For inquiries into my editing services, email SeptemberCFawkes[at]gmail[dot]com
Background
My approach to editing has been described as "thorough," "precise," and "kind." I have worked in the fiction-writing industry for over ten years and have been editing stories for longer. I have edited for both award-winning and best-selling authors and have worked on manuscripts written for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers, with most of my experience being in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. Previous to freelancing, I was mentored by a creative writing professor, an award-winning international best-selling author, and a professional editor.
I hold an English degree with honors from Dixie State University, where I wrote my thesis on the worldwide appeal of Harry Potter. I served as a fiction editor and managing editor for the literary journal The Southern Quill. And for seven years, I worked through New York Times best-selling author David Farland, editing his workshop students' manuscripts, writing assignments, and sometimes, David's own books. When not editing, I'm penning my own stories and running an award-winning writing tip blog. I also serve as a writing coach on WritersHelpingWriters.net (home of the Emotion Thesaurus). I have written over 400 writing tip articles. My writing tip articles have appeared on Grammar Girl and in classrooms.
Pricing: $28 per hour
Services
Content Editing – In content editing, I look
at the larger parts of the story, identifying and providing suggestions
for weaknesses and possible ideas to take strengths to the next level.
This may include such aspects as plot, characterization, theme, overall
story structure, arcs, pacing, conflict, and setting. It also may
contain more specific elements, like subtext, context, audience
experience and appeal, tension, relationships, and hitting the right
emotions. This edit focuses on what the overall story is.
Line Editing – In line editing, I go through
the manuscript line by line, evaluating the way the story is written and
looking at such things as tone, style, flow, descriptions, blocking,
in-text emotional beats, line-by-line continuity, specificity, clarity
in meaning, sentence structure, word choice, dialogue, and how
accurately the writer is communicating to the reader. I will consider
how the writer can communicate more powerfully. I may also watch for
grammatical issues and reoccurring punctuation problems. This edit
focuses on how the story is told.
Copyediting – In copyediting, I will watch for and fix typos, grammatical issues, punctuation errors, spelling, inappropriate changes in tenses, improper word choice, misplaced modifiers, and more. This is an edit that should only be done after the content and overall lines of the story have been solidified, and the writer wants to fix errors on a word by word level.
Please note: Beginning in 2022 I will not be doing copyediting
Manuscript Evaluation – In a manuscript evaluation, I will simply read through the manuscript and give overall, general feedback in an editorial letter. This is quicker and more budget friendly than my content edit, but not as deep.
View all of my information at FawkesEditing.com
Testimonials
“Her editing is precise and insightful. She gets to
the heart of the story and makes suggestions to tighten and sharpen the
prose until it isn’t just alive, but thriving. Fawkes encourages you to
be the best author you can be.”
– Jake Marley, Grand Prize Winner of Writers of the Future, the largest short story competition in the world.
“Fawkes has worked as my assistant now for several
years. I love working with her for a number of reasons: she’s
self-motivated, insightful, and is willing to tackle any job that I ask
of her. More and more, I’ve had her editing work for me–looking over
novels and writing assignments and offering critiques. Very often, the
authors that we work with tell me, ‘Thank Fawkes for all of her valuable
suggestions. I was just simply blown away by her insights and her
thoroughness.’ And they’re right. She is a fine editor. That’s why I
ask her to look over just about everything that I send out for
publication.”
– David Farland, New York Times best-selling, award-winning author; editor; and greenlight analyst.
“I am so thankful for the editing work that Fawkes did
on my first novel, The Feather and the Moon Well. Not only did I
receive great edits, but she also offered terrific suggestions to
improve my story. Working with Fawkes also taught me ways to improve my
writing that I will forever carry with me. I would eagerly recommend her
for any writing venture.”
– Shean Pao, Author of The Feather and the Moon Well
“I found her comments on my MS thoughtful, detailed,
precise, and kind. She is a critiquer after my own heart. I thought she
did a very good job. One of the things she mentioned caught my eye
particularly–where I gave a description of the MC’s emotional reaction
expressed physically and she highlighted it as a potential POV break
because the description could easily be viewed as something that is much
more like what a person looking at my character would see rather than
what my character would be aware of himself, being behind his own eyes
and all. It was a comment that shows me that she is really paying
attention, and has a fine understanding of POV.”
– Joshua Essoe, Full-time Professional Freelance Editor and Writer
“As a student of David Farland’s tutelage, I’ve
received explicit editorial comments from September C. Fawkes. I
distinctly remember the first time her suggestions popped up in the
margins of my manuscript. It’s a fond memory. Not because they were
glowing praises of my prose, to the contrary, she’d shown a spotlight on
a number of my writing flaws. I enjoyed her edits because they were
accurate and succinct. Most importantly to a fragile ego like my own,
they were tactful and expressed in a fun and witty voice. It made
swallowing them not the chocking hazard of previous forays into
voluntary and professional editing alike. Fawkes employs a high command
of the literary skills necessary to tell a compelling story and the
empathy to guide authors through the turbulent waters of their own
creation.”
– Ryan Holmes, Former Marine Corps grunt turned aerospace engineer for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Writer
“As an instructor, and a professional creative writer
myself, I immediately recognized talent . . . Fawkes shows a
thoughtfulness concerning image and scene that is refreshing and
beautiful."
– Chelsi Sutton-Linderman, Poet; Creative Nonfiction Writer
“After serving initially as a fiction editor [on The
Southern Quill], she became the publication’s managing editor and
oversaw the production of the 2011 edition—arguably the best in the
journal’s 50-year history.”
– Stephen B. Armstrong, Ph.D., Professor of English, Dixie State University
My Philosophy
As an editor, it’s my job to bring your manuscript to
the next level, while keeping in mind that this is your story, not mine.
Any suggestions I make are simply that, editorial suggestions.
Ultimately, your story should fit your vision and be a reflection of
you. I strongly believe in providing both positive and negative
feedback–not because I’m trying to stroke your ego or get a bigger
paycheck–but because it is just as important to know what is working as
it is to know what isn’t. I help you fully harness your strengths and
strengthen your weaknesses, providing not only advice on the manuscript
itself, but ideas on how you, the writer, can take your writing to the
next level (if you so desire).
I strongly believe in the power that comes from
learning to write with intention and control. To me, this often means
bringing things we notice from the subconscious experience of reading
and writing into the conscious part of the mind, learning how they
function, and gaining control over them so that you can give your
readers an accurate story experience of what you intended. Some
discovery writers may read that and say “This is not for me,” but even
discovery writing benefits from being conscious of story elements. In
fact, being more conscious means you may have more elements you can
discover. I have spent years breaking down parts of stories that almost
all readers, and even many writers are blind to, but that enhance the
story and make it superior. In short, I’ll find new ways you can grow as
a writer, which you’ll be able to take into every future project.
With all that said, I work for you and will tweak my
approach to suit what you are looking for.
For all information on my editing services, please visit FawkesEditing.com
Wow, great post.
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