The Editing Room
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Customized Editorial Services
Aspen Words is partnering with publishing industry experts to provide writers with individual and customized editorial services. Whether you are an emerging or seasoned writer, you will be matched with an editor suited to your needs and focused on making your work exceptional. Our editors will accept a multitude of writing formats including short stories, articles, essays, and book-length manuscripts. The Editing Room philosophy is straightforward: To be supportive and encouraging, while being thorough and honest in our assessment of your work. Our suggestions for revision are with the objective of publication in mind. We believe that the best editor is an invisible collaborator, whose goal is to help you tell your story in your own voice, and to improve — not obscure — your writing style. Our team of editors has years of experience at top publishing houses and national magazines. Our combined expertise runs the gamut: from commercial to literary in all genres, whether that’s fiction, nonfiction, or memoir.
“The Editing Room provided the perspective I needed to turn what I thought was a final draft of my novel into the real final draft. Their review was both thorough and detailed — well worth the investment in time and money.”– Mark Tompkins (Debut novel, The Last Days of Magic, published by Viking Penguin in March 2016).
Comprehensive Manuscript Evaluation
We read and evaluate your book-length manuscript, book proposal, feature article or short story/essay and provide you with a comprehensive evaluation that includes detailed suggestions for revisions. Critiques focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the work, including style, pacing, and content. In the case of a novel, for instance, we focus on the following areas and cite examples from your manuscript to illustrate where you’ve succeeded or where you’re still struggling:
- Pacing – Is there a strong narrative arc that grabs the reader’s attention? Do scenes lag or move too quickly?
- Characters – Are your characters realistic and believable? Do their motivations work with their actions?
- Dialog – Is your dialog authentic and genuine?
- Point of View – Have you chosen the most advantageous point-of-view from which to tell your story?
You will be sent a detailed editorial letter, as well as a copy of your marked-up manuscript and, after you’ve had time to read and digest our comments, a phone conversation will be scheduled with your editor to discuss the work, the revisions necessary, and the possible disposition (for agenting, publication and so forth) of the manuscript. While this evaluation does not include line editing, we do mark up the manuscript to point out repetitive errors, which will enable you to see and fix your mistakes. We also indicate the extent of work we believe is needed to get your manuscript into publishing shape. We do not offer services related to marketing, consultant advice, or the solicitation of agents.
TESTIMONIALS
“The Editing Room provided the perspective I needed to turn what I thought was a final draft of my novel into the real final draft. Their review was both thorough and detailed — well worth the investment in time and money.”
– Mark Tompkins (Debut novel, The Last Days of Magic, published by Viking Penguin in March 2016)
“I can’t believe an editor with this expertise has engaged so deeply with my work. It’s made me feel more invested in myself and my writing journey.”
– Sonal Nalkur, Editing Room client
“The Editing Room provided the perspective I needed to turn what I thought was a final draft of my novel into the real final draft. Their review was both thorough and detailed — well worth the investment in time and money.”
– Mark Tompkins (Debut novel, The Last Days of Magic, published by Viking Penguin in March 2016)
“Even though we didn’t really know anyone else in the room, it was a comfortable enough environment to want to share what I wrote. I put a lot of emotion into my poem, and even though I never thought I would share it, I ended up feeling a lot better after I did. There was a lot of encouragement.”
– Yaqui Arreola, Glenwood Springs High School student
