If you’re here, chances are you know me best from my 10+ years of reviewing sci-fi and fantasy novels. But I can offer more than review here. If you’ve written a book and want help applying a layer of polish, bringing out the best version of your vision, then I can also offer my services as an editor. Specifically, my role as a Glorified Typo-Hunter™.
Who the Heck Am I?
I’m Ria, I’m a British ex-pat living in Atlantic Canada, and I’ve been an avid reader for the vast majority of my life. I’m a queer disabled weirdo with a deep love of books and tea. I’m the sort of person who can’t read a book without pausing every now and again to contemplate the ramifications and potential of what I just read.
As I mentioned previously, I’ve been reviewing SFF books for over 10 years. I’ve written for sites such as SF Signal, and twice been a judge in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off.
What I Can Do For You
~ Spelling and grammar. I jokingly call myself a glorified typo-hunter, but yes, that is a lot of what I do. I’ll give your novel a good copyedit. I’ll find the typos that escaped notice in previous edits, I’ll make sure you’re using the right verb tenses, that your grammar is correct, that the right words are capitalized. It’s the small details that can jump out to a reader and throw them out of the groove, and I don’t want to see your work suffer because a few typos snuck through. We all make errors like this, no shame in it, but I want to do my best to make sure there are as few as humanly possible in your final published work.
~ Consistency. If your book involves many discussions between the International Federation of Dwarves and I find instances of the International Dwarven Federation, I’ll point it out. Are the species names of all the extraterrestrials capitalized but “human” is not? That might be a change you want to consider making, and I will make that suggestion in your work. Does a character stand up twice without ever having sat down? I’ll catch those moments for you.
~ General polishing. I can point out word repetition and make suggestions for replacement phrases that can make your work read more smoothly. If any phrases are used that have questionable (read: racist, sexist, ableist, etc) origins, I’ll point them out so that you don’t take heat from readers. Is the meaning of the first few lines of chapter 3 a bit unclear or contradictory to what was already established in chapter 2? I’ll catch that so it can be fixed and doesn’t cause confusion later.
~ Your story is your story. I won’t rewrite your story. Your book is your book, not mine. Your voice is your voice, and your characters are your characters. My job is to help your book be the best version of itself, to ensure the best experience for readers, not to rewrite your book in my own words. I want to bring out the best in what you’ve written.
Which Genres Do I Work With?
Pretty much anything with a sci-fi/fantasy (SFF) theme. Got the first book of an epic fantasy under your belt? Cool, I can work with that. Also got some lesbian vampire erotica you want to publish? Cool, I can work with that too. YA cyberpunk coming-of-age story? Sounds awesome! Basically, if it falls under the speculative fiction umbrella (and that’s a pretty broad umbrella), then I’m happy to work with it.
The Fine Print
~ I charge $0.006 USD per word. In practical terms, that means if your novel is 100,000 words, my services will cost you $600 USD. If you’ve written a 20,000 word novella, that will cost $120.
~ Turnaround time depends on length of the project, and can vary anywhere between a week and a month depending on a variety of factors. Estimated turnaround time will be discussed before any money changes hands.
~ I work mainly in Google Docs, partly because it’s a free service, but mainly so that you can see the work I’m doing in real time, and any comments, questions, etc, can be seen and addressed. This way, I give you the most complete service I can, based on any real-time feedback you want to offer or discussions we may have.
~ I’m willing to do a sample edit of your first chapter at no charge, as a try-before-you-buy service, so you can make sure that what I offer is right for you.
If all of this sounds like something you’re interested in, then feel free to email me at bibliotropic.reviews@gmail.com to discuss the project.
Praise For Work I’ve Done
“This is a review by a [person] I find to be one of the best critics in our field. When she points out a story flaw, you’re getting it straight.” ~ Morgyn Star, regarding commentary on a review.
Ria was very attentive to detail, even in regards to subject matter that wasn’t their strength. Always careful to make sure any corrections had the correct spelling, and doing research on the subject in order to understand if anything was out of place. Excellent work! ~ Rachel Colpitts, on my editing of a medical lab tech manual.
Bibliotropic 