What Kinds of Editing Services I Offer
Developmental editing: The very first step in honing and shaping your manuscript, a developmental edit is for messy and glorious first drafts. It looks at big-picture elements such as narrative structure, setting, characterisation, theme, plot, and genre.
Line editing: A close read of your manuscript at the sentence level, a line edit is for flow, clarity, narrative voice, tone, and mood.
Copy editing: After you are happy with the shape and content of the manuscript, you want to ensure it is error-free. A copy edit is for spelling, grammar, usage, consistency, and continuity.
Conscious language: The English language is rife with words and phrases rooted in systems of oppression, and conscious editing helps you to be aware of any unintentional effects that your language use might have. Being mindful of language use and its impact on readers is an integral part of my editing practice and a part of all the editing services that I offer. Read more about conscious language here.
What Kinds of Manuscripts I Work On
• Fiction (short fiction, novellas, and novel-length works). Genres/subgenres after my heart are: literary, speculative, whodunits, hopepunk, queer romance, myth & fairy tale retellings, magical realism, and anything that genre-bends and remixes the above! I do not work on hardcore/extreme horror, grimdark, or Christian fiction.
• Creative nonfiction and memoirs. Bring me your essays, your memoirs (hybrid or traditional), your prose poems, your cultural commentary, and your autotheory.
• Academic and practical nonfiction. From journal articles to instructional guides to cookbooks, if you are passionate about it, I am here for it.
Pricing
Prices will vary based on the type of editing and the needs and length of the manuscript. Editing is not always cut and dried.* Sometimes it makes sense to combine a line edit and a copy edit, since both work at a detailed level. Sometimes, particularly with short fiction, a developmental edit and a line edit go hand in hand.** I provide a custom quote for each edit, but you can refer to CIEP’s Suggested Minimum Rates for a baseline.
Get in touch to ask about a custom quote for your project: lindsay@topazliterary.com
* Some etymology fun facts: “Cut and dried (also cut and dry): originally referring to herbs in the herbalists’ shops, as contrasted with growing herbs; hence, fig. ready-made and void of freshness and spontaneity; also, ready shaped according to a priori formal notions. (Usually of language, ideas, schemes or the like.)” — Oxford English Dictionary. Usage dates back to 1710.
** “Hand in hand,” used in a figurative sense to mean two things that complement or accompany each other, was first recorded in 1576!
Topaz Literary 