Announcing Smooth Draft—my freelance editing venture

I’m so excited to formally announce Smooth Draft!

As many of my friends and readers know, in addition to writing full-time, I also work as an editor. I’ve worked with MLR Press, Ravenous Romance, and most recently Silver Publishing. I’ve also taken on private freelance clients for fiction editing work over the years.

Now, I’m ready to take my editing to a new level by starting Smooth Draft Editing.

One impetus for the change, as many people also know, Silver’s financial problems meant that they cut back on their freelance editors. They focused editing work on the full-time staff, so the steady stream of Silver editing projects that had been paying the bills dried up a few months ago and not much new work arrived to replace it.

That’s when I started increasing work for private clients, and now it’s time to formally start my own editing business. Smooth Draft is it. I spent quite a while thinking of the right name, and that sums up what I can do. Smooth out your rough draft, or polish what you think is ready to go. All with the aim of getting it into a publisher’s hands, or ready to format if you’re self-pubbing.

My background and experience

I’ve edited four anthologies, which included the acquisitions and all content and line edits. I’m more than familiar with what it takes to get published at any length, and how to address issues from commas to pacing to theme. Just ask anyone who’s subbed a story to me; I make them work hard to improve their writing and I’ve had plenty of authors thank me for being tough, offering suggestions, and giving them a learning experience.

Before I got back to writing fiction and eventually publishing it five years ago, most of my work was in the field of finance. I wrote and edited newsletters and website content for my employers mainly about financial markets, including lots of reports and analysis of mutual funds. Most of it would bore you to tears, but I love writing no matter the subject. I worked in finance for five years in Japan, plus a year at an editing company where I rewrote financial publications that had been translated from Japanese. At one financial research job before that I was expected to proof and edit my Japanese colleagues’ articles when they wrote in English.

Long story short, I can offer suggestions and guidance to improve any manuscript after the work I did in Japan, and with my work helping many new authors get published for the first time.

How my experience can help you

Ever wonder just what an acquisitions editor is looking for? Not sure how to meet submission guidelines or wonder why your story got rejected?

If you’re looking for someone to edit your next piece, especially if you’re going to self-publish, give me a shot. I offer several different levels of editing, and include as many rounds of edits as required to get the job done. Rates are flexible, and much less than you’d pay for the majority of professional editors, based on my research. I’ve seen other editing services  provide rate quotes in the thousands of dollars for a novel-length MS.

Stop by Smooth Draft and check out testimonials, information about my services and a blog full of writing tips.