An in-depth assessment of a completed draft novel or memoir, focusing on “big picture” elements such as character, plot, setting, and theme. You will get a detailed critique letter as well as in-text line edits. Includes an hour-long meeting with me to discuss your project and goals.

Less intensive than a developmental edit, a manuscript critique is designed to give you a bird’s eye view of what is working in your draft and identify areas for further exploration. You will get written feedback and writing prompts designed to guide your revision process. Includes an hour-long meeting with me to discuss your project and goals.

Once your project is in its final stages, I can help you with sentence-level editing to improve your writing and ensure your manuscript looks polished and professional. You will get in-text line edits and helpful comments on grammar, sentence and paragraph structure, word choice, and other topics.

As an attorney and mother of two, I know how hard it is to make room in your life for creative work. I can help you define and achieve your goals, whether that means a daily writing practice, a memoir for your friends and family, or traditional publication. I bring to all my work with writers my experience as a former assistant to literary agents. If you are new to the business of writing, I can help demystify the process. We can discuss how to write a book proposal and query agents, what it’s like when your manuscript goes on submission, the many paths to publication, and common provisions in publishing contracts.

I provide editorial feedback on shorter pieces such as articles, essays, short stories, query letters, proposals and synopses. You will get written feedback on what is working in your draft, suggestions for improvement, and in-text edits. Includes an hour-long meeting with me to discuss your project, goals, and potential comp titles.

Contact me to discuss how I can help you achieve your writing goals. If applicable, please tell me about your writing project, including genre (fiction or nonfiction), word count, and desired turnaround time.

“Sarah is my favorite kind of writing collaborator: deeply thoughtful, knowledgeable, and candid. Before offering developmental questions and suggestions for improvement, Sarah first took time to understand the why behind my novel. Her feedback was generative versus overly prescriptive, which I appreciated. Aside from helping me deepen the more significant themes and threads throughout the book, Sarah’s eye has helped me recognize some of my “writer’s foibles” —those technical things you don’t often see in your own work. The result is a tighter manuscript that I’m thrilled to query.”

—Kim Tidwell, Writer, Editor, and Creative Strategist

“Sarah’s close attention to character, structure, and theme helped me see my draft novel so much more clearly. She had helpful, succinct suggestions for bringing about the change I was hoping to achieve, and her encouragement and support bolstered me so that I felt I didn’t have to embark on the daunting process of editing alone.”

—Katie Zdybel, Author of Equipoise (Exile Editions, 2021), shortlisted for HarperCollins/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction.

“Sarah’s critical eye and line editing skills have helped me know when a story is ready for submission. I appreciate her insightful feedback on character development and plot as well as grammar. Working with Sarah is always a great experience.”

—Jim Weber, author of The Marker and other stories

Sarah is incredibly adept at drawing connections within a narrative’s expanse and relating the threads to each other in a way that makes reading her edits a total pleasure. Her ability to be hyper present for the written word is a superpower. Her insights led to connections in my writing that I would have never otherwise seen. Sarah’s feedback inspires and encourages me to be more thoughtful in my writing. Sarah is truly a gift as a collaborator and editor.

—Fiore Tedesco, Chef/Restaurant Owner and Writer

Sarah is an incredibly deft, skillful, and compassionate editor, and I cannot recommend her highly enough. I have worked with Sarah as an editor for both my fiction and nonfiction projects, from flash length to hundreds of pages, and have consistently found her feedback invaluable. Whether I am in the early developmental stages of a project or in need of final line edits, Sarah’s combined ability to step back and observe what is working in a piece overall and her keen eye for fine detail make her my first choice for editorial feedback. Moreover, Sarah is a deeply considerate and compassionate person with whom I have trusted writing about some of my most sensitive subject matter, and her feedback has always been tender without losing its sharp editorial eye. Sarah has edited short stories that I’ve published in literary magazines including Electric Literature, Epiphany, Tahoma Literary Review, and The Offing, and I am tremendously grateful I’ve had the opportunity to work with her. 

—Mark Bessen, author of Four Endings to a Grindr Romance and other stories