Editing & Writing Samples
Editing Samples
Artfully Annoying
Clean Contemporary Romance—Developmental Edit and Substantive Edit
This hilarious clean romance is set at BYU, where a young woman feels doomed to always be the last girlfriend before her dream guy finds his "true love" over and over. When a snarky, cocky young man starts pursuing her, she figures the sooner she dates him, the sooner he'll move on to find his "true love." Her plan works just fine—until she realizes maybe he is her dream guy after all.
My developmental edits both in the editorial letter and in the comments throughout the manuscript focused on fully developing the themes of the story and fixing pacing and structural issues. My in-line substantive edits reworded awkward phrasing and helped the narration and dialogue flow while maintaining the overall humorous tone of the story.
Allister Banks and the Ruby Blade
Middle Grade Adventure Fiction—Copyedit
Allister Banks is an alligator—and a disgraced relic hunter . . .
But he's got one last chance to make things right. The race has begun for the Ruby Blade—an ancient sword rumored to grant its possessor unfathomable power. And Allister’s only hope to fix his troubled past is to recover it before his ruthless competitors do.
This book was already incredibly well written and polished when he hired my to copyedit it. Still, he was impressed with how much I was able to do with his manuscript because of my painstaking attention to detail. I not only caught typos and added important consistency but I smoothed out a few passages of overly expository dialogue.
Summoner
Fantasy Short Story—Developmental Edit
Lamil traumatically loses his best friend Baleth to a necromancer terrorizing the countryside. But when Baleth's wife, Sellah, Lamil's other best friend, decides to go retrieve the body, Lamil won't let his fears keep him from helping and protecting Sellah as much as he can—but he may need to overcome some prejudices along the way.
The author originally requested substantive edits for this short story, but I'm glad he agreed to a developmental edit first, because his story grew stronger for it. I addressed various plot holes, underdeveloped aspects of the characters, and buried themes. I also gave suggestions for fleshing out the worldbuilding and preventing reader confusion at key points in the story.
Kiss and Dwell
Clean Romance Novel—Copyedit
Kiss and Dwell follows a professional celebrity photographer who always remembers her first kiss as one of the most disappointing moments of her life. After an embarrassing high school reunion, she’s brought back into the life of her famous, one-time best friend as he announces his quest to find his dream girl.
Soquel’s delightful prose in her romantic comedy made it clear that she’s a writer with a strong grasp of usage rules. Thus, I tailored my copyedit to more closely adhere to rules outlined in The Chicago Manual of Style, but I also pointed out each instance where I felt such edits could come across as too formal or stilted for readers. Ultimately, I believe this edit gave Soquel the balance she wanted of a clean manuscript that her readers could enjoy without effort.
Summoner
Fantasy Short Story—Substantive Edit and Copyedit
Lamil traumatically loses his best friend Baleth to a necromancer terrorizing the countryside. But when Baleth's wife, Sellah, Lamil's other best friend, decides to go retrieve the body, Lamil won't let his fears keep him from helping and protecting Sellah as much as he can—but he may need to overcome some prejudices along the way.
My substantive edit included a light copyedit, so you'll see this sample address some grammar and usage issues, especially dialogue punctuation mechanics. Overall, the substantive editing in this sample really exemplifies how sentences and paragraphs might be restructured to improve flow, pacing, and emotional impact.
The Sins of Their Fathers
Romance Novel—Manuscript Evaluation
One change in Mr. Collins' past can make him a very different character than Jane Austen penned. Perhaps he could even become a trusted brother to the Bennet sisters!
The author already had a largely positive response from her beta readers for her first draft of The Sins of Their Fathers, so she felt confident that she didn't need an in-depth developmental edit. As I evaluated her Pride and Prejudice retelling, I focused on developing the structure of the plot; character arcs of the main protagonists; pacing, point of views, and description; tone, tropes, and themes; and consistency and historical accuracy.
Writing Samples
A Siren’s Cry
Fantasy/Sci-fi Flash Fiction Winner
I submitted a 600-word short story to Leading Edge Magazine for a flash fiction contest. The contest required a crossover of one science fiction element and one fantasy element, so I wrote a short story about a genetically modified mermaid. My story won first place and was published in Leading Edge's 75th issue in December 2019.
Harry Potter and the Truth of Annoying Errors
Empirical Essay
Editors have a lot of responsibilities to balance in trying to please future readers. I conducted a study to determine what typical readers of science fiction and fantasy think about various grammatical errors and typos. Which errors are considered to be the most annoying? See what your readers might prioritize when they read your novels.
Arthur and the Changeling Chapter One
Fanfiction
Based on the fantasy BBC series Merlin, my story explores the alternate path Arthur's life could have taken had Uther made one different decision. Instead of forcing Elena and Arthur to marry, he negotiates a one-year betrothal to give them a chance to fall in love. But can Arthur really have any hope of falling in love with someone who is Gwen's opposite in every way?
Authorial Attribution: The Brandon Sanderson Test
Forensic Linguistic Research Paper
The field of forensic linguistics involves many aspects of language as it relates to the law. In my research, I focus on the abilities and limitations of authorial attribution, also known as "wordprinting" authors, based on Brandon Sanderson's completion of Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time.
Developing Christlike Self-Discipline
Religious Article
Rather than focusing on our mistakes and losing hope, we can discipline ourselves with kindness in a Christlike way. This brief article points young adults interested in building their faith to forgive themselves as they seek forgiveness from the Lord.