Fifteen years ago, after my first novel was published, I was invited to become a literary consultant for the online consultancy, Jericho Writers, and I enjoyed the work so much that, since then, I have edited novels for almost 200 authors, both those who are near the start of their journey and published pros. Helping novelists develop and showing them how to hone their craft to a professional level is incredibly rewarding. You are welcome to join the group of authors I work with – whether you are already published and wanting to stretch yourself, frustrated that you can't break into the publishing market, or just starting out.
I also lecture on novel-writing craft, and provide one-to-one mentoring and tuition to authors who want ongoing help.
If you have come to me via Jericho Writers, please refer to their website and contact them to check my availability and work with me. If you are interested in exploring the list of other editors Jericho Writers work with you can find out about them here.
See forthcoming lectures and events.
You can see some recent samples of editorial critiques I have written here. I have tried to pick ones that may have useful or interesting content for developing authors generally. You can also see some of the feedback I have received from clients.
See an outline of my fees and timescales, or contact me to discuss joining my group of clients.
I'm happy to take on book-doctoring for your authors if you are an agent or publisher. Please contact me to discuss.
I believe that a critique of your manuscript by an experienced professional is the best input a developing novelist can get: a personal, tailored and detailed analysis of your work and what you need to do to improve it. It is especially valuable now that self-publishing has become a viable and respected option. In the past, a novel had to face the critical scrutiny of agents' and commissioning editors' experienced eyes before it was pronounced good enough to offer to readers. Now, you can make that decision for yourself – and it is essential for your success as a novelist that you don't stop battling to improve your novel until it is a really good read. Professional literary consultancy is almost certainly your best option for this; your friends and family, and members of your writing group are not reliable judges; personal feelings tend to get in the way, as do kindly inclinations not to hurt your feelings. A good professional editor is always on your side, has the knowledge and experience to deliver top-notch professional-level advice, and won't baulk at telling you exactly what they think.
Literary consultancy is not cheap – your editor has to read every word of your manuscript with care, taking notes as he or she goes, and then write a considered report, which often needs to be fairly lengthy to cover everything – but, as I say, it is the best tool for improvement available to authors. I would advise starting off by commissioning an assessment of the first 8,000 words of your manuscript and a synopsis. This is massively cheaper than a critique of the whole thing and your consultant will get a very good idea of your strengths and growing edges and be able to pick up the most important areas for you to address. For private author clients who have an opening section review, I offer a 10% discount on the cost of a subsequent full manuscript assessment, once you've had a chance to work on issues that have come up in my review of the opening section.
See information on my editorial fees and timescales.