Reviews (25)

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Reviews (25)

Overview

I am a Chicago-based writer and editor with an interest in literature across many genres.

I am a compassionate editor that guides writers through their manuscripts from the conceptual stages to the finished product. My working style is intuitive and flexible around the writer's goals. Working with an editor can be vulnerable, so I do whatever I can to help the writer feel confident and shine. My working relationships are always warm, but I seek to challenge every project so that it reaches its full potential.

My taste varies, but I especially love character-driven stories, literary fiction, women's fiction, and work that has a genre that is hard to define. I am riveted by blunt language, unusual synopses, and stories that make me laugh and cry at the same time. If you are an odd duck, we'll probably get along great.

My own writing has been published in American Theatre Magazine, Scary Mommy, L.A. Review of Books, The Rumpus, Time Out, and more. I am a longtime member of Chicago's "Poems While You Wait," a team of poets and our typewriters that offers typewritten, one of a kind poetry on demand.

Editorially, I've worked with Rose Metal Press, which specializes in hybrid-work, and Curbside Splendor Publishing, a Midwestern publisher of a diverse array of titles and authors. I also have experience in playwriting and new play development. I formerly managed the new play development program for Lookingglass, a Tony Award-winning theatre company.

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"Caroline brings precisely the kind of generous but critical eye to writing and editing projects that every piece needs—she polishes up the gleaming parts to best advantage and makes the dull bits shine. Well-read, funny, and personable, Caroline is astute, energetic, and punctual with a deadline. Any author or editor should count themselves lucky to get to work with her."
- Kathleen Rooney, NYT Bestselling Author

"Caroline demonstrates a clear passion for writing and editing. She has a real depth of understanding characters and a keen ear for dialogue. She is a deeply gifted, dedicated writer with a singular voice, she is one of the most hardworking people I know, and I have no doubt that she will make quite an impact as her career progresses."
- Carlos Murillo, Playwright

"Working alongside Caroline for 6 years and counting, I trust her with my writing projects in any and all genres. She has an innate ability to question, cut, and shift—necessary for honing the direction and allowing projects to flow seamlessly. Her combination of raw talent and hard work, plus both academic and professional training, makes her an invaluable reader and editor."
- Becky Wills, Writer

"Sharp-witted and forthright with emotional intelligence, Caroline always gives fresh and vital notes to my fiction."
- Julianna Hurtado, Author

"Caroline is an exemplary editor and writer who is careful and thorough in her research and reading. A true joy to work with!"
- Catherine Eves, Senior Editor, Cancer Wellness

Services

Developmental Editing

Languages

English (US)

Non-Fiction

Biographies & Memoirs

Fiction

Literary Fiction

Plays & Screenplays

Short Story

Women's Fiction

Certifications

BA English - Creative Writing
BFA Theatre Studies - Playwriting
Chicago Dramatists Fellowship Alumni
MFA Writing and Publishing

Awards

Zach Helm Endowed Playwriting Prize
StoryStudio Stories Matter Award
Larry Bundschu and Warren Snoddy Endowed Playwriting Prize
Cunningham Commission Chicago

Freelance Writer and Editor

Self-employed

May, 2019 – Present (over 2 years)

Literary Associate

Lookingglass Theatre Company

September, 2016 – May, 2019 (over 2 years)

I managed Gglassworks, the new play development program. In the role, I assisted playwrights both editorially and administratively to help their manuscripts come to fruition.

Editorial Assistant

Curbside Splendor Publishing

January, 2015 – August, 2016 (over 1 year)

I served for an independent press and assisted with manuscript proofreading and editing, book mailings, press releases, and the grand opening of an independent bookstore.

Editorial Intern

Rose Metal Press

June, 2013 – June, 2014 (about 1 year)

Rose Metal Press specializes in hybrid-genre work. As an intern, I assisted with marketing and outreach, manuscript and eGalley proofreading, and sales at book fairs and other events.

A Heart to Love

Horton, Sandra

Liliane's Balcony: A Novella of Fallingwater

Kelcey Parker

Liliane’s Balcony is a multi-voiced novella-in-flash set at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Built for Pittsburgh merchants E.J. and Liliane Kaufmann in 1935, the house is as much a character as it is a setting. One September night in 1952, Liliane Kaufmann—tired of her husband’s infidelities—overdoses on pain pills in her bedroom. From there, Liliane’s Balcony alternates Mrs. Kaufmann’s mos... read more

My Very End of the Universe: Five Novellas-in-Flash and a Study of the Form

Chris Bower, Margaret Patton Chapman, Tiff Holland, Meg Pokrass, Aaron Teel

MY VERY END OF THE UNIVERSE is a celebration and study of an increasingly popular genre: the novella-in-flash, a novella built of standalone flash stories. The novellas in this collection—BETTY SUPERMAN by Tiff Holland, HERE, WHERE WE LIVE by Meg Pokrass, SHAMPOO HORNS by Aaron Teel, BELL AND BARGAIN by Margaret Patton Chapman, and THE FAMILY DOGS by Chris Bower—are compact and specific, yet ... read more

The Voyager Record: A Transmission

Anthony Michael Morena

Late summer 1977: two identical robotic spacecraft launch from Cape Canaveral. Their divergent paths through the solar system take them past gas giants, icy moons, asteroid belts, and eventually into the unknown of interstellar space. There, they will continue to travel on forever, the fastest moving objects ever created by humans. The Voyagers carry a message from Earth, a phonograph record p... read more

Juventud

Vanessa Blakeslee

Growing up as the only daughter of a wealthy landowner in Santiago de Cali, Colombia, teenaged Mercedes Martinez knows a world of maids, armed guards, and private drivers. When she falls in love with Manuel, a fiery young activist with a passion for his faith and his country, she begins to understand the suffering of the desplazados who share her land. A startling discovery about her father fo... read more

The Voiceover Artist

Dave Reidy

Simon Davies suffers a crippling stutter inherited from his father. At the age of seven, he decides to stop speaking completelyeventually rendering his vocal cords useless from atrophy. Unable to speak, Simon finds solace in the voices piping through his bedside radio.Eighteen years later, Simon rebuilds his voice and learns to mostly manage his stutter with a series of subtle tics he’s devel... read more

Revise the Psalm: Work Celebrating the Writing of Gwendolyn Brooks

"In the hands of Gwendolyn Brooks, old age is a diamond with many facets. Throughout her poetry Brooks has illuminated old age as a time of isolation and withdrawal, remembrance and continuity, poverty, vulnerability, even homelessness, exploitation, neglect, abandonment, marginalization and destruction. And, yet, she offered resistance and affirmation."—Angela Jackson, award-winning poet and ... read more

The Javier Plays

Carlos Murillo

Chicago-based playwright Carlos Murillo's The Javier Plays is an inventive and epic trilogy that delves into themes of authenticity, truth, and self-made mythology. This collection includes the plays Diagram of a Paper Airplane, A Thick Description of Harry Smith (Volume 1), and Your Name Will Follow You Home.

Professionalism

Professionalism

Quality

Quality

Value

Value

Communication & Punctuality

Communication & Punctuality

Caroline was helpful in all aspects in the development of my screenplay. Positive experience. I highly recommend her.

Steve Olsen, October 2021

I am so thrilled with Caroline’s developmental edit of my book. In addition to remaining accessible throughout the time she had my manuscript, her enthusiasm for starting the work and her professionalism in executing it was incredible. At first read through her assessment I felt as though she was in my head—every question I had about what she proposed was answered as I read, and any lingering i...

Alix Purcell, August 2021

Thanks, Alix! You've been awesome to work with.

Reply from Caroline Macon Fleischer

As a career journalist/editor in chief, I recognize pros when I interact with them no matter how brief. My Mss was no walk in the park and I'm impressed Caroline Macon Fleisher didn't flinch delving into a complex collection of short stories with multiple characters and scenes. After about a dozen other Reedsy candidates I contacted were too busy or I wasn't their cup of tea, Caroline was my ...

Thomas Shess, July 2021

Thank you for this review! I enjoyed working with you!

Reply from Caroline Macon Fleischer

Caroline is insightful, encouraging, and delivers exactly what she commits to and more. My writing is better, my pacing and character development improved, and my confidence in my craft at an all time high. She is DELIGHTFUL. Highly recommend!

Staley Krause, June 2021

Thank you, Staley! Can’t wait to keep working together!

Reply from Caroline Macon Fleischer

A great editor all in all! She made my story more colorful and engaging in scenes where I thought were already strong on their own. She sees potential in areas where I had overlooked. Caroline certainly has an eye for detail.

Mike N, May 2021

Thanks, Mike! Best of luck!

Reply from Caroline Macon Fleischer