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I’m a freelance editor with experience working for traditional presses, self-publishing authors, and writers looking for one-on-one manuscript workshops. If you scroll down, you’ll find a few blurbs from people I’ve worked with over the years.

 

I can help you tinker with your storytelling circuits, highlighting character, setting, plot, point of view, theme, and conflict. You’ll learn to visualize your story from above so you can see where you might speed up the action or slow it down, and we’ll look at opportunities to integrate techniques, like swapping speech tags for direct or indirect characterization.

I can also help you develop your voice by getting a grip on mind-numbing grammar concepts. It might suck to study clauses, sentence types, and syntax, but once you do, you’ll understand when to use a non-standard comma in a double predicate or how crowbarring an adjective into an adverb’s position blurs the predicate category and smears modification off the verb and onto the subject. What does that last bit mean? Look closely at the title of the Dylan Thomas poem “Don’t Go Gentle into That Good Night”; see what he did there? 

 

This kind of stuff can seem like pure hell, but it’s actually pretty fun down there sweating over the brimstone – you just gotta be more devil than damned.

If you’re working on a tight budget, I can offer a basic manuscript assessment, with comments throughout on the storytelling elements mentioned above.

 

If you have more wiggle room, I can offer a full-scope edit, which includes thorough copy editing in Word with track changes on, comments throughout on storytelling elements, a thirty-odd page report summarizing both grammar- and story-level feedback, and a twenty- to thirty-minute Zoom meeting to answer questions after you’ve read the report.

If you’ve got something you’d like to work on, you can contact me below for a quote. In your message, please let me know the word count, time frame, and degree of editing you’re looking for, whether that’s a manuscript evaluation, full-scope edit, or something in between.

 

My prices are generally in the mid-range of what you’ll find online when you search for “manuscript assessment cost” or “full novel edit cost.”

When I reached the end of my ability to edit my first manuscript, I felt stuck. Enter Paul Carlucci. First, he provided a very deep look at my writing style and helped me understand how a perfectly placed comma could strengthen my message. Then he unraveled the plot and gave direction on how to effectively guide the reader through the story, with advice on where to create backstory, when to ramp up the action, and which scenes didn’t make sense. He was encouraging, but honest. I never once felt like my writing skills were belittled. I’m working through the revision process using the guidance Paul provided, and I can already see my story is much better.

BETH YOAKUM
Writer working on Way in the Wilderness

Contact

Have a project you’d like to discuss? Get in touch for a quote or to learn more.

Thanks!

A cute little dog.
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