I offer advanced developmental editing services for novels, story collections, memoirs, literary nonfiction, short stories, and essays. I can also provide copyediting work for projects with fewer developmental needs.
I bring a novelist’s eye to all my critiques, along with extensive editorial, academic, and professional experience and training. My CV, as well as critical and creative publications, can be found by following the links from the homepage of this site.
I am a proud member of the Editorial Freelancers Association. Testimonials to my editorial work can be found here. Please contact me for more information and to discuss your project (via email or using the form below). Scroll down for further details about my background, approach, services, and rates.
Editing and revising literary manuscripts is a rigorous process that both requires a distinct skillset from writing and a distance, even detachment, from one’s work that can be challenging to achieve. I offer professional editorial and consultation services for literary projects that may benefit from advanced, sophisticated revision in preparation for submission to the marketplace. As an editor and literary critic, I bring several years of experience, professional and academic training, a deep command of theory and contemporary publishing trends, and the sensitivity of a working novelist to all my editorial projects, ensuring that your work will receive both the empathetic read and scrupulous critique needed to unlock its full potential.
I have over five years of editorial experience, serving as Prose Editor for West Trade Review and Founding Editor of L’Esprit Literary Review. I have been involved with the launch of two independent presses, Iron Oak Editions, where I serve as Director of Prose, and as the Publisher of Indirect Books. In these capacities, I oversee the consideration, acceptance, and revision of all stories and narrative essays for both journals, as well as the prose submissions for both presses. At Indirect Books, I have worked extensively on substantive manuscript edits for our first project, the novel Talbot & The Fall; I also fulfill a range of publicity and marketing roles for the press, as we seek to establish ourselves in the literary space. I have worked with a wide range of writers on a variety of projects, and have a keen, highly developed editorial eye in first assessing the internal compositional goals of a story or novel and then offering insightful comments aimed at developing the work on its own terms.
Furthermore, I have several years of experience in teaching writing at the college and graduate level, including fiction workshop, freshman composition, and advanced MFA courses on narrative theory. I completed my MFA before moving on to a PhD in Creative Writing, and my own graduate work has given me an extensive background in literary theory and criticism, allowing me to infuse an editorial project with a sophisticated understanding of the art and craft of literature. Finally, the centrality of my own creative practice means that I have a deep familiarity with the challenges and nuances of writing fiction, and an appreciation for the personal and emotional investment that comes with developing, revising, and sharing one’s work. I begin all projects with the goal of treating the manuscript in the manner I hope to have my own work handled, partnering with the writer in order to bring out the best in their piece.
My doctoral exam work focused on narration and techniques for rendering consciousness in fiction, and I therefore have a specialization in that area (which includes POV). The authentic depiction of characters’ inner states is an essential element of strong literary and upmarket fiction, and is often what separates manuscripts on submission. My editorial services can greatly strengthen this aspect of your project, along with the other essential craft components listed above, thereby raising the artistic quality of your work and making it far more competitive for publication.
At the end of the process, you will be equipped with focused, sentence-level edits, global ideas and suggestions, and a nuanced understanding of the feedback. Taken together, these pieces will give you the confidence to revise your work and pitch it to agents and editors, informed by a thorough understanding of the artistic qualities it possesses.
Deliverables
- Intake meeting to discuss project overview, including your own authorial intentions and goals for the work.
- Initial assessment, in writing, of 1-2 chapters of a book (or first section of a story) in order to provide an editorial blueprint and identify specific craft elements to be worked on.
- Full manuscript read with in-line notes, comments, and suggestions.
- Detailed editorial letter, in writing, providing global feedback on strengths and areas of improvement. The editorial letter will typically be 10-15 pages in length, include quoting to emphasize stylistic feedback, provide comparable titles to consider for further reading, and offer marketing ideas about how to pitch, query, and/or promote your project (including, where applicable, specific agents and presses to consider).
- Concluding meeting to discuss feedback, next steps, and any questions you may have about my editorial suggestions or ideas for how best to proceed with the project.
My rate varies between $0.30-$0.40 per 10 words, depending on manuscript complexity. While this is in line with industry standards, I am always open to discussion on specific projects, needs, and budgets.
Thank you very much for entrusting me with your work.
dwhitethewriter 