First Reader Editing
I offer one-on-one developmental editing services for manuscripts and book proposals. As fit between an editor an a project is monumentally important, however, I am very selective about taking on projects. If you would like to explore the possibility of whether I would be a good fit for yours, please e-mail a 1-paragraph description of your project, as well as brief indications of the book category, your target market, submission history, and any deadlines that might be hanging over the project to me at anne@annemini (dot) com.
Please do not send me your query letter, synopsis, or any portion of your manuscript or book proposal unless I specifically request it. If you have general questions about writing, querying, submission, etc., that you would like for me to answer on a one-on-one basis, rather than addressing as questions on my blog, please e-mail me to book online or telephone consultation time (see below).
Please allow lead time for scheduling: I am generally booked up months in advance for book-length projects. I do maintain a waiting list for unexpected openings; they sometimes turn up with very little advance notice, so it’s always worth asking.
If I am not the right editor for your project, I might be able to steer you toward a good fit elsewhere. If you are interested in a recommendation, please provide me with — wait for it — the book category, intended target market, and a one-paragraph summary of your project.
Mini Consults
Sometimes, it’s just helpful to talk about your book with someone who reads manuscripts for a living. Since so many Author! Author! readers asked for it, I also now answer writing questions and give professional feedback on marketing materials, such as queries, synopses, and book proposals in pre-scheduled telephone appointments. While this is not a substitute for full-scale editing, many of my clients have found Mini Consults effective in tackling seemingly intractable literary problems.
If you would be interested in learning more about this service, please e-mail a 1-paragraph description of your project, the book category, your target market, submission history (if any), and deadline requirements to me at anne@annemini (dot) com.
All other questions
Part of my purpose in setting up this website is to provide as much information about the writing life and publication process as possible to aspiring writers, as well as providing a forum for creating community amongst writers at all levels. To that end, I am always happy to answer questions posted by readers, provided that the questions are general enough to be of interest to all.
Please post these questions as comments on the blog, rather than sending them to the e-mail address above. If I answer a question via e-mail, it helps one person; if I answer it on the blog, it’s available for everyone. Also, it’s substantially more time-consuming for me to respond one at a time to similar questions.
Please be aware, however, that due to heavy demand, I can no longer answer readers’ requests for free manuscript-specific advice or personal writing career guidance that are sent to me through this forum. If I answered all of the questions I receive individually, answering my e-mail alone would be a full-time job!
Also, I’ve covered a great deal of material on this blog over the years, so if you check the category list at right or run a search in the box in the upper-right corner, you may find the answer you are seeking more quickly than asking me directly. The archives remain posted for a reason, and that reason is to help writers!