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Editorial Services


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.

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
-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.

"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!