Regarding copyedits of full manuscripts:

I’m currently accepting manuscripts for copyediting, with priority for publishers, and for authors I’ve worked with before. New clients, please query — I may have openings in my schedule.

For new and returning clients:

• traditional copyedit, where I go through your manuscript top to bottom, marking any suggestions I might have for spelling, grammar, style, mechanics, and phrasing, as well as marking issues with continuity, consistency, minor fact checking, plausibility, and general readability. This is available for short fiction and essays, all the way up to novels. Rate varies per project.

• developmental edit, where I focus on your arcs. Plot arc, character arcs, pacing, continuity, and consistency. I don’t delve into mechanics for a developmental edit because I expect too much of the actual wording to change on your next draft, but if I notice trends (as in the copyedit-focused critiques, below), I will point them out. A developmental edit is helpful for short fiction as well as novels. Rate varies per project.

• manuscript copyedit-focused critiques, where I read up to a certain number of pages and suggest trouble areas the author might look at. For instance, if I changed every “alright” to “all right” in your manuscript, that would be copyediting. Noting that you have a tendency to spell them “alright” instead of “all right,” and that it would be helpful to go through and do a search on “taught” because sometimes I think you mean “taut” instead… would be a copyediting critique. It’s less time-consuming for me, and equally helpful for you. Because you’re doing most of the work, I can charge less for it. Base rate for this service is $40/hour.

• short story troubleshooting. If you have had a ( science fiction / fantasy / speculative fiction ) short story rejected by a market that I don’t work with (that is to say, stories submitted to my anthologies aren’t eligible), I will perform a troubleshooting critique, where I read your story with my slush-reader hat on and tell you all the sorts of things a form letter won’t: where the story feels weak, why I think it’s not selling, what I recommend you do about it. Base rate for this service is $30.

Please inquire about my availability at: gabrielle (dot) edits (at) gmail (dot) com