Elayne Becker – Editor

As a former “Big Five” editor and a published author represented by CAA, I have always been passionate about the written word. Few things feed my soul as much as diving into a manuscript and working with writers to hone and strengthen their craft, so that the final product on the page reflects the vision in their heads. After working for several years as an editor at Tor Books and a publishing manager at an indie press, I now partner with new authors outside Reedsy every month as a freelance editor. Through my 10+ years in publishing, I've garnered extensive industry knowledge and editorial expertise that enables me to offer a variety of services for the manuscript revision and submission preparation stages.

With a passion for speculative fiction, I specialize in fantasy (including romantasy, historical fantasy, and epic fantasy), science fiction*, magical realism, and climate fiction across age categories.

SERVICES OFFERED:

- DEVELOPMENTAL EDIT: I provide an editorial letter, on average 6-10 pages in length, with feedback to help strengthen your manuscript as a whole. Categories I examine commonly include plot, pacing, characterization, worldbuilding, romance, and magic systems.

- QUERY REVIEW: I provide feedback on the conceptual and in-line levels to help you perfect your query letter. (Includes two rounds of edits.)

- SYNOPSIS REVIEW: I provide feedback on the conceptual and in-line levels to help you hone your synopsis. (Includes two rounds of edits.)

- COMPLETE SUBMISSION PACKAGE REVIEW: In addition to editing your query letter and synopsis, I provide feedback on the first three chapters of your manuscript. Note that this service includes two rounds of feedback on the query and synopsis and one round of feedback on the chapters.

*Note that the science fiction manuscripts I've edited have not yet been published, so you won't see this genre reflected in my portfolio. That said, rest assured my tenure at a premier SFF publisher and my ongoing editorial work have given me a thorough understanding of how to edit SF.

TESTIMONIALS:

“Elayne is an editing whiz at every level and super knowledgeable about the publishing industry. Her guidance not only set me on a path to write a much stronger manuscript, but also helped me grow as a writer."

—Carli J. Corson, author of It’s a Love/Skate Relationship

“Elayne’s ability to crawl inside a story and pull all the threads together is astounding. Her skill, her instinct, and her innate talent are obvious.”

—Jillian Boehme, author of Stormrise

“I am extraordinarily grateful for Elayne’s guidance on my manuscripts. She caught sight of my vision, the heart behind the words, and worked with me to refine, sharpen, and distill each element so that I might best tell the story I longed to tell.”

—Joanna Hathaway, author of Dark of the West

“I can’t recommend Elayne enough! Her creative eye is unmatched, her notes always thought-provoking and transformative. She’s one of the best I’ve ever worked with!"

—Erika Lewis, author of the Kelcie Murphy series