​At Vital Wordplay, I draw on experiences as a certified editor who has provided an eagle eye on all stages of content development for self-published authors and six publishers. Reach out when your work would benefit from early two-chapter feedback, voice and style/line edits to remove redundancies and more, or when you want to pitch a completed manuscript or book proposal to agents that connect authors to traditional publishers. 

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The Two-Chapter Review -- ​

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Who Benefits Most From Chapter Feedback:

A Two Chapter Critique can help test your chemistry with me before committing to a full manuscript review, and your chapter-development skills.   

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What's Included:

The feedback will consist of a 2-4 page letter summarizing your work’s strengths and areas for improvement. As wanted, in-text Voice and Style (line) edits can be included for the two chapters from a non-fiction, memoir, or historical fiction work.

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Investment: For chapters between 3 - 4,000 words, 8 cents per word for a critique only or 10 cents per word for a critique plus a voice and style (line) edit. For chapters between 4 - 5,000 words, 7 cents per word for a critique only, or 9 cents per word for a critique plus a line edit. (In either case, a 3,000-word chapter minimum applies.)  

You can apply the cost of the Two-Chapter Review toward a full-manuscript review, within 18 months.​​​​

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Line Editing -- 

 

Who Benefits Most From Voice and Style Edits:

Fiction and creative nonfiction authors sometimes have a book edited for flow and such after it has been developmentally edited, and before it is copy edited. Line editing overlaps with structural/developmental editing in considering big picture elements that impact voice such as point of view, but the content is reviewed sentence by sentence. My overall focus is on voice and style, including how quotes are handled.

 

Among the factors considered are approaches that sap energy, such as overuse of adverbs, and wordiness or repetition. For example, overly complex sentence structures can prevent readers from engaging, taking away from the mood of a piece and hiding the author’s voice. In addition, the flow of sentences is evaluated, including whether they effectively convey a sense of urgency or another mood.

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What's Included:​

• An editorial letter of 2 pages or more that recaps sentence strengths and common challenges found

• Direct line edits within your manuscript, using Track Changes

• An hour of email follow-up, after the single round content review

• Input on considering copy editors and proofreaders (with the latter service available, when scheduling permits)

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Investment: fee ranges from 3 to 5 cents per word.​ 

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Agent Pitch Package --

 

Who Benefits Most From Agent Pitch Support:

Writers who aren't sure what agents seek in a query letter, or who want guidance on the concise, compelling writing style needed for their development (which I draw on my decade-plus of experience in public relations to provide). The research process for finding agents is also complex, involving visits to multiple resources, so there are time and cost savings to hiring someone who'll teach you the ropes, and provide you with a starting list of literary agents to move forward with.

 

What's Included:

Over two (or three) months, we map out your outreach letter and pitch plan as you prep to share your nonfiction book proposal (and manuscript, if memoir) with these gatekeepers of traditional publishing, or prep to pitch a completed historical novel. With the Pitch Package for clients of previous services, you'll receive: 

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• A 30-minute call about the process/your agent preferences

• Up to four rounds of feedback on your Query Letter

• A tailored priority list of 10 literary agents for you to initiate outreach with, as you learn the agent selection process for growing your list

• A one-hour coaching call to discuss the starting agent list and how you want to prioritize the pitch order, and approaches to handling responses

• A wrap-up document about your recommended agent pitch strategy 

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Investment: $1,800. ​