Developmental

Editing

We believe there is a real need for professional editorial services. Most writers do not have a support system of agents, workshops, or informed peers to read their work. Moreover, as the publishing world becomes increasingly beholden to diminishing profits and funding, line editing becomes a luxury few writers enjoy. This means most authors will never receive the close, developmental edit that once defined the editor-author relationship. We believe this work is vital to a vibrant book culture and our services fill this void.

OUR SERVICES

Editorial  Services

All of our services focus on the big picture: narrative, sentence and paragraph structure, clarity, tone, and style. We offer developmental editing, not copyediting.

Level One

$7 per 250 words

Minimum of 37,500 words.

We will review your full manuscript, providing general feedback and a written assessment of your work. This level of edit does not include any line editing, margin comments, or reworking of your text.

  • —written assessment of your manuscript, including suggestions for revision

    —follow-up: one 45-minute consultation (or up to 3 email exchanges)

Level Two

$11 per 250 words

Minimum of 37,500 words.

We will review your full manuscript, providing general feedback and a written assessment of your work, including suggestions for revision. Additionally, this level of editing includes some line edits and margin comments.

  • —written assessment of your manuscript with suggestions for revision

    —line edited manuscript and in-text comments

    —follow-up: one 50-minute consultation (or up to 3 email exchanges)

Level Three

$9 per 250 words

Minimum of 37,500 words.

We will review your full manuscript and offer a thorough line edit. This is not a ghost writing service but rather a strenuous edit of your work. Our line edits will offer guidance on how to best restructure and/or rework your narrative and hone your language in your own voice.

  • —written assessment of your manuscript

    —line-edited pages and in-text comments

    —follow-up: one 45-minute consultation (or up to 3 email exchanges)

Manuscript Consultations

Jumpstart

$700 (up to 30,000 words)

This service is designed to be a gut check. If you are feeling a little stuck or want to be sure you’re on the right track, this review of a section of your manuscript can help. We will ask hard questions (and give some guidance) to help you find your own way forward.

  • —review of your manuscript (up to 30,000 words)

    —short written assessment focused on what is working and what needs more attention

Monographs

$10 per 250 words

Scholarly writing is still writing. Whether you are revising your dissertation, or wanting your monograph to appeal to a wider audience, this consultation will help you hone your manuscript ahead of publication. Our monograph editors have extensive experience in scholarly publishing and editing.

  • —review of full manuscript

    —written assessment of your work, including suggestions for revision

    —sample line edits and in-text comments

    —follow up: one 50-minute consultation (or up to three email exchanges)

Short Works

$500 (up to 20,000 words)

This consultation will help you hone stories, articles, and essays ahead of submission. It is for discrete, short works, rather than a section of your manuscript.

  • —written assessment of your manuscript, including suggestions for revision

    NOTE: Ladette Randolph does not review short works

  • “I've had the good fortune to know Heather Lundine for almost a decade, and I've been consistently impressed with her work—on award-winning books at the University of Nebraska Press, as editor-at-large at West Virginia University Press, and as cofounder at Randolph Lundine. Her new shop is a major development in the publishing landscape. They're good for books.”

    Derek Krissoff

    Director, West Virginia University Press

  • “I feel fortunate to have had Laura Furman’s sharp eyes on my novel. Her acumen in helping me think through a few nagging structural issues was as valuable as her detailed, line-level comments.”

    Edward Hamlin

    Author, Night in Erg Chebbi and Other Stories

  • “Working with Sherrie Flick is like taking a masterclass in prose. With a kind but firm hand, she has guided me towards stronger sentences, trained my ears to hear the need for a lyrical beat, and taught me the magic of compression. She has also encouraged me to have confidence in my own voice and the stories I want to tell.”

    Lisa Robinson

  • “Would I recommend Heather Lundine to other writers? I already have, and they’ve thanked me. The best evidence of my satisfaction with Heather’s work is that she is now editing my second book.”

    Marlene Trestman

    Author of Fair Labor Lawyer: The Remarkable Life of New Deal Attorney and Supreme Court Advocate Bessie Margolin and Most Fortunate Unfortunates: New Orleans’s Jewish Orphans’ Home, 1855-1946

  • “After Heather read my first draft, she was encouraging and blunt at the same time. [T]he book that eventually went out to readers was vastly improved because of her editing skills. The excellent reviews that followed, from The Wall Street Journal to National Public Radio, would not have been possible without Heather Lundine’s expert guidance."

    Judy Muller, Author, Emus Loose in Egnar: Big Stories from Small Towns