Oksana Marafioti

Oksana Marafioti – Editor

I'm a bestselling and award-winning author, teacher, and editor. I love books and writers!

Overview

I’m a bestselling and award-winning memoirist, teacher, and editor with a passion for books and writers.


While I write full-time, my true calling is teaching. Over the years, I've helped hundreds of writers improve their craft, reach their goals, and fall in love with their narratives, making me the perfect editing partner. I embrace the editing process and find joy in bringing stories to life. My mission is to help other writers reach their potential.


I have extensive experience in the writing and editing industry, specializing in developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading. Fluent in three languages, I’m comfortable working with non-native English speakers and can ghostwrite. My punctuality and ability to meet deadlines are influenced by my experience homeschooling my kids, one of whom started college at sixteen.


I work hard for my writers because I believe that if you've come this far in your writing journey, you have something important to say. Your voice deserves to be heard.


As a college English/Literature professor, I also teach creative writing courses and host professional writer talks at a writing studio I founded in 2016.


Here’s a brief overview of the three types of editing services I offer:


Developmental Editing focuses on the overall structure and content of a manuscript, addressing plot, character development, theme, pacing, and narrative flow. It involves analyzing the story's structure, coherence, and impact, and offering suggestions for reorganization, expansion, or reduction of content. The goal is to refine and enhance the core elements of the story to create a strong, cohesive, and engaging narrative.


Copy/Line Editing is a meticulous process that focuses on grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax, and language consistency. It improves sentence structure, clarity, and readability, addressing issues like redundancy, awkward phrasing, and tone inconsistencies. The aim is to polish the manuscript to a high standard of readability and linguistic precision. If you're happy with your story, plot, and characters and just need an overall polish of the prose, Copy Editing is for you.


Proofreading is the final editing stage. It focuses on identifying and correcting surface-level errors, including typos, misspellings, punctuation mistakes, and formatting inconsistencies. It ensures the manuscript is error-free and professionally presented, providing a final check before publication or submission.


*If budget constraints pose a challenge, I am open to collaborating to make our partnership more financially feasible.


Drop me a line, and let's talk!

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Fiction
Cultural & Ethnic Literary Fiction Romance Short Story Urban Fantasy Young Adult
Languages
English (US)
Awards
  • Library of Congress Kluge Center Research Fellowship
  • Picador Professorship Award for Distinguished Writing
  • Nevada Arts Council Grant
  • National Endowment for the Arts
Certifications
  • MFA in Creative Writing

Work experience

Netflix

Jan, 2022 — Present

University of Leipzig, Germany

Aug, 2020 — May, 2021 (9 months)

Guest Professorship for Literature Award.

Self-employed

May, 2016 — Present

Lounge Writers is a creative writing studio where writers of all levels can come together to enhance their craft. I believe that meaningful interactions with like-minded people enrich the story-telling process and help creativity thrive. Our workshops, lectures, classes, and panels are led by professional and award-winning writers. I personally design and teach some of the classes, focusing on every aspect of the craft, from outlining to polishing. As part of our services, I also provide multi-level editing services to writers in various genres. I work closely with my clients to help them reach their goals. You can find us at loungewriters dot com.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Aug, 2015 — May, 2017 (over 1 year)

Central European University, Critical Romani Studies Journal

May, 2015 — Present

My task as a co-editor of the special issue of the Critical Romani Studies Journal is to compile a list of short stories written by authors (many of them also academics) from all over the world. To ensure the highest quality of writing, I'm personally involved in all levels of the editing process, from developmental edits to proofreading. A large number of authors aren't native English speakers. My multilingual and editorial backgrounds allow me to efficiently work on grammar, syntax, semantics, and content assessment with this group of highly accomplished professionals.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

May, 2013 — Present

Library of Congress

Aug, 2012 — May, 2013 (9 months)

A Kluge Fellowship award recipient.

Farrar, Straus, & Giroux

Apr, 2009 — Present

Portfolio

Maria reveals her powerful and extraordinary story. Without realizing what she was doing, Rice created hell on earth before finding the strength and power to overturn all the negatives in her life. As she discovered tantra, yoga, and meditation, she was able t... read more
Jesus, the Egypt years is about how the holy family survived in Egypt when they're there. They're in Egypt for three and half years and during these times baby Jesus is growing up. In the story, we follow the holy family through their journeys in Egypt. we exp... read more
Imago Dei

Thomas, Paul

Devil Overlords

Murdock, Cara

A compelling collection of essays providing a comprehensive vision of immigration to the United States in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries—the indispensable companion to Immigrant Voices.Filled with moving narratives by authors from around the wor... read more
Experience the “Real Las Vegas” Through Writings About ReinventionIn a wide-ranging anthology that moves from the ancient artists of southern Nevada who carved petroglyphs into rock walls to contemporary family trauma, 10 Las Vegas essayists examine the weight... read more
The Perpetual Engine of Hope, a collection of short stories inspired by vintage Las Vegas photographs, takes you on an epic journey from the heyday of the mob era to a dystopian future of dashed dreams. No matter the genre, from crime noir to horror, psycholog... read more
When we speak of grey as a location, placing a thing into a grey area, the color represents territory where the definite becomes lost. Grey lets us know that the truth is not always clear; even the most well-known paths can turn strange when a low grey cloud o... read more
When a team of ghost hunters goes rogue, Olivia Stone, rookie federal agent, is dispatched to investigate. What starts off as a simple assignment quickly turns into a job from hell. Literally. Not only does Olivia join the ghost hunters in a battle against mur... read more
A vivid and funny memoir about growing up Gypsy and becoming AmericanFifteen-year-old Oksana Marafioti is a Gypsy. This means touring with the family band from the Mongolian deserts to the Siberian tundra. It means getting your hair cut in "the Lioness." It al... read more

Oksana has 28 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Nicholas D.

Nicholas D.

Sep, 2024

Oksana was great to work with. She communicated quickly and clearly, and exceeded my expectations. I felt like she really understood my vision for my work and spent a lot of time reading and engaging with it. She suggested many avenues that I could explore to make my writing even better, from overall themes, imagery that I could expand upon throughout, and line level edits that made my sentence...
Read more
Oksana M.
Thanks, Nicholas!. Any story set in Vegas is fascinating to read, especially when the writing is as good as yours!
Steve M.

Steve M.

Aug, 2024

Oksana was flexible and dropped the price and shortened the dates when I decided to go with a shorter version of my book than what I’d originally requested the bid for. I’m still digesting her input/feedback, and that is a positive thing. She provided helpful next steps for my writing growth. Some of it should be relatively simple to execute, while other lessons will probably take me a couple...
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Oksana M.
It was such a pleasure reading your story, Steve. Can't wait to see it in print!
Joshua C.

Joshua C.

Aug, 2024

Thorough, professional, and incredibly helpful. I couldn't be happier with the work she put in to making my manuscript better!
Oksana M.
Thank you, Joshua. I loved this ms so much. Wonderful writer and a wonderful story!
Sheron B.

Sheron B.

Jul, 2024

Patient and very professional. Oksana made great suggestions for tightening up my storyline.
Sheron B.

Sheron B.

Feb, 2024

My overall experience with Oksana was excellent. I hired her for editorial guidance on the dark romance series I am developing. She explained her process: All edits are received upon completion of the manuscript, not by chapter. Handing over my work for editing was the most challenging part of the process. As she edited the manuscript, I began outlining the next story in my dark romance series....
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