Cindy Marsch

Cindy Marsch - Editor

Slippery Rock, United States

I help make dreams come true – deep guidance for developing writers and a final polish for seasoned authors.

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Overview

(Now scheduling projects for April 2023 and beyond--recommending the popular Manuscript Assessment.)


"If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend working with Cindy. Her guidance is invaluable, and she is truly a pleasure to work with. . . . You will be in good hands." -- RF, 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 seven years and teaching writing for more than three decades. I work with writers according to your needs, making the most of your strengths and working at your direction. Because I am an author myself, I know you are looking for what an editor to 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.

"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!"

--More from RF, a happy Reedsy client

Languages
English (US)
Fiction
Anthologies
Cultural & Ethnic
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
Short Story
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Education & Reference
Writing & Publishing

Certifications

  • Editorial Freelancers Association Member
  • Alliance of Independent Authors Partner Member

Work experience

Editor, Writer

Self-employed
October, 2015 – Present (over 7 years)

I am an author of historical, biographical, literary fiction and short stories thus far, with plans for cozy mysteries and contemporary fiction 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.

Guest Lecturer

Grove City College
August, 2016 – December, 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.

Instructor of Writing

Veritas Academy Online
September, 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 Tutor, Writing Evaluator, Curriculum Developer

Writing Assessment Services
May, 1996 – June, 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.

Instructor of English

Florida State University, Auburn University, Tallahassee Community College, Los Positas College
August, 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 (16 selected works)

Red Bishop

Yuan, Robin T W

The Gift of the Seer

Laugheed, K.B.

IRON MEDICINE

Brady, Richard

Memories of the Rising Sun

McCune, Michaela

Cindy has 80 reviews

Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality

Ward Sanford
Cindy has been great to work with. She has stayed with us through a four book series. Her comments have been thorough and useful for greatly improving the final quality of our books. She has been very much worth the cost of her services.

Ward Sanford, March 2023

Cindy Marsch
It has been a pleasurable adventure following the ancient events with Ward's manuscripts, and I'm proud of what we've done together over the series.

Reply from Cindy Marsch


Evelyn Roland
Cindy was very punctual and professional. I had a great experience working with her!

Evelyn Roland, January 2023

Cindy Marsch
I have enjoyed working with Evelyn on two stages of her 19th-century crime/suspense/family novel, and she's been amazingly professional for someone her age!

Reply from Cindy Marsch


richard nelson
Cindy is frank and constructive in her manuscript review..she has given me sound advice in reframing my first novel.

richard nelson, January 2023

Cindy Marsch
I enjoyed working through Richard's fascinating novel based on his own experiences in the Pacific in the 20th century, and I hope my feedback will help him take this work (and its planned series) t...
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Reply from Cindy Marsch


Robert Rietz
I proposed a tight time frame with high expectations, and Cindy met them, and exceeded them in some cases. My MS is much improved, and I had thought it couldn't get much better. It did. Cindy made some rare comments on living conditions missionaries endured in China in 1950. Many editors would assume they knew the answer, and other editors would ignore the issue. Cindy drew attention to some ...
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Robert Rietz, January 2023

Cindy Marsch
It was a real pleasure to get this taste of Robert's fine story, and as I told him, I'd love to read the rest of it! I do hope we can work together again in the future.

Reply from Cindy Marsch


Michael McFadden
I did not favor the approach she uses. I could not see it working for me as described. In order to see it, I had to pay $100. Then that turned out to be a generic boilerplate and not even specific to my project.

Michael McFadden, January 2023

Cindy Marsch
I regret that Michael and I had some miscommunication about his project that was not remedied even with a paid small sample (1000 words feedback on a 3000-word portion) of the kind of report and fe...
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Reply from Cindy Marsch

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