I’m an editorial veteran with more than sixteen years of experience as a journalist, professional writer, editor, and fiction writer.
If you’re on the lookout for an experienced writer and editor as you seek to polish your college essay, novel, memoir, or non-fiction book, I’d love to connect.
“Jay is an incredibly thoughtful and generous editor who brings a wealth of story and editing experience to any project that comes across his desk. His sense of character, plot, tone, and style is impeccable.” — Paul Morrissey, Eisner Award-winning Writer & Editor
I request potential and active clients to connect with me directly through my page on Reedsy.
As a freelance editor, I’ve found Reedsy to be an excellent, convenient, and secure way to communicate with clients. The site creates a pretty seamless interface for requesting quotes, communicating with clients, sending/receiving documents, and to ensure safe, secure payment system.
If you’d like to get in touch with me about a potential collaboration, please click the Reedsy link before, which will take you to my Profile page. You can then send me a quote request or simply connect to discuss your project.
Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Memoirs:
MANUSCRIPT FEEDBACK
An ideal choice if you need a big-picture summary of your draft. I will read through a Word version of your manuscript and look at overall structure, character development and consistency as well as issues of pacing, point of view, and dialogue.
Using Track Changes in Word, I will input my notes and thoughts in the margins with regard to scene flow, dramatic beats, dialogue, etc., together with a light copy edit (for surface-level grammar and punctuation fixes), and I will also sum up my feedback in a 4-6 page write-up that will include advice on revisions for taking your book to the next level.
With this option, you’ll get an excellent qualitative assessment of your manuscript and a game plan for moving forward.
LINE EDITING & COPY EDITING
Line editing is a heavy-duty version of a copy edit, but both are aimed at the same thing: Making sure the style and quality of your writing is up to par. Which one you need will become clear once I take a look at a sample of your work.
In a line edit, we’ll go through the book line-by-line, paragraph-by-paragraph to see how your language is functioning for things like tone, style, vocabulary, and sentence structure. If you’ve never had anyone edit your manuscript, it’s likely you’ll need a line edit. All edits are made in a Word doc, using Track Changes.
In a copy edit, we roll up our sleeves and get to the nitty-gritty of grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, syntax, and style. We’ll comb your manuscript, fixing errors and making sure your style conforms to established publishing conventions. In my practice, this usually means making sure your manuscript is in line with the Chicago Style Guide.
All edits are made in a Word doc, using Track Changes.
PROOFREADING
This is a scan of your manuscript for lingering typos and errors that any earlier editing may have missed. If your manuscript has already been through a rigorous copy edit, but you want to be sure it’s clean before you publish, a proofread is the right choice.
Regarding Rates
I offer competitive rates, flexible enough to fit almost any budget. My goal is to make sure you get the best quality edit at a price you can afford. That said, the cost is ultimately based on the type of manuscript you need help with and its level of readiness.
Short fiction and essays are priced differently from long-form works, for example. It also depends on the level of help you need, whether it’s feedback, a proofread, or a complete line edit. Rest assured, though, that my rates are competitive and priced to meet the budgets of any and all serious writers.
For starters, we can start with a FREE no-obligation sample edit of five pages lifted preferably from the middle of your manuscript.
That should be enough for both of us to decide if we’re a good match and for me to determine what level of editing your manuscript would best benefit from.
My quote will depend on which service you go with and the word count of your manuscript. You’ll get an excellent rate in exchange for
Turnaround
Manuscript Critiques usually take three to five weeks for manuscripts running between 60k to 100k words.
Line Editing generally takes three- to five-week timeline for 60k to 100k word manuscripts.
Copy Editing usually goes three to four weeks, again depending on the length of the manuscript and how intensive the edit needs to be.
Proofreading usually takes ten days to two weeks for manuscripts between 50k and 70k words.
The above are general estimates, and mileage will vary depending on the manuscript.