For now, I’m editing YA, MG, NA, and select women's fiction manuscripts only.
Whether
you are ready to send your manuscript to betas, or you’re ready to query, I can
help.
-If
you’re getting ready to send to betas, I can read the first 30 pages of your
book and point out what I think you should focus on while writing your next
draft.
-If
you’re ready to query, I can help with your submission package.
-I
can also read your whole book, but I’m not often available to edit a full
manuscript, and I always prefer to read the first 30 pages of your work before
reading the full. That way, I will know what you need (i.e. overarching
suggestions versus line-by-line comments, and so on).
A few of the books I've betaed and/or my name appears on the acknowledgements:
If you want to see the type of comments I make, go to this post or this post.
A few of the books I've betaed and/or my name appears on the acknowledgements:
If you want to see the type of comments I make, go to this post or this post.
First 30 Pages Edit
I
will comment on the plot, writing, voice, stakes, characters, hook, conflict, structure,
dialogue, etc. I will tell you what is working for me and what isn’t. At the
end of your 30 pages I will give you an editorial letter with my overarching
thoughts, and I will also give you line-by-line suggestions (using Track Changes
and the comments feature on Word). My line-by-line notes tend to discuss word
choice, sentence structure, grammar and spelling issues, syntax, clichés, wordiness,
stilted dialogue, etc. Also, I point out punctuation mistakes and typos, but
you should know that I’m not a copy editor.
Submission-Package Edit
I
will read the first 10 pages of your book, your query, and synopsis (if you
have one).
I
don’t guarantee any requests, but through the contests on my blog, I’ve helped many
writers get agents by working with them to polish their queries and first
pages. If you want to see a sample of the queries and first pages I’ve helped
edit, go to The
Writer’s Voice Contest and read through the entries. More than one-third of
these contestants have agents already and one even landed a six-figure deal
with Disney-Hyperion. The contestant who worked with me on Pitch
Wars got two offers of representation.
Conflict of Interests
If
I edited your queries/pages, then you can participate on the contests I host on
my blog (like The Writers Voice) with that manuscript, BUT I won’t be able to
consider that entry (unlike other judges). (If the contest is judged by an
agent, then there obviously won’t be any conflict of interest.)
Submissions
All submissions must be formatted with standard margins, double-spaced,
with 12 point Times New Roman font, and sent as Word .doc attachments. In case of the “submission
package,” please send all the materials (pages, query and synopsis) as a single
document.
Please
make sure that your computer is able to show Track Changes and comments in your
Microsoft Word or similar program.
Fees
-First
30 Pages Edit: $99
-Submission
Package: $69
-Query
Only: $29
-Query + first 30 pages: $ 125
-Query + first 30 pages: $ 125
-Full
Manuscript: fees will vary depending on what the writer needs.
-Payments
will be accepted via PayPal.
Quotes and Testimonials
I’ve
worked with many traditionally published authors, such as Kasie West, Debra
Driza, Francisco Stork, among others. My name has appeared in the
acknowledgements of some books, too (like POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil, TOUCHING
THE SURFACE by Kimberly Sabatini, and FREAK by Jennifer Hillier).
Here
are some of the quotes and testimonials of the writers (agented and
non-agented) I’ve worked with:
“Mónica is a wonderful editor.
Precise, kind, bright, sensitive, intuitive, logical. Big Picture. Detail
Oriented. She'll bring out the stars in your work.”
--Francisco Stork, author of
MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD (Scholastic 2011) and IRISES (Scholastic 2012).
“Mónica's editing was above and
beyond what I expected. Her edits on my first five pages were insightful and
spot-on, and her ideas for my query were very helpful and thorough. I was
impressed with her line-by-line edits, her thought-provoking questions, and the
amount of feedback I received. I've already recommended her services to writer
friends and would not hesitate to contact her again for my own writing. Thanks
so, so much!”
--Alison DeCamp, MG
writer.
"Monica has such an eye for details, and she always catches what I miss, from spelling mistakes to wording. Any time I work with Monica I walk away feeling confident that my query is perfectly polished."
--Holly Cagney, YA writer.
"Monica has such an eye for details, and she always catches what I miss, from spelling mistakes to wording. Any time I work with Monica I walk away feeling confident that my query is perfectly polished."
--Holly Cagney, YA writer.
"I've
been lucky enough to be a critique partner of Mónica's for over a year now.
She's incredibly thorough and is able to give great advice on everything
from overall plot issues to small, line-level problems. Her critiques are
also very consistent with other feedback I've received. The few times I've been
silly enough to ignore her suggestions, I just ended up making the changes she
suggested later either at my agent or editor's request. Probably her best
trait, though, is her sweet personality--she can make the toughest
feedback feel like a compliment!"
--Eliza
Crewe, author of CRACKED (Penguin India & Strange
Chemistry).
I had the privilege of working with Monica on Pitchwars and was
blown away by her super sharp, super helpful critiques. She took my
rather dismal query, broke it down, and built it back up with all the
things I'd missed: hook, stakes, character arcs. All the crucial stuff a
query needs but I couldn't figure out. Beyond that, she explained how
each section or sentence was providing one of those essential elements.
It all made so much sense after that. She asked the right questions to
get me to give the right answers that I'd had all along. I'm ready to
take that next step with my writing because of her. I'm grateful.
Truly.
--Abigail Johnson, YA author.
Pitch Wars Quotes:
“Monica
is the mentor YOU need. First, she knows her stuff, which is totally important.
She has a great eye for "big picture" and line-edits. She also helped
brainstorm ideas with me to help bring my MS to the next level. And availability??
I have to tell you, Monica was available at a moment's notice. She was super
fast with her edits and responses, even if I would send a regular old email to
just talk about a MS idea. << This is super important during #pitchwars.
Most important, I received offers from agentS and am now talking with
publishers. 'Tis true!! So you should choose her. She's the one!”
"Working with Monica was sort of like earning a mini MFA in creative
writing, she's that good! She worked on big picture things like cutting
out an entire POV character; changing the "telly" parts of my MS to
sound more like the internal monologue of my protagonist; as well as the
minute details like word choice, grammar, and punctuation. When she
finds something that doesn't work, she not only tells you why but also
offers brilliant suggestions for fixing it. She has a knack for
understanding the kind of story you are trying to tell, and then making
your MS shine. She's also incredibly nurturing, finding ways to make
every critique feel like a compliment. If you're looking for someone to
cheer you on, and be super tough at the same time, you've found her.
She's quick to respond (like supernaturally quick. I don't know how she
does it!) and continues to keep in touch and mentor me long after the
PitchWars contest is over. After working with her, I've had full
requests from every agent I've queried. If you don't get chosen to be
her mentee, you should totally hire her as a freelance editor!"
Contact
To
hire me, email me to: moni.bwATgmail.com
Let
me know what service you want and tell me about yourself.
If
you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch!