Cindy Marsch

Cindy Marsch – Editor

I help make dreams come true – developing your first draft or polishing your final work with personal care. Lower-cost options available.

Overview

Now scheduling projects for July 2025 and beyond - recommending the popular Manuscript Assessment (MA). Ask about a budget-sensitive edit of a portion of your project. Although I do offer copy editing, I am currently limiting it to projects for which I have first done developmental editing--the MA.


"Cindy was professional, reliable, and most important, thorough. She gave honest feedback along with constructive critique [and] pointed out holes in my plot that I didn't know existed, while also helping me see my strengths. Her contributions to my work cannot be overstated." - T.B., a happy Reedsy client


I'm Cindy M., an author and editor with an undergraduate degree in creative writing (short stories primarily) and a master's in literature, and I have been editing professionally for eight years and taught writing for more than three decades. I work with writers according to your needs, making the most of your strengths and following your direction. Because I am an author myself, I know you are looking for an editor who can enhance your own voice.


Do you have a draft and a dream but know your work is not up to your own high standard? My popular, economical Manuscript Assessment will give you a true overview of what is most promising and what needs most work as you revise. One potential client commented that my sample edit showed how I could take her modern romance "from garage band to gold record."


Can you trust me to help you realize your dream? Take a look at my Reedsy reviews below!


Note: Although I am open to some sensuality, violence, and strong language, I prefer not to edit extensive erotic content, graphic violent content, gratuitous strong language, nor occult material. Let's discuss your situation.


"I feel very fortunate to have worked with Cindy on both a developmental and copy edit of my manuscript. She is a consummate professional whose insightful feedback and suggestions helped transform my rough draft into a novel that I am excited to share. . . . Like any excellent teacher, Cindy is adept at asking just the right questions to prompt a writer to dig deeper into the 'why' of their craft. She makes you think, which is a good thing!" - R.F., a happy Reedsy client

Services
Fiction
Anthologies Cultural & Ethnic Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Short Story
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Education & Reference Writing & Publishing
Languages
English (US)
Certifications
  • Editorial Freelancers Association Member
  • Alliance of Independent Authors Partner Member

Work experience

Self-employed

Oct, 2015 — Present
I am an author of historical, biographical, literary fiction and short stories thus far, with plans for contemporary fiction and maybe cozy mysteries in the years to come. I have found my favorite work offering professional editorial services, with enthusiastic acceptance from small presses and individual authors as soon as they see what I can do for them.

Grove City College

Aug, 2016 — Dec, 2019 (over 3 years)
(Still on the rolls for future need of the college.) Taught one or two sections each semester of Foundations of Academic Discourse in the Writing Department to freshman students from all academic disciplines. Curriculum included critical thinking, grammar and style instruction, and the principles of academic writing of several types: exposition, persuasion, synthesis, and critical review, with a professional standard and citation of sources.

Veritas Academy Online

Sep, 2010 — May, 2015 (over 4 years)
Developed and taught Composition 2 to students in grades 8-12 for this online school, helping students learn grammar, style, and basic essay forms for description, persuasion, comparison, and narrative. Much of my instruction was in the form of individual essay evaluation in extensive comments for each student.

Writing Assessment Services

May, 1996 — Jun, 2022 (about 26 years)
As a young mother watching the growth of homeschooling all around me and hearing the desires of homeschooling parents for quality writing instruction for their older children, I began teaching online when the technology allowed only exchange of simple files and emails. I developed many writing courses using the Great Books, ancient rhetoric exercises (Progymnasmata), and other high-quality resources, and in time I became a consultant for many private schools for their writing programs. In 2022 I sold my domain and instructional materials to another entrepreneurial writing teacher.

Florida State University, Auburn University, Tallahassee Community College, Los Positas College

Aug, 1982 — May, 1995 (over 12 years)
In these different colleges, taught courses including remedial writing lab, freshman composition, freshman article and essay workshop, sophomore literature, written business communications, and business report writing part time (FSU, TCC, LPC) or full time (Auburn University) intermittently through these years.

Portfolio

Cry for Jerusalem | Book 1 63-66 CE: Resisting Tyranny

Sanford, Ward

Copy Editing
Gisele and the Northman

Mai, R H

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Red Bishop

Yuan, Robin T W

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Rosette: A Novel of Pioneer Michigan (The Ramsdell Family)

Marsch, Cindy Rinaman

Solomon Ramsdell: A Novel of the Civil War Era (The Ramsdell Family)

Marsch, Cindy

Armageddon 2029

Elsant, Martin

Independently published

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Girl with a Knife Book One: Assault

James T. Hogg

All Night Books

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Book Coaching
Memories of the Rising Sun

McCune, Michaela

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Curious One: My Adventures As a Little Boy in India

Patel, Bhupendra

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
IRON MEDICINE

Brady, Richard

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Bringing Mom Home: How Two Sisters Moved Their Mother Out of Assisted Living to Care For Her Under One Amazingly Large Roof

Soesbe, Susan

Copy Editing
The Gift of the Seer

Laugheed, K.B.

Copy Editing
Stories of Inspiration: Historical Fiction Edition, Volume 1: Historical Fiction Writers Trace Their Journeys from Starting Point to Finished Work

Fox, Suzanne

Copy Editing Proofreading
Nzinga: African Warrior Queen

Howard, Moses L.

Copy Editing Proofreading
The King of Kreskin Avenue

Vitberg, A.K.

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Beyond the Tracks: A WW2 Novel Based on Harrowing True Events

Reit, Michael

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Acts of Hope: Part 2 of The Inquisition Trilogy

Elsant, Martin

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
THE SARACEN STORM: A Novel of the Moorish Invasion of Spain

NUNEZ, J.M.

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment

Cindy has 103 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Jim M.

Jim M.

Mar, 2024

Pinned
Let me not bury the lead, working with Cindy has been a pleasure. I am writing a deeply personal memoir about my wife who recently passed away after a struggle with cancer. I want to honor my wife, her struggle, and our life together. Cindy has absolutely helped move the story forward. Cindy has...
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Cindy M.
I am honored to work alongside Jim as he walks through this memoir and the grief that accompanies it. I look forward to seeing the next versions of the work for his different audiences. He has less...
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Bhupendra P.

Bhupendra P.

Sep, 2021

Pinned
This was my first time working with Cindy and right from the beginning, I loved working with her. She gave clear constructive feedback that helped me immensely. Her examples during developmental editing were greatly constructive for me. Cindy found issues that made me think clearly in words. She ...
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Cindy M.
It was a delight to spend many hours with Bhupendra's beautiful book, and I am honored to have been a part of getting it out to the world. I trust many readers will enjoy his touching, humorous, de...
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Michael R.

Michael R.

Aug, 2021

Pinned
Warsaw Fury was my second book working with Cindy. That by itself should really say enough. There's a reason I asked her to do an editorial review and copy edit, two extremely important edits in forming the story. Most importantly, Cindy is brutally honest and to the point. She doesn't sugarcoat...
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Cindy M.
It has been a pleasure working with Michael. I actually developed my Manuscript Assessment service as we worked together on his first book, and it has proven to be one of the most valuable services...
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Nathan Z.

Nathan Z.

Mar, 2025

Getting an editor to help me out was the best idea I ever had in my writing career. Cindy was awesome. She knew her stuff and helped a tone. She was kind and gave great feedback. Her edits were informative and clear. The questions she raised and her knowledge behind history and writing itself w...
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Cindy M.
It was great fun working with Nathan right out of his creative writing degree, to help him plot his course for writing and publishing in the future.
Laurie W.

Laurie W.

Jan, 2025

Cindy knows her stuff in the critical elements of historical story telling, from character development to plot line plausibility. She has performed several manuscript assessments for me, both of which were enormously valuable in helping me take my project to the next level. She writes margin note...
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Cindy M.
I have greatly enjoyed collaborating with Laurie and look forward to our next project!

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Most recent contributions

I don't respond well to criticism. How can I find out if an editor's communication style will be right for me?

In your brief, explain this about yourself, and ask for sample edits. When you receive a sample, if a particular suggestion is troubling, ask the editor a good question about it. Let's say the editor changes your dialogue tags like "remarked" or "sighed" or "countered" to "said" across the boar...
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What's a good (or interesting) way to start an autobiography?

First, the autobiography should have a plot and a sense of the author changing over time as a good character would in a successful novel. And the core idea of that plot can be revealed from the earliest pages. Not "I was born in Philadelphia in the spring of 1961." But "I was born at Albert Ein...
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In what circumstances should an author consider adding a prologue to their book?

For a novel, the prologue can tease the reader with a crucial moment well into the plot. My first novel had an ordinary start with a young schoolteacher in pioneer Michigan meeting the man she would marry a few months later. Ho hum. But as I looked at my draft, I saw that in a moment thirty yea...
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