Sarah Beck – Editor

Sarah specializes in developmental editing for picture books under 1,000 words. A developmental edit is a key first step before submitting your book to an agent or publisher, or preparing to self-publish your work. During this process, Sarah will work to assesses your entire picture book manuscript on two levels—the big picture and the line level.

A developmental edit starts at the big picture level—is your story working? Are you hitting the necessary story beats? What about your overall character development and tone? Sarah will review the strengths and weaknesses of your picture book, focusing on elements of craft.

Big picture feedback includes:

-Plot

-Pacing

-Character development

-Hook

-Ideas on pitch/marketing

Line edits are a deep dive into your text. Here, we make sure each sentence and even each word is working to make your story the best that it can be.

Line editing includes:

-Word choice

-Sentence structure

-Flow

-Grammar

Developmental editing services are not proofreading services, but Sarah is able to refer clients to recommended copy editors. The services listed above are for text-only picture book manuscripts and do not include illustration feedback.

This service is exclusive to picture books, both those written in prose and written in metered verse.

Please note that Sarah provides independent editing services that are not associated with any specific publisher. Working with Sarah does not guarantee any offers of publication or representation.