First and foremost, my goal is to clearly understand your vision and help you make the most of that on the page. I do this in three ways - as a reader with in-line comments, as an editor with an editor letter, and as a writer with a little brainstorming help to get you excited about the next draft.

 

My in-line comments are meant to let you know where I. Am. Swooning. and also where I’m confused. I think in-line comments are useful as well to let you know what the reader is thinking in case it’s not how you meant something to be read. With this, I hope you’re able to take away what exactly you’re saying so you can better align it with what you meant to say.

 

My edit letter will offer big picture notes on craft elements, strengths, and areas of opportunity I think are ripe to push the story further, wider, or deeper. I will explain why I think you could stretch this here or cut that there, and why I think such changes would strengthen your manuscript. 

 

In addition, if I have ideas on how to solve those issues or elaborate on those plotlines, I’ll share them. You’re welcome to use my ideas if they excite you - to me, that’s simply part of coming alongside you on your writing journey. At the very least, I share them in hopes that they spark inspiration and get you excited about your next draft.

My overall mentoring style is very honest. If something isn’t working, I’m not afraid to say so. However, if something is amazing and working really well, I'll be the first to let you know. Usually with a lot of !!! and :) 

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When I do in-line comments, I like to be upfront about the emotions I'm feeling while I'm reading your story. If a paragraph made me smile or laugh, I'll let you know. If I got bored and was easily able to stop reading a scene, I'll make a comment. I'm also a sucker for outside-the-box craft methods, like strategic use of white space, varying sentence/paragraph length for pacing and mood, and dialogue subtext. I'll be the first to applaud if I see things like these done well in your manuscript and will also note areas I think could be stronger if you used one of these tactics.  

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My edit letters are a mix of "yes, this is amazing!" and "but why??" I love to highlight a story's strengths, especially when it comes to characters. And I also love to poke at anything that seems a bit holey. I think knowing both – the great and the needs work – only helps you come up with a better plan for tackling that next round of revisions. 

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My goal with any of my critiques is to help inspire you to take your creativity and words to the next level.