Editing Services

I currently provide developmental editing for full manuscripts, manuscripts-in-progress, and short-form prose. 

Beneath the situation of every narrative, there is a deeper story, waiting to be revealed. As a developmental editor, I will help you draw out this “story beneath the story” – the story emerging from your narrative that is usually much richer, deeper, and more compelling than what you thought you were writing. I will help you find the underlying coherence in the chaos, the most riveting moments in the rubble, and to re-envision your narrative and its possibilities.

At the same time, I will always uphold your vision for the project as sacred. I listen carefully, ask questions, and reflect back your own brilliance. My goal is to help you bridge this gap between the story in your head and the story being communicated on the page. This looks like providing insights and practical suggestions around how to follow the heat, strengthen voice and character development, reorient structure, maintain narrative tension and momentum, and dig deeper into the emotional stakes of the story. I am also passionate about helping authors “write from the body” to make characters and stories come to life in a more intimate and visceral way.

To me, editing isn’t a one-way, one-time service, but a collaborative relationship built on trust. Most of my clients hire me for an initial review and then choose to work with me again & again & again. As such, I’ve worked with many of my clients for several years, supporting them through the complex and multi-faceted process of revising their project to completion. This ongoing relationship allows me to provide the best possible feedback, since I understand their vision for their project and have witnessed its growth and evolution. 

I provide edits on full manuscripts, and often encourage working in batches of 50 pages at a time. This allows the author to share any questions or feedback as a “collaborative recalibration” that helps me refine my understanding of the author’s vision before moving forward. 

Info

  • Turn to me once you’ve already pushed a project as far as you can. Maybe your manuscript has been stashed in a drawer for years and you’re unsure how to reengage with the material. Or maybe you’ve been writing & writing & writing, and now you’re feeling utterly lost. Or maybe you’re still early into the first draft of a project, but need feedback and guidance to move forward. I’m the editor to reach out to when you’re giddy, ready, and maybe even a little desperate to reimagine your project and find its beating heart.

    More concretely, I suggest reaching out when you have a complete or nearly complete draft — whether it’s your first, or your seventeenth — or have at least 50 pages of a new draft that you’re hoping to get feedback before proceeding. The most important part is that you are ready for substantive feedback, not just hoping for a green light as the last step before sending it off to agents. (I do work with clients on the final stage of polishing, but I suggest clients reach out for their initial inquiry when they are more in the messy stages of revision.) 

    At this time, I am not able to support students with writing book proposals or finding agents. Though I can support you to write the best book possible, I cannot guarantee publication (nor can any freelance developmental editor.)

  • Since 2020, I’ve led dozens of generative and revision-based writing workshops and worked as a developmental editor and creative coach. I've taught with many community-based literary organizations and academic institutions, including Middlebury College, Jackman Humanities Institute at the University of Toronto, Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop, Writers in Progress, Elephant Rock, and elsewhere. I’ve been invited as a guest lecturer on revision pedagogy for Middlebury College faculty through the campus’ Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research. I am the co-leader of the Sustenance community’s monthly Essay Club. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College in Oakland, CA, where I served as the Prose Editor for the literary journal, 580 Split. I also bring ten years of experience as a professional grant writer and well as extensive training in social work and somatic therapy. Perhaps most of all, I am a voracious reader, an endlessly curious person, and a deep & compassionate listener.

  • Long-form: Creative nonfiction and fiction, specifically memoirs, essay collections, experimental nonfiction, novels, and hybrid concoctions. 

    Short-form: Personal essays, short stories, micro-essays, flash fiction and other hybrid short pieces. 

    Kinds of projects: Projects grappling with trauma, gender & sexuality, family, illness, social justice, food, queerness, and art. Projects experimenting with form and pushing the limits on how stories can be told. “Teaching memoirs” that have an educational component, alongside the personal elements. Projects with a focus on lyrical prose, voice, stories from multiple perspectives, and psychological elements of narrative. 

    If your project doesn’t fit in these categories, you’re still welcome to reach out and we can discuss whether I’m the right fit.

Services

  • 50-Page Review — $600 

    What's included:

    • Extensive margin comments throughout your pages to identify core themes, moments of greatest heat, the story beneath the story, and possibilities for expansion including narrative structure.

    • 1-hour conversation on Zoom to discuss feedback, questions, and next steps.

    Perfect for: Reviewing opening chapters, a key section, or a selection of both polished and raw writing that you want guidance on before moving forward. 

    How it works: Send me your 50 pages, along with a brief document that includes an optional summary and your main 3-5 questions or concerns about the manuscript. Note: Since I’ll be reading for the deeper story (rather than for traditional plot), the 50 pages do not need to be consecutive, and I often recommend submitting an assortment of pages from throughout the project.

    Timeline: 4-week turnaround from when I receive your pages.

  • Over 50 Pages - $125/hour*

    What’s included:

    • Thorough editorial review with margin comments

    • Written editorial letter with comprehensive feedback on structure, narrative arc, voice, and craft, and the story beneath the story

    • 60-90 minute conversation to discuss feedback, questions, and next steps.

    Perfect for: When you’ve taken the manuscript as far as you can go alone and you need feedback about what’s working / what isn’t in order to move forward. 

    How it works: Send me your pages and I’ll provide an estimate of hours based on length and complexity. Most full-length manuscripts (60-80k words) take 20-25 hours, but we can discuss.

    Timeline: We’ll establish timeline based on page count and word count. Please note that I often book longer projects two months ahead of time.

    *discounts are provided to returning clients who have already worked on me for a full manuscript review

  • Price is dependent on word count, but usually ranges between $150-300.

    What’s included:

    • Thorough editorial review with margin comments

    • Written editorial letter or voice memo with summary of feedback

    • 30-60 minute conversation to discuss feedback, questions, and next steps (optional)

    Perfect for: An essay or story that you’ve been stuck on or want to explore how to deepen; a shorter piece that you’re trying to finalize for submission or where you’re trying to integrate an editor’s feedback.

    How it works: Send me your word count, and I’ll provide an estimate of hours or we can work out a flat fee.

    Timeline: We’ll establish timeline based on page count and word count. Please note that I often book longer projects two months ahead of time.

    *discounts are provided to returning clients who have already worked on me for a full manuscript review

  • Payment plans are always available, if you would prefer to pay in installments. If you are experiencing financial hardship and these services are inaccessible in terms of cost, let’s have a conversation about what might be possible.

Schedule a free 30-minute call

  • "Arya is a magician! I brought hundreds of messy pages that had no form, no clear themes, probably not even a true arc. Over the course of a year, through coaching sessions and developmental editing, she has helped me shape those pages into a memoir. She has an uncanny and gentle ability to tease out themes — thoughtful questioning, digging and going straight into matters I’d danced around for years, poking into spots of blindness, unearthing what’s beneath the beneath, the essence, the why’s and the where-to-gos from there. Quite frankly, I am awed by her insights”.

    — Heidi Lender, Director of CAMPO Artist Residency

  • “Thanks to Arya’s thoughtful approach and inspiring empathy, I was compelled me to look at my drafts through a new lens. Her generosity of spirit helped ensure that my re-visioning is marked by both greater conviction and wilder curiosity. Working with Arya has made me a more insightful thinker-writer; I am profoundly grateful to her!”

    —Pablo Miguel Martínez, Co-Founder of Canto Mundo and Author of Brazos, Carry Me

  • "It's hard to put into words how brilliant Arya is. She is a one-of-a kind editor who will gently help you find the heart of your writing and provide a road map allowing you to discover its most beautiful and meaningful truth.”

    —Elisabeth Carruthers

  • “Arya’s approach to writing, especially revision, has transformed my own work. Before taking a course with Arya, I had submitted a few of my stories to literary magazines with no luck. Thanks to Arya’s mentorship and insights about what part of the stories were missing, I now have over thirty stories published in a variety of literary magazines. I was so impressed with Arya that I invited her to lead a workshop for Middlebury’s Center for Teaching and Learning on generative revision. Her workshop was extremely well received by faculty looking for an expansive approach to writing.”

    — Rebecca Tiger, Professor of Sociology at Middlebury College

  • "Arya is a careful and generous reader of others’ work, able to articulate what a piece is attempting before offering incisive, concrete feedback about how it might go further. Her comments consistently balance encouragement with rigor, and she has a rare ability to frame critique in ways that open possibilities rather than foreclose them. work. She understands writing as a social practice sustained through conversation and trust. She approaches teaching and learning not as performances of expertise, but as collaborative processes grounded in care and curiosity."

    — Stephanie Young, Professor of English at Mills College at Northeastern University