Terri Bischoff – Editor

I’m a developmental editor with over ten years of experience specializing in crime fiction, LGBTQIA+, and women’s lit. Occasionally I do YA and query letters. I have been an acquiring editor for over ten years. At my previous position, I acquired and developmentally edited between 36 and 40 book per year. Before I entered publishing, I owned a mystery bookstore for five years and had over ten years working in bookstores.

In a developmental edit, I will point out problems with the plot, pace, character motivation and give you guidance how to beef up or cut the fat. I look for word choice, repeated phrases, and sentence structure. I work electronically, and will make track changes and comments in the document as well as an overview letter explaining what you need to work on and what is working well. While I don’t do a line edit, I will point out grammatical issues along the way.

In a manuscript evaluation, I look for major structural and content issues. This is not as intensive as a developmental edit. Consider it as a last look before submitting to agents and editors.

I can usually turn projects around in 1-2 weeks.