Work Together
An award-winning editor with over a decade of experience, I
work with writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and other forms to hone
their work for submission to a publisher or to ready it for self-publishing. I
also work directly with presses to prepare work for print.
My approach in all genres is to help writers understand their subject matter clearly in relation to the wider world and to push work to be at once courageous, accountable, relationally sophisticated, and alive for both the speaker and readers. I believe that creating honestly and with careful intention can change the world and that everyone is capable of this.
I support writers fully in maintaining or establishing a clear separation between artistic practice (in which vulnerability is paramount) and professional strategy (in which getting funded, published, or otherwise externally recognized matters) and never allow the latter to be confused with the former in my editorial suggestions. I believe that the question of audience, when considered bravely, deliberately, and from a place of choice—we choose who we are writing for and what we say to them—can be a powerful guide.
A winner of the Rosemary Shipton Award for Excellence in Book Editing, I have edited fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for such major presses as HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and Oxford University Press, as well as such acclaimed indie presses as Bookhug, Caitlin Press, and ECW, among many others. I’ve been an acquiring editor at Brick Books since 2017. I taught editing courses in the Toronto Metropolitan University Publishing probram from 2015 to 2022 and was a juror for Trillium Book Award for three years.
Manuscripts I have edited have gone on to win or be shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award, the Pat Lowther Memorial Award, the Trillium Book Award, LAMBDA awards, the Raymond Souster Award, Indigenous Voices Awards, the First Nations Community READS Award, and the A.M. Klein Prize, among others.
Examples of my editorial packages for individuals are below. If you are interested in working together on a writing project, learning more about my rates and services, or getting a customized quote, please contact me.
Manuscript evaluation and substantive edit — poetry
Focusing on big-picture elements of your book-length poetry manuscript, this substantive edit will help your work come into its full power. You’ll get feedback on the stakes and impact of your project, poem order and section breaks, language, imagery, rhythm, ethical considerations, places to cut, places to consider adding, and any questions you may have for me about the manuscript. I will offer my honest assessment of the manuscript’s readiness to submit for publication as well as a clear roadmap to get it ready if it isn’t quite there yet.
You will receive a letter spelling out my suggestions, with section-by-section notes as well as feedback on the manuscript as a whole. Once you’ve had some time to sit with the feedback, we’ll do a 30-minute call to discuss revision strategy and any lingering questions or concerns.
Starting at $1,200 for 50 standard-format word processor pages (this package does not include line edits)
Manuscript evaluation and substantive edit — fiction, memoir, or other nonfiction
Focusing on big-picture elements of your book-length prose manuscript, this substantive edit will address things like structure, pacing, motifs, character development, balance of action and reflection, ethics and stakes, whether your main themes are coming across effectively over the course of the narrative, and how to amplify the “pull” of your story—that ineffable quality that sucks readers in. I will offer my honest assessment of the manuscript’s readiness to submit/query for publication as well as a clear roadmap to get it ready if it isn’t quite there yet.
You will receive a letter spelling out my suggestions, with chapter-specific (or essay- or story-specific) notes as well as feedback on the manuscript as a whole. Once you’ve had some time to sit with the feedback, we’ll do a 30-minute call to discuss revision strategy and any lingering questions or concerns.
Starting at $2000 for 50,000 words (this package does not include line edits)
First fifty pages evaluation—fiction, memoir, or other nonfiction
An evaluation of the first 50 (double-spaced, standard format) pages of your manuscript is usually enough to diagnose big-picture issues like structure, pacing, balance of action and reflection, and narrative trajectory/emotional stakes that likely apply to the full manuscript.
This package includes an edit letter with recommendations for the first 50 pages (aimed toward not just polishing those pages, but setting up the rest of the manuscript), and a half-hour call to discuss revision strategy and the project as a whole.
This package is recommended as a starting point for writers who are working with an early draft or who are less experienced in the genre they’re working in. If you have previously gone through a First 50 review with me, you will get a $350 credit toward a full manuscript evaluation if you want more comprehensive feedback later in the process.
$700 for 50 standard format, double spaced word processor pages (this package does not include line edits)
Please note: I do my best work on manuscripts that resonate with me, and therefore ask that you send me a copy of your manuscript before we confirm the booking. If I don’t think it’s a fit, I’ll try my best to direct you elsewhere.
My approach in all genres is to help writers understand their subject matter clearly in relation to the wider world and to push work to be at once courageous, accountable, relationally sophisticated, and alive for both the speaker and readers. I believe that creating honestly and with careful intention can change the world and that everyone is capable of this.
I support writers fully in maintaining or establishing a clear separation between artistic practice (in which vulnerability is paramount) and professional strategy (in which getting funded, published, or otherwise externally recognized matters) and never allow the latter to be confused with the former in my editorial suggestions. I believe that the question of audience, when considered bravely, deliberately, and from a place of choice—we choose who we are writing for and what we say to them—can be a powerful guide.
A winner of the Rosemary Shipton Award for Excellence in Book Editing, I have edited fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for such major presses as HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and Oxford University Press, as well as such acclaimed indie presses as Bookhug, Caitlin Press, and ECW, among many others. I’ve been an acquiring editor at Brick Books since 2017. I taught editing courses in the Toronto Metropolitan University Publishing probram from 2015 to 2022 and was a juror for Trillium Book Award for three years.
Manuscripts I have edited have gone on to win or be shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award, the Pat Lowther Memorial Award, the Trillium Book Award, LAMBDA awards, the Raymond Souster Award, Indigenous Voices Awards, the First Nations Community READS Award, and the A.M. Klein Prize, among others.
Examples of my editorial packages for individuals are below. If you are interested in working together on a writing project, learning more about my rates and services, or getting a customized quote, please contact me.
Manuscript evaluation and substantive edit — poetry
Focusing on big-picture elements of your book-length poetry manuscript, this substantive edit will help your work come into its full power. You’ll get feedback on the stakes and impact of your project, poem order and section breaks, language, imagery, rhythm, ethical considerations, places to cut, places to consider adding, and any questions you may have for me about the manuscript. I will offer my honest assessment of the manuscript’s readiness to submit for publication as well as a clear roadmap to get it ready if it isn’t quite there yet.
You will receive a letter spelling out my suggestions, with section-by-section notes as well as feedback on the manuscript as a whole. Once you’ve had some time to sit with the feedback, we’ll do a 30-minute call to discuss revision strategy and any lingering questions or concerns.
Starting at $1,200 for 50 standard-format word processor pages (this package does not include line edits)
Manuscript evaluation and substantive edit — fiction, memoir, or other nonfiction
Focusing on big-picture elements of your book-length prose manuscript, this substantive edit will address things like structure, pacing, motifs, character development, balance of action and reflection, ethics and stakes, whether your main themes are coming across effectively over the course of the narrative, and how to amplify the “pull” of your story—that ineffable quality that sucks readers in. I will offer my honest assessment of the manuscript’s readiness to submit/query for publication as well as a clear roadmap to get it ready if it isn’t quite there yet.
You will receive a letter spelling out my suggestions, with chapter-specific (or essay- or story-specific) notes as well as feedback on the manuscript as a whole. Once you’ve had some time to sit with the feedback, we’ll do a 30-minute call to discuss revision strategy and any lingering questions or concerns.
Starting at $2000 for 50,000 words (this package does not include line edits)
First fifty pages evaluation—fiction, memoir, or other nonfiction
An evaluation of the first 50 (double-spaced, standard format) pages of your manuscript is usually enough to diagnose big-picture issues like structure, pacing, balance of action and reflection, and narrative trajectory/emotional stakes that likely apply to the full manuscript.
This package includes an edit letter with recommendations for the first 50 pages (aimed toward not just polishing those pages, but setting up the rest of the manuscript), and a half-hour call to discuss revision strategy and the project as a whole.
This package is recommended as a starting point for writers who are working with an early draft or who are less experienced in the genre they’re working in. If you have previously gone through a First 50 review with me, you will get a $350 credit toward a full manuscript evaluation if you want more comprehensive feedback later in the process.
$700 for 50 standard format, double spaced word processor pages (this package does not include line edits)
Please note: I do my best work on manuscripts that resonate with me, and therefore ask that you send me a copy of your manuscript before we confirm the booking. If I don’t think it’s a fit, I’ll try my best to direct you elsewhere.