You+Me+Your Manuscript = a Team, and teams stick together.
🧙♀️ I’m the story whisperer, and I’m here to help.
Passion for stories. That’s what drives me, and it’s why I do what I do. Nothing gets me more excited than falling in love with characters (or hating them, whichever floats the story’s boat), exploring worlds, and hanging on while conflicts rip everything apart.
As far as things I put on my resume, they include an MFA in Popular Fiction (Seton Hill University) and a BA in Psychology (Merrimack College), as well as 10+ years of reviewing, blogging, and otherwise working with books. If you want the full list, you can check me out on Linkedin, but my professional credentials are only the foundation of what I bring as an editor. Need help untangling story threads? I’m here. Want to make sure every line shines? I’ve got your back. Feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about your writing? I’ve been there, and I’m here to tell you no story mountain can’t be climbed. You, me, and your story—we’re a team, and teams stick together.
As the story whisperer, I tailer my discussions in terms of how much feedback you want. From beta reading to manuscript evaluations, to full-blown developmental editing, there’s a service for your place in the writing process and your budget.
I’m open to discussing most genre fiction, including works with literary-genre crossover. My specialties lie in the following:
- Fantasy (including “doorstopper” epics, romantasy, fairy tales, superheroes, contemporary)
- Science fiction (including soft scifi, dystopians, scifi romance)
- Young adult/Middle grade (including adventure, scifi/fantasy/paranormal, mystery)
- Mystery (including cozies, fantasy/paranormal, quirky)
- Romance (including all steam levels, fantasy/paranormal/scifi, suspense–contact me to discuss triggers if you think you have some)
If you don’t see your genre but think we’d be a good fit, I’m always up to discuss other stuff. Email me at mary@kitnkabookle.com. As a side note, if you’ve got pop culture references, uniquely amazing magic/technology, or an eccentric but lovable cast of secondary characters (or primary characters—multiple POVs are very much my thing), I’m your girl. I love whimsical and fun as much as I love lyrical and dark, and all the stuff in-between.
👓 Beta Reading
Looking for some “reader” feedback to see how people might react to your story? Then, a beta read is what you want. With this service, I’ll leave comments throughout the manuscript tracking my emotional responses—including theories about where things are going, moments that I absolutely love, and confusing things that interrupt my reading experience. I’ll also give some general feedback about the overall story and writing as a more bird’s eye view of the manuscript.
Rate: $2 USD/1000 words for projects 40,000 words and up.
For shorter projects or to ask about my beta reading service, shoot me an email at mary@kitnkabookle.com.
📖 Alpha Reading
So, we’ve talked about beta reading. Well, alpha reading (which could also be called a manuscript evaluation/assessment) is beta reading’s cousin once removed. If your manuscript is a bit earlier on in the process but you’re still looking to see if your story hits home for the genre, tone, plot, etc., you’re looking for an alpha read. Think of it as a beta read with an editorial angle. I’ll give you my opinion as if I were a reader picking this up off the shelf while also offering feedback about how to make the story align (or cleverly subvert) with reader expectations, genre conventions, and general reception. Plus, I’ll perform a line edit on a portion of the text (5k for works under 50k, 10k for works above that). The writing is just as important as the story, and I’ll help make sure your style is unique, clear, and a good fit for the tone of the tale.
Rate: $5 USD/1000 words for projects 40,000 words and up.
For shorter projects or to ask about my alpha reading service, shoot me an email at mary@kitnkabookle.com.
🖊️ Developmental Editing
Looking to bring your manuscript length up several ten thousand words to really flesh things out? Or feel your story is a rudderless ship drifting through the ocean? Developmental editing is the service for you. This process involves a deep dive into the big-picture elements of the story (plot, characterization, conflict, etc.) as well as the writing to figure out what’s not working, where the trouble spots are, and (perhaps most importantly) how to bring everything together into one fully functioning piece.
Rate: $0.02 USD/word for projects 20,000 words and up.
For shorter projects or to ask about my developmental editing service, shoot me an email at mary@kitnkabookle.com.
So when you’re ready, I can help you…
- Chat with your manuscript
- Find out what it wants
- Bring out your story’s glory
So whether you know which service you want or need a little help figuring it out, email mary@kitnkabookle.com or drop me a message through the form below.