Editing and Coaching Services
ABOUT ME
My mission is simple: I focus on helping authors develop a sustainable writing practice while bringing the books of their dreams to life.
As an author myself, I understand how invested you are in your work and how challenging this business can be—whether you’re planning to indie publish or have your heart set on a deal with a major house. I’m an Author Accelerator certified book coach, and bring a wealth of teaching, editing, and coaching experience to the table. My client-centered approach is informed by my undergraduate Psychology degree and my master’s degree in Family Studies and Human Services, as well as the many years I spent in the field of arts-focused community engagement. I’ve learned a lot along my journey, and it’s my pleasure to be able to pay it forward!
In my writing life, I’m the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romantic book club fiction, paranormal romance, and romantasy for adults and young adults. My first novel, The Memory Thief, was a Target Emerging Authors pick. My young adult dystopian romantasy series, The Seven Sins, was a two-time finalist for the Foreword INDIES Award, and has been recognized with the Moonbeam Award for best book series; Silver IPPY Award; North Carolina Indie Author Project Award; and as Indie Author Project Select Picks. My adult romantasy, Fate and Fury, won the 2024 Silver INDIES Award as well. I’ve been published by the Big Five and by a small press, and have indie published my work as well, giving me a diverse background on which to draw on when I work with clients.
In addition to my career as a novelist, I’ve served as an editor at small presses and magazines, and have been a freelance editor for over two decades, working with authors to help make their manuscripts shine. I was a 2017 Pitch Wars mentor, and am proud to share that my fantastic mentee landed a publishing deal. I was also a 2022 KissPitch co-mentor, and my wonderful mentee landed two six-figure deals after years in the querying trenches. I had the privilege of working with author Margarita Montimore on the manuscript of her book Oona Out of Order, which went on to become a Good Morning America Book Club Pick. Additionally, I'm a writing instructor for Authors Publish, where I enjoy working with an international group of writers to help them hone their prose. While I love my editing work, I gravitate toward the mentorship and ongoing support that I was able to provide through Pitch Wars and KissPitch, which is why I earned my book coach certification.
It’s my goal to demystify the world of writing and publishing, help authors make what’s on the page match the vision in their heads, and offer support at every step along the way, including:
- brainstorming ideas
- working through thorny plot issues
- finding the heart of your story
- overcoming frustration and falling in love with your book all over again
- honing setting, plot, character, dialogue, point of view, and other crucial elements
- polishing a manuscript and getting it ready to query
- discussing career crossroads
What Genres Are a Good Fit for Me?
I’m best suited to edit manuscripts (or provide consultation) in the following Adult, Young Adult, and New Adult genres:
- All subgenres of romance, including contemporary, romantasy, and paranormal romance
- Romantic suspense
- "Book club” fiction, including family sagas
- Fantasy/speculative
- Gothic
- Paranormal
- Dystopian
- Contemporary
I'm LGBTQIA+ friendly and enjoy working with diverse casts of characters.
I’m not a good fit for:
- Middle grade, chapter, or picture books
- Memoir or other non-fiction, including self-help
- Poetry
- Literary fiction
- Hard-core science fiction
- Faith-based manuscripts
What’s My Approach?
As a fellow writer, I know how close your manuscript is to your heart and how much it means to you. I approach all of my feedback with kindness and the goal of preserving your voice—helping your vision for your work shine through. My mission is to offer suggestions and guidance, giving you an involved, invested partner by your side as you move through the next phase of your writing process—whether that’s moving from idea to outline, outline to messy first draft, draft to polished revision, or revision to querying.
Work With Me
COACHING CALLS
Want to talk with me about craft, publishing, next steps in your career, the querying process, a particular project, or any other aspect of your writing life? Reach out to me and we can set up an appointment for a Zoom or phone conversation.
Coaching Calls: $75/hr
EDITING SERVICES
Line-by-Line Edit of 1st 50 Pages + Edit Letter
When it comes to grabbing an editor or agent’s attention, your first 50 pages are the most important pages of your novel. Here, I’ll take a look at whether I believe your novel begins in the right place, whether you’re capturing readers’ attention from the start, where your pacing might lag, if your beginning is back-story heavy, whether your conflict drives the story, and all of the other important aspects of what makes a novel’s opening pages shine. I’ll do a line-by-line edit of your first 50 pages, with feedback on what you’re doing well and where you can improve. Then, I’ll write an edit letter that summarizes my feedback on the big-picture level!
Cost: $.025 per word
Full Manuscript Edit
I’ll read the entire manuscript and then give you a comprehensive edit letter outlining the manuscript’s strengths, as well as suggestions for how to fix any areas that I believe need improvement (plot, setting, theme, dialogue, character, pacing, etc.). Though I will point out any consistent patterns or recurring habits/errors, I won’t do a line edit or mark up the manuscript the way I would with a full developmental edit.
Cost: $.0125/word
Full Manuscript Edit + Line-by-Line Edit of 1st 50 Pages
This option includes everything I provide with a full manuscript edit, plus a deluxe, line-by-line edit of the first fifty pages of your manuscript. I’ll read your whole manuscript and give you feedback on what’s working and what isn’t, as well as line-by-line feedback on the opening chapters (the most important chapters of the book, when it comes to grabbing an agent or editor’s attention). You can then take the feedback I’ve given you in the edit letter and the specific comments I’ve made on the first fifty pages and apply them to the rest of your manuscript. This is a great option if you’re budget-conscious and want to get the benefits of the manuscript assessment as well as the deeper insight of a developmental edit.
Cost: $0.025 per word for the first 50 pages. $0.0125 per word for the remainder of the manuscript.
Deluxe Developmental Manuscript Edit
This includes all services featured in the full manuscript edit, as well as line-by-line edits.
I'll provide a comprehensive read-through and line-by-line edit of the manuscript, with a focus on tone, plot, structure, character, setting, point of view, and story. I may make suggestions about how to strengthen the plot, clarify characters' motivations, heighten the stakes, improve dialogue, tighten prose, and make the overall story more believable or compelling. I may also suggest ways to restructure the story as a whole (i.e., opening the manuscript at a different point in time; altering point of view; collapsing several scenes into one; or altering the role that a given character plays). During a developmental edit, I will also point out obvious errors in language, grammar, or spelling. I typically make all of these editorial suggestions using MS Word's Track Changes function. Once my line-by-line edit is complete, I will write an edit letter to accompany the annotated manuscript, giving an overview of what I believe you did well (so important!) and what needs improvement, as well as actionable suggestions for how to make these changes.
Cost: $.025/word
Special Bonus
Clients who have completed my REVISE YOUR NOVEL package receive a 25% discount off a full or deluxe developmental manuscript edit.
Coaching Packages
Want a partner on your writing journey who will give you in-depth feedback on wherever you are right now—and help you reach the place you want to be? Someone to bounce ideas off, delve deeply into your creative process, work through writers’ block, discuss next steps in your career, help you find the heart of your novel-in-progress, or get ready to query? If this sounds like you, then my book coaching services might be the perfect fit to help you realize your dreams and find the path that’s right for you.
PLAN YOUR FIRST DRAFT
Are you ready to bring your novel to life? Do you want a clear roadmap and plan of action to guide you as you begin your first draft? Would you benefit from expert guidance on how to transform your story's spark into a captivating book? If your answer is yes, then this coaching package is tailored to support you every step of the way.
It includes:
- A 30-minute introductory video call to discuss your goals as a writer, your vision for your story, and where you are in the drafting process
- Six bi-weekly assignment deadlines
- Detailed biweekly feedback on your submitted assignments
- Six hour-long video coaching sessions following each deadline to provide additional in-depth discussion and insights
- Completion of Author Accelerator’s Blueprint for a Book, including the Inside Outline, which will take you through every step of your story
- For intuitive/discovery writers, the ability to adapt the Blueprint process according to your individual approach to storytelling
- Ongoing encouragement and accountability to keep you motivated and focused on your goals
By the time we wrap up, you’ll have the solid foundation you need to transform your story idea into a compelling first draft—and the confidence to make it happen! You’ll be ready to sit down and start drafting your story.
Commitment: 3 months
PLAN YOUR REVISION
Have you written the book of your heart, but it’s not resonating with agents or editors the way you dreamed? Maybe you’ve received feedback from industry professionals or readers that something’s not quite right, but you can’t put your finger on what that might be. Or maybe you’ve tried to revise your book, but no matter what you do, you can’t quite figure out the elusive ‘fix.’ Never fear; I’m here to help!
Over the course of three months, we'll work together to develop a robust plan to successfully revise your story. This package includes:
- A 30-minute introductory video call to discuss your writing goals, the challenges you’ve been facing with this manuscript, and where you’ve been feeling stuck
- Bi-weekly assignment deadlines (6 total)
- Detailed biweekly feedback on your submitted assignments
- Six 60-minute video coaching sessions following each deadline to provide additional in-depth discussion and insights
- Completion of Author Accelerator’s Blueprint for a Book, including the Inside Outline (which can be incredibly helpful when ‘reverse-engineering’ your book during a revision)
- Ongoing encouragement, feedback, and support
By the end of our time together, you’ll have the solid foundation you need to transform your manuscript into the book you always dreamed it could be—and the confidence to make it happen! You’ll be ready to sit down and start revising your story.
Commitment: 3 months
WRITE OR REVISE YOUR BOOK
Are you ready to take your story to the next level? Whether you’re diving into your first draft or refining a completed manuscript, this coaching package is designed to help you move forward with clarity and confidence. Would you benefit from structure and accountability when it comes to drafting or revising your work? Do deadlines motivate you to prioritize your writing? Would consistent, constructive feedback help you shape your story? If your answer is yes, then this package is perfect for you.
Over the course of our collaboration, you'll either begin drafting your novel or work on revising an existing draft with personalized guidance. Here’s what’s included:
- A 30-minute introductory video call to chat about your goals for this novel, the inspiration and challenges you’ve been facing, and your outline or plan. (If you don’t have a strong vision for your draft or revision, including character/plot work and/or an outline, consider the PLAN YOUR DRAFT or PLAN YOUR REVISION package.)
- Six biweekly deadlines for submitting up to 20 pages per session (a total of up to 120 pages over our 3 months together)
- Six 1-hour video coaching sessions following each deadline to provide in-depth discussion and insights
- In-depth biweekly feedback on your submitted pages, including both developmental and line edits, questions, comments, and actionable suggestions
- The opportunity to receive feedback on the previous session’s revisions, giving you confidence that you’re moving in a positive direction
- Ongoing encouragement and accountability to keep you motivated and focused on your draft or revision
- The option to extend coaching month-to-month after completing the initial package
By the end of our three months together, you'll have written or revised up to 120 pages of your manuscript, with actionable feedback and a clear plan for the next steps in your writing journey, as you move toward completing your draft or revision.
Commitment: 3 months
WRITE OR REVISE YOUR BOOK: DELUXE PACKAGE
Do you have the time, energy, and determination to write 20 pages per week? Are you motivated to dig deeply into your draft or revision, with the support of an experienced book coach? If you thrive on structure and accountability, and are ready to commit to an intensive drafting or revision process with weekly deadlines, then this package is the perfect fit for you.
Here's what it includes:
- A 30-minute introductory video call to chat about your writing goals and review your outline. (If you don’t have a strong vision for your draft or revision, including character/plot work and/or an outline, consider the PLAN YOUR DRAFT or PLAN YOUR REVISION package.)
- Twelve weekly deadlines for submitting up to 20 pages per session (a total of up to 240 pages over our 3 months together)
- Twelve 60-minute video coaching sessions following each deadline to provide in-depth discussion and insights
- Detailed weekly feedback on your submitted pages, including developmental edits, questions, and suggestions for improvement
- Ongoing encouragement and accountability to keep you motivated and focused on your goals
- The option to extend coaching month-to-month after completing the initial package
By the end of our three months together, you'll have written or revised up to 240 pages of your manuscript, with actionable feedback and a clear plan for the next steps in your writing journey.
Commitment: 3 months
POISED TO PITCH: THE PERSONALIZED PACKAGE
Do you have a polished manuscript that you’re ready to start pitching to agents and editors, but aren’t sure where to start? Does the querying process feel confusing and maybe even intimidating? Would you like expert guidance on creating a compelling, attention-grabbing query and synopsis—and a personalized strategy on how to approach the pitching process? If so, then this pitch package service is for you!
This package includes:
- A 30-minute introductory video call to discuss your publishing goals and learn more about your story. (If you’ve already completed my REVISE YOUR BOOK package, this video call will focus on where your book fits in the marketplace, as well as important elements to include in your query and synopsis, based on my understanding of your story.)
- Worksheets and insights on how to craft a pitch-ready query and synopsis,
- A line-by-line edit pass of your query letter, making sure it’s genre-appropriate, has a strong hook, and presents your book in an ideal way to appeal to agents and editors. After you incorporate my suggested changes, I’ll take a second look at the query to make sure it shines!
- Two edit passes on a 1-page synopsis of your story, making sure that the finished product is clear, dynamic, engaging, and has what it takes to grab an agent’s or editor’s attention. I’ll go line by line, addressing clarity of language as well as plot, character, theme, and pacing.
- A 60-minute video call to design a personalized pitching strategy, including where your book fits in the marketplace, how to find agents and editors who are an excellent fit for your book, and the most effective way to approach the querying and pitching process
You’ll come away from Poised to Pitch with a pitch-ready query and synopsis, as well as a personalized strategy for approaching agents and editors about your book.
Interested in one of my coaching packages?
Please reach out to me at info@emilycolin.com to discuss the approach that's right for you.
Testimonials
“Emily’s editorial guidance is remarkable and any writer's work is sure to benefit from her insights. Not only does she provide helpful feedback on a macro level, but also on a sentence level. Her fabulously thorough line edits enabled me tighten my story's pacing and improve the overall quality of my prose. I could not be more enthusiastic in recommending Emily's editorial services.”
—Margarita Montimore, Oona Out of Order, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick
“Let's start with the fact that Emily Colin is a terrific writer and storyteller--two things you definitely want in an editor. She spots weak characterizations, dubious motivations, and lackluster descriptions while offering suggestions that can help bring your writing to life. But her real strength lies in her ability to identify problem areas in your manuscript, especially issues with plotting and pacing. She's helped me refine a published short story and shape a full-length novel that I'm about to send out for submission. She's the plot monkey on my back, and I'm glad she's there. Generous with her time. Overflowing with patience. Emily will help you be the writer you want to be.”
—John Klekamp, Emmy award-winning reporter and YA author of “Over Time” (Unbound: Stories of Transformation, Love, and Monsters, Five Points Press)
“In much the same way Michelangelo confronted a piece of marble, Emily Colin has the uncanny ability to look at unpolished manuscript and discern its ultimate form. With a keen eye for language and character, she will help you chip away at excess to reveal the beating heart of the true narrative within. Emily helped me to cut away bloat and pinpoint each character’s motivation. She is a pure joy to work with and I credit her 100% for breathing the life back into my writing process.”
—Lisa Amowitz, Moonbeam-award-winning author of Breaking Glass and Until Beth
Want to Work Together?
If you’re interested in working with me, please email me at info@emilycolin.com with the details of your manuscript, including genre, word count, and any marketing copy you’re able to provide (such as a synopsis or hook). If you don’t have the latter, that’s fine—having it will just help me get a better sense of your project. Please also let me know what kind of time frame you have in mind. I’ll then write back and let you know if we’ll be a good fit, as well as what my current schedule looks like.
If you’re interested in a developmental edit and we haven’t worked together before, I can edit the first five pages of your manuscript free of charge to make sure our styles mesh.
For coaching services, please reach out so we can discuss the investment in your writing career that's right for you.
I look forward to hearing from you and helping you make your writing shine!