Betsy has been a manuscript consultant and editor for twenty years. She prefers face-to-face consults but frequently conducts distance consults.
Benefits of working with Betsy
Writers and authors with whom Betsy has done manuscript development and editing, have gone on to publish books, and to win, or be short-listed for, such prizes as the B.C. Book Award, The City of Victoria Butler Award, the CBC Literary Competition, the Surrey Writers’ Guild International Competition, the Trillium Book Award of Toronto, the Griffin Award, the Maritimes Poets’ Corner Award, and the Pat Lowther Award.
What genres does Betsy work with?
Betsy works on the following genres:
What does Betsy offer in her consults?
Betsy’s most sought-after talent is her substantive editing skills. Substantive editing is concerned with questions of content about what goes into the manuscript and what does not, as well as determining the most effective form for the narrative – whether prose or poetry – and working with the line/sentence to maximize its evocativeness, clarity, and power. Betsy does not do final copyediting.
The majority of her manuscript work is done face-to-face but Betsy often conducts distance consults. If a writer is on a very limited income, Betsy will consider a trade arrangement (example: website help in exchange for her editing).
What’s involved when you work with Betsy?
When Betsy and a writer/author agree to work together, she requests that the author or writer:
What type of manuscript consults can I choose from?
There are three basic consulting arrangements. They are:
1. Initial Assessment & Consult
Betsy reads, assesses, and writes the editorial comments the author/writer has requested on their manuscript. Betsy then meets the writer/author for an hour face-to-face consult. She also will hold this consult on the phone if need be. The author/writer then continues to work independently.
2. Initial Assessment & Consult, and Ongoing Editing
Betsy reads, assesses, and writes the editorial comments the author/writer has requested on their manuscript. Betsy then meets the writer/author for an hour face-to-face consult. She also will hold this consult on the phone if need be.
Following the initial assessment and consult, Betsy then does several rounds of substantive editing and line edits. The number of these rounds, and the frequency with which they occur is up to the writer/author. Here, the goal is usually to bring the manuscript into as finished a draft as possible. In this arrangement, Betsy often advises the writer/author on matters of publishing.
3. Manuscript Development Assessment & Consult
Betsy reads from a broad range of a writer’s work. This may be a broad range of style or content but in the same genre, or, it may be a broad range of style, content, and genres. Betsy assesses which pieces of writing are the most compelling and from which far more writing can be generated. She also assesses potential connection between disparate pieces of writing that the writer may not have believed had any relationship to one another.
In their consult, Betsy discusses with the writer possible writing project focuses, styles, and forms and recommends books related to their work to read. The writer can then work independently, or continue to work with Betsy.