Overview
I have worked as a freelance editor since 2015, with a resume that includes literary fiction, sci-fi/fantasy, LGBTQ+ literature, romance, mystery/thrillers, academic publications, and film and television. I work with indie authors, small presses, and traditional publishers across the editing spectrum, from developmental and content work to proofreading and query review. I am also the copyeditor of the International Journal of Islamic Architecture.
My clients range from experienced, award-winning authors, to new writers looking for guidance through the editing process, and include Pulitzer Prize nominees, indie professionals, first-time fantasy authors, family historians, and film critics.
A writer myself, with a Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh, I'm currently working on an LGBTQ+ novel set in 1980s Aotearoa. I'm passionate about editing—I want to help authors create something of which they can be proud.
I believe that a good editor works to strengthen the voice of the author and the power of the manuscript.
Services
Fiction
Fantasy
Historical Romance
LGBTQ Fiction
Literary Fiction
Science Fiction
Women's Fiction
Non-Fiction
LGBTQ Non-Fiction
Languages
English (AUS)
English (CAN)
English (NZ)
English (UK)
English (US)
Work experience
Self-employed
Oct, 2015 —
Present
Editing: Copy and content editing on fiction and non-fiction manuscripts accepted for publication, including novels, novellas, short stories, and journal articles. Work closely with established and first-time authors to improve structure, dialogue, grammar, and syntax in accordance with in-house style guides and genre writing conventions. Experience with literary fiction, horror, sci-fi/fantasy, mystery/thrillers, romance/erotica, LGBTQ+ fiction, and academic manuscripts.
Proofreading: Grammar, syntax, spelling/punctuation, and formatting for e-book and print publication. Experience with British and American spelling and grammar, and multiple style guides (CMoS, MLA, APA, AP, Harvard).
Writing: Suggest changes in manuscripts. Advise the author on additional dialogue, scenes, pacing, structure, and maintaining character voice. Work with authors in creating new scenes.
Hamilton College
Sep, 2012 —
Oct, 2015
(about 3 years)
Teaching: Taught academic and creative writing to international and multilingual students at Hamilton College’s ESOL Center. Provided one-on-one tutorials, grammar instruction for non-English speakers. Coached workshops on spoken English, grammar, syntax, and academic jargon for first year students in the ESOL program.
Academic Writing and Literacy: Guided students in proper use of APA, AP, CMoS, and MLA citation styles. Edited and proofread academic papers, dissertations, creative writing assignments, grant applications, and cover letters.
Program Development: Co-wrote ESOL Handbook, a guide for ESOL students to navigate academic language, grammar, and thesis writing. Developed workshop guidelines, exercises, and schedules. Wrote student progress reports for each academic term. Bi-annual analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the current ESOL program, with suggestions for improvement.
Portfolio
There is a house deep in the bayous outside of New Orleans where reality itself is often more a suggestion than a rule. There, the ghosts of Louisiana drift amidst the cypress roots, thick as ... read more
Developmental Editing
Copy Editing
Developmental Editing
Copy Editing
From the author of Adelaide comes a bittersweet, deeply felt story that follows the start and unraveling of a seemingly unbreakable bond between two young women.Lina and June’s friendship shou... read more
Copy Editing
Finding Baba Yaga is a mythic yet timely novel-in-verse by the beloved and prolific New York Times bestselling author and poet Jane Yolen, “the Hans Christian Andersen of America” (Newsweek).A... read more
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Proofreading
Rogue Protocol is the third entry in Martha Wells's Hugo, Nebula, Alex, and Locus Award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling series, The Murderbot Diaries.Starring a human-like an... read more
Copy Editing
Editorial Assessment
A TIME 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time A Time Magazine Best Fantasy Book of 2018 L. Penelope's Song of Blood & Stone is a treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a ... read more
Copy Editing
Master storyteller Viktor Wynd is back with a gloriously grim collection of wickedly entertaining tales from around the world, guaranteed to tickle the darker side of the imagination.Viktor Wy... read more
Copy Editing
Proofreading
Celestial beings and human witches clash for the future of the human and fairy worlds in Paul Cornell's Last Stand in Lychford. There are changes in the air, both in Lychford and in the land o... read more
Copy Editing
History and myth collide in Nathan Makaryk's Lionhearts, a riveting story of vengeance, redemption and war, perfect for fans of Game of Thrones.All will be well when King Richard returns . . .... read more
Copy Editing
Proofreading
What paths do we take to end up where we are? And how do they shape the person we become? Zeeba Ansari's debut novel, The Hut, explores these questions as it follows the fortunes of a young ma... read more
Developmental Editing
A genetically engineered colony on a new world. A baby born different than everyone else. A mother who will do anything to save him. On planet Eamine, twenty-one-year-old Alina must protect her baby when Mandin is born with a remarkable DNA anomaly. The colony... read more
UNANIMITY is a literary, sci-fi novel for the fans of Becky Chambers's A Closed and Common Orbit, Alex Garland's DEVS and Ex Machina, and Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror. Weaving near-future sc... read more
Developmental Editing
A former Department of Homeland Security analyst takes a long view on the domestic terrorism threat from radicalized individuals and hate groups of various ideologies.America is a land in whic... read more
Copy Editing
An outcast teenage lesbian witch finds her coven hidden amongst the popular girls in her school, and performs some seriously badass magic in the process. Skulking near the bottom of West High’... read more
Copy Editing
'Under Palombo’s skillful hand, the entangled world of the Borgias comes vividly to life, exposing the dark facets of class structure and the all-consuming greed that comes with ambition--and ... read more
Copy Editing
Part memoir and part social critique, Drinking Games is about how one woman drank and lived — until sobriety freed her.On paper, Sarah Levy’s life looked like it was perfect. She was 28, livin... read more
Copy Editing
Bestselling British master of science fiction Adrian Tchaikovsky brings readers a new, mind-expanding science fantasia in The Expert System's BrotherAfter an unfortunate accident, Handry is fo... read more
Copy Editing
“An elegant, elegiac examination of identity, fictionality, God and humanity itself”—Tamsyn MuirA multilayered, locked-room science fiction novella from Paul Cornell in which five digital bein... read more
Copy Editing
Corrections in Ink is an electric and unforgettable memoir about a young woman's journey—from the ice rink, to addiction and a prison sentence, to the newsroom—emerging with a fierce determina... read more
Copy Editing
Corey J. White concludes his pulse-pounding space opera in Static Ruin. As the most wanted voidwitch in the galaxy has no place left to run―except back to those who created her.She killed the ... read more
Copy Editing
PRISM AWARD-WINNING AUTHORA superb, standalone adventure in Leanna Renee Hieber's groundbreaking, critically acclaimed Strangely Beautiful series, full of passion and power. From childhood, Vi... read more
Copy Editing
Lauren has 158 reviews
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Most recent contributions
What common dialogue pitfalls do you often encounter in fiction, and how can writers avoid them?
I think there are two: overtagging/interruptions, and on-the-nose dialogue.
Overtagging is less about the dialogue itself and more about what's going on around the dialogue. This includes tagging every line with a verbal tag (said, shouted, whispered, asked, etc.) or action/detail, and interrup...
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Do editors ever experience genre fatigue?
Absolutely. I've spent a good bit of my career working in romance, fantasy, and sci-fi novels, which I adore working on! But reading many similar characters and plot beats can get exhausting. I try to spread out my genres where possible, working in different milieus and seeking out projects that ...
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