What you will get:
A letter going over the strengths and weaknesses of your manuscript, with suggestions on how to improve it and how to submit it for publication.
An hour long critique (in person if possible, or over the phone), with suggestions on how to acquire an agent and/or editor.
I ask that you send your manuscript to me just as you would send it to an agent or editor: With a title page, including your address, telephone number, etc. The manuscript should be double-spaced, printed on one side only, and the pages should be numbered. Please include a word count.
My base fee for a manuscript consultation is $400. This includes reviewing manuscripts of up to 100 pages. For longer manuscripts I charge approximately $4.00/page. If I feel that your manuscript will require more time after I see it, I will let you know before I proceed with the work
If you are interested, please contact me.
After many years of editing for numerous presses, I now work freelance, allowing me more time for my own writing. The presses I have worked for include:
The Village Voice:
Proofreader, copy-editor, 1981-83
Simon & Schuster:
Manuscript consultant, copy-editor, 1983-85
Graywolf Press:
Editor, 1986-88
The Creative Company,
a children's press:
Editor, 1995-2000
Mid-List Press:
Freelance Editor, 2002-present
I have also done freelance work for Coffeehouse Press and Milkweed Editions.
Since 1977, I have taught classes at The Loft in poetry, suspense, and the business of writing. I also taught in the Master of Liberal Studies program at Hamline University for several years. Many of my students have gone on to publish books, including National Book Award winner Pete Hautman (Godless) and Minnesota Book Award winner William Kent Krueger (Boundary Waters).