Word Sleuth

Editing crime fiction, thrillers, horror, fantasy, and unusual literature

Novel Editing

I primarily function as a developmental editor for genre fiction and other literary projects. This means I will attend to all Big Picture aspects of your story. What does that include? See below.

Developmental Edit

Areas of Investigation

  • Analyzing your story’s structure and offering suggestions for its improvement;

  • Observing your characters and making sure they are properly motivated, plumbed for all their dramatic worth, and have character arc when necessary;

  • Putting your use of narrative voice and Point of View under the microscope and making sure it’s consistent and strategically sound;

  • Auditing your language to be sure you don’t overuse certain words or fall into overly repetitive sentence structures;

  • Making sure your descriptions are vivid and cliche-free;

  • Ensuring your dialogue reads naturally, proper dialogue tags are used, and that there’s a good ratio of dialogue to prose;

  • Focusing on your book’s all-important opening pages, where publishing professionals and Amazon book browsers will make their decisions.

You will get an editorial letter of 5000 – 8000 words (15-20 pages) that will detail my blueprint for a substantial revision. The letter won’t just include a diagnostic examination of your manuscript, it will have bullet point suggestions for revision and how to improve on all that you are doing well.

It’s not just corrections and criticism. I work creatively with you to make the manuscript better.

In addition to the letter, you will also get notes in the margins done in Word, supporting all the aspects of craft mentioned above.

My rate for developmental editing is 2.5 - 5 cents a word, depending on the scope of the work.

“Matt is a genius. I thought that he was helping me develop the plot of my first novel, but he did much more. He was developing me as a novice author at the same time.”

— Evan J. Corbin, Award-winning author of Atonement Camp

NON-FICTION EDITING: Many of the problems of the novelist also crop up in non-fiction. The best non-fiction manuscripts also have strong narrative elements. This includes auto-biography and especially memoir-writing (I have a strong personal interest in memoirs). True crime, investigative deep dives, and travel books are also welcome.

“I thank my editor, Matt Ellis, who made the book what it is now and for helping me navigate the odysseys of writing.”
— Vicky Pinpin Feinstein, author of A Thousand Little Deaths

Other Editing For Fiction and Non-Fiction

Copy Editing

The nuts and bolts of editing, I’ll cut text and fix grammar, spelling, and usage issues. Moreover, I’ll attend to problems with tone, wordiness, confusing syntax, and the overall flow of your text.

My rate for Copy Editing is 2.5 cents a word.

Line Editing

As a line editor, I will polish your sentences: correcting grammar, substituting overused words, making the language more efficient by cutting excess words and text — allowing your language to sing.

My rate for Line Editing is 2.5 cents/word.

FAQs

  • It begins with the end result. If you want to self-publish, you’ll want a developmental edit, a copy edit, and a proofread. If you are submitting to agents and/or publishers, a developmental edit will be the best option.

  • With editing, I ask for half up front, half at the end, payable through Paypal or Wise. Manuscript critiques are paid all at once before commencement of work. I don’t accept schemes where I would take a share of any future royalty.

  • Yes. I create bespoke submission lists of agents and publishers for clients. It’s up to you to submit the work — I am not an agent — but I can help you with things like a cover letter and synopsis.