Picture books are a special beast, requiring different knowledge and ways of thinking from your average fiction or non-fiction manuscript in order to create a book that captivates and engages the child reading it. There are so many complications you just don’t have to deal with in longer-form books: how illustrations work with the story, how to craft a compelling narrative in so few words, and how to write a book that speaks to children -- and to the adults paying for it!

But these challenges make editing picture books so enjoyable - picture book edits are often some of my favourite projects. In my experience, I’ve found that the best way to edit a picture book is to look at it holistically, thinking about it from both a developmental and a line editing perspective. This lets me focus on what the book needs to bring it to the next level, which can sometimes be entirely different from what the author thought they were coming to me for! But the strength of this method speaks for itself, and the author always comes away in the end with a stronger, more polished book. 

Because all the editing is bundled together, picture books often need multiple rounds of editing. This averages two or three rounds for most authors, but really depends on what stage your book is at, and how tricky it is to pin down. My rates reflect this - I’ve priced this service at an amount that will allow authors to get all they can out of the editing process, hopefully without worrying too much about an extra round of editing breaking the bank. I’m fully committed to helping picture book writers create a stunning manuscript, whether that takes two rounds or ten, and seeing picture books go from rough first drafts to polished and published books brings me some of my greatest satisfaction. 

Picture book edits are priced at $90USD round and include a free round of proofreading once the author has decided their manuscript has undergone its final critique. Message me to get started.