Spanish, I do not edit Spanish-language texts. I am very happy to edit writers who work in English as their second language. // Depending on your communication style, I am able to provide editorial summaries by video instead of in written documents. Let me know if you prefer this option. // Telephone calls to review editorial suggestions are charged at $150/hour.
