Kara is the Editorial Director for Anaiah Press, a small, independent Christian fiction publisher. Prior to working with Anaiah, Kara worked as a copy editor then senior editor within the secular romance market for various small presses. She has a growing list of highly-satisfied freelance editing clients--all of whom are more than willing to offer references as needed. She’s a former PitchWars mentor and ghostwriter. Kara offers a wide-range of full manuscript editing packages for authors in all stages of their writing careers. Additionally, she has querying editing packages available for authors who are pursing traditional publication.
As an author herself, too, Kara firmly believes in providing quality services at affordable rates. If you feel these prices are not within your budget, please reach out. She's always willing to work with authors, and payment plans are available upon request.
As an author herself, too, Kara firmly believes in providing quality services at affordable rates. If you feel these prices are not within your budget, please reach out. She's always willing to work with authors, and payment plans are available upon request.
Kara is well-versed and open to editing manuscripts within the following genres for both secular and Christian markets:
- Adult Romance (all sub-genres)
- Romantic suspense
- Cozy Mysteries
- Young adult romance
- Young adult thrillers
- Paranormal romance (Adult or YA)
- Dystopian (Adult or YA)
- Women's Fiction
Basic Proofreading:
Ideal For: Authors with a firm understanding of their craft with manuscripts that need minimal editing.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with limited notes within the manuscript and tracked changes to address:
Developmental Edits:
Ideal For: Authors who have just finished a manuscript and/or need a fresh pair of eyes to read through the manuscript.
Includes: A full read through of the manuscript from beginning to end with a lengthy editorial email to address:
**Please note: This option does NOT include any comments within the manuscript. All you will get is an editorial email.**
Substantive Content Edits:
Ideal For: Authors who need more specific guidance to smooth and polish their overall story.
Includes: One full read through of your manuscript, an editorial checklist with most common errors, a lengthy editorial email, AND detailed, specific comments within the manuscript. With this option, I will point out all the issues listed in the Developmental Edits Package along with the following:
Ideal For: Authors with a firm understanding of their craft with manuscripts that need minimal editing.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with limited notes within the manuscript and tracked changes to address:
- Misspellings
- Grammar and punctuation
- Minor inconsistencies
- Unclear sentences / actions / descriptions
Developmental Edits:
Ideal For: Authors who have just finished a manuscript and/or need a fresh pair of eyes to read through the manuscript.
Includes: A full read through of the manuscript from beginning to end with a lengthy editorial email to address:
- Plot holes / overused tropes / cliches
- Tension / conflict / stakes
- Pacing
- Characterization (with a separate sub-section for each main character)
- Recurring grammatical issues / overused words and phrases
- World building (if applicable)
**Please note: This option does NOT include any comments within the manuscript. All you will get is an editorial email.**
Substantive Content Edits:
Ideal For: Authors who need more specific guidance to smooth and polish their overall story.
Includes: One full read through of your manuscript, an editorial checklist with most common errors, a lengthy editorial email, AND detailed, specific comments within the manuscript. With this option, I will point out all the issues listed in the Developmental Edits Package along with the following:
- Dialogue / action tag usage
- Character and/or plot inconsistencies
- Info dumps / too much backstory
- Sentence structure
- Passive voice
- Instances of telling vs. showing
- A reader’s gut reaction to the story & characters, which will help gauge the effectiveness of your scenes and the overall emotional impact of the story.
Query Letter Edits:
Ideal For: Authors who have written a query letter and needs help with polishing.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes within the query letter and tracked changes to address:
Query Letter Creation:
Ideal For: Authors who have no idea where to begin writing a query letter.
Includes: A draft of a compelling query letter that will encompass:
**Please note that the author will be responsible for providing a synopsis of the book for Kara to use for reference**
Synopsis Edits:
Ideal For: Authors who have written a synopsis and needs help with polishing.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes within the synopsis and tracked changes to address:
Back Cover Blurb Editing or Creation:
Ideal For: Self-publishing authors who have a book ready to publish and need help with the burb that will appear on retailer websites.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes and tracked changes to address:
Opening Pages Edit:
Ideal For: Authors pursuing traditional publishing who need to have their opening pages / chapters edited prior to querying.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes within the manuscript and tracked changes to address:
Full Query Package:
Ideal For: Authors pursuing traditional publication who need help polishing their submission package.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes and tracked changes to address:
Ideal For: Authors who have written a query letter and needs help with polishing.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes within the query letter and tracked changes to address:
- A strong reader hook
- Clear stakes with a focus on the conflict
- Misspellings
- Grammar and punctuation
- Unclear sentences / actions / descriptions
Query Letter Creation:
Ideal For: Authors who have no idea where to begin writing a query letter.
Includes: A draft of a compelling query letter that will encompass:
- A strong reader hook
- Clear stakes with a focus on the conflict
- Misspellings
- Grammar and punctuation
- Unclear sentences / actions / descriptions
**Please note that the author will be responsible for providing a synopsis of the book for Kara to use for reference**
Synopsis Edits:
Ideal For: Authors who have written a synopsis and needs help with polishing.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes within the synopsis and tracked changes to address:
- A strong reader hook
- Clear stakes with a focus on the conflict
- Consistency with plot points / beats
- Satisfactory resolution
- Misspellings
- Grammar and punctuation
- Unclear sentences / actions / descriptions
Back Cover Blurb Editing or Creation:
Ideal For: Self-publishing authors who have a book ready to publish and need help with the burb that will appear on retailer websites.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes and tracked changes to address:
- A strong reader hook
- Clear stakes with a focus on the conflict
- Formatting consistent with current market trends within your genre
- Misspellings
- Grammar and punctuation
- Unclear sentences / actions / descriptions
Opening Pages Edit:
Ideal For: Authors pursuing traditional publishing who need to have their opening pages / chapters edited prior to querying.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes within the manuscript and tracked changes to address:
- Dialogue / action tag usage
- Character and/or plot inconsistencies
- Info dumps / too much backstory
- Passive voice
- Instances of telling vs. showing
- A reader’s gut reaction to the story & characters, which will help gauge the effectiveness of your scenes and the overall emotional impact of the story.
- Misspellings
- Grammar and punctuation
- Unclear sentences / actions / descriptions
Full Query Package:
Ideal For: Authors pursuing traditional publication who need help polishing their submission package.
Includes: A line-by-line read through with notes and tracked changes to address:
- A strong reader hook
- Clear stakes with a focus on the conflict
- Consistency with plot points / beats
- Satisfactory resolution
- Misspellings
- Grammar and punctuation
- Unclear sentences / actions / descriptions
For payment purposes, all manuscripts will be formatted as follows:
For payment purposes, all query letters and synopses will be formatted as follows:
Payments are accepted via PayPal only.
For all full manuscript editing packages, a deposit of ½ of total cost is due upon acceptance of terms. This deposit is NON-REFUNDABLE. No exceptions.
The remaining ½ is due within two (2) days of the manuscript being returned to the author.
For all query package edits, payment is due in full upon acceptance of terms.
Returning customers will automatically receive $0.25 off per page for all future services (full manuscript services only).
Kara will edit the first 5 pages of your manuscript FREE OF CHARGE to determine if her editorial style is a fit for you.
Kara does not and will not guarantee that her editorial services will result in an offer of representation by a literary agent or an offer of publication from a publisher.
- 12 pt font
- Times New Roman
- Double spaced
- Each chapter starting on a new page
- No headers / footers
- No cover page
- 1 inch margins
For payment purposes, all query letters and synopses will be formatted as follows:
- 12 pt font
- Times New Roman
- Single spaced
- No headers / footers
- No cover page
- 1 inch margins
Payments are accepted via PayPal only.
For all full manuscript editing packages, a deposit of ½ of total cost is due upon acceptance of terms. This deposit is NON-REFUNDABLE. No exceptions.
The remaining ½ is due within two (2) days of the manuscript being returned to the author.
For all query package edits, payment is due in full upon acceptance of terms.
Returning customers will automatically receive $0.25 off per page for all future services (full manuscript services only).
Kara will edit the first 5 pages of your manuscript FREE OF CHARGE to determine if her editorial style is a fit for you.
Kara does not and will not guarantee that her editorial services will result in an offer of representation by a literary agent or an offer of publication from a publisher.
Ready to book your editing session? Want an estimate? Got questions? Click the "Editing Inquiries" button and send Kara a message. She'll reply to all editorial inquiries within 48 hours.