Welcome, writers!
(Yes, this includes you!)
You’ve written a story. You want to make it stronger. I can help.
I created Electric Blue Edits as a space for all writers in search of gentle, clear guidance for their work. I partner with writers at every stage of their process, from accountability and tips to help you optimize your writing practice to editing services that can strengthen your finished manuscript and guide it toward publication. You can find out more about me here, or keep reading to learn a bit more about the editing process.
Fiction
Developmental and line edits of short fiction, novels, and novellas
Coaching
Manuscript feedback
Query letters and Manuscript summaries
Creative Non-Fiction
Developmental and line edits of essays and book-length manuscripts
Book proposal editing and consultation
Coaching
Manuscript summaries
Every first draft is an achievement in need of revision. A professional editor is a partner in the process, helping you reveal your best draft so that you can reach your goal of publication, defense, or graduation with less frustration and fewer delays. Edits can sharpen all levels of writing, from arguments and stories to sentences, grammar, and formatting. What type of edit does your manuscript need? The primer below is a crash course in editing levels and language to help you decide.
What does your manuscript need?
Developmental Edits:
A structural or developmental edit takes a wide viewof a manuscript, examining the building blocks of argument or story. Is each block strong? Are they well placed to create a secure scaffold for the rest of the work? For academic manuscripts, structural edits include a review of logic, flow, argument, and evidence. For creative manuscripts, this level of edit examines the major elements of story: how do plot, character, setting, pacing, p.o.v., scene, summary, and dialogue work together to move the narrative forward?
Suggestions from a structural edit might include reordering or revision of chapters or scenes, further development of a line of reasoning or character, or shifts in p.o.v. or narrative voice. This level of editing is ideal for early drafts or work that an advisor or reviewer has suggested may benefit from signifiant revision.
Line Edits:
A copy or line edit looks closely at the language of a piece of writing, examining each paragraph and sentence for clarity, accuracy, flow, and readability as well as grammar, spelling, punctuation and adherence to relevant style guidelines. In academic and non-fiction writing, a copy edit also includes a close review of appendices, charts and tables, tables of contents and indices. In creative writing, a copy edit includes a careful read of each sentence and word with an eye to clarity and readability, allowing the writer’s voice to shine without distraction.
Suggestions from a copy edit might include reordering or restructuring sentences, or clarifying meaning through word choice. This type of edit is best suited for later drafts of manuscripts that have already been subject to multiple passes of revision or review to identify and remedy structural concerns.
Additional Services:
I offer full citation reviews, edits of query letters, book synopses, funding proposals, and author/researcher biographies, as well as poster and presentation design. Read about my services in more detail, or find out more about my editing process and workflow.
I’m Claudia. I’m a writer, editor, and avid fan of literary, speculative and historical fiction. I collaborate with writers who want to sharpen their unique vision and voice in the stories they tell. I bring an eye for detail, a shameless love for well-crafted sentences, and a deep respect for the writer’s voice on the page to every manuscript I read. Although I am new to freelance editing, I have been writing and editing in academic, applied, and creative settings for over fifteen years.
Find out more about me here.
I love talking to fellow writers about their work. Feel free to reach out for a quick call to tell me a bit more about what you’re writing and how I might be able to help. (No pressure. Pressure is gross! Just friendly writer-to-editor/writer chat!)
Hello!
