EDITORIAL SERVICES
Deborah Halverson has been working with authors—bestselling, award-winning, debut, and aspiring—for almost twenty-five years. She spent a decade as an editor with Harcourt Children’s Books and is now the award-winning author of Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies and Writing New Adult Fiction as well as teen novels, a picture book, and books for struggling readers. She’s the founder of the popular writers’ advice site DearEditor.com and serves on the advisory board for the University of California San Diego Extension “Children’s Book Writing and Illustrating” certificate program. Deborah edits picture books and middle grade, teen, new adult, and adult fiction and nonfiction on a freelance basis. The books she’s edited have garnered awards and topped a bestseller list, and many of the aspiring writers she’s coached have secured agent representation and book deals. She is available for schools, writers groups, and conference appearances.
Rates: $150 per hour for substantive, developmental, or line editing. Contact Deborah at Deborah@DeborahHalverson.com for a free estimate of total hours required or to discuss other editorial services such as query letter review, etc. In your contact email, please share the word count of the manuscript, provide a brief pitch/synopsis/description so Deborah can know the concept and get a sense of its audience, and attach five to ten pages of the manuscript as a Word docx so she can get a feel for the level of editing that would be involved. If it’s a picture book project, please attach a large portion or the whole manuscript. Please read details about Deborah’s editing process and fees on this pdf-friendly page: Editorial Processes and Fees
IMPROVE YOUR MANUSCRIPT’S:
Narrative voice
Plot development/narrative arc
Pacing
Organization
Characterization/character arc
Point of view
Setting
Delivery of background info
Visual storyline (picture books)
Read-aloud quality (picture books)
Age-appropriateness
Word choice
Rhythm
Sentence variety
Dialogue
Chapter/section breaks
Grammar/mechanics
PRAISE FOR DEBORAH’S EDITORIAL SERVICES:
“Deborah’s feedback is smart and focused. She makes the kind of comments you can really do something with. My manuscript was sold at auction for a two-book deal.”
—JEFF HIRSCH, bestseller, The Eleventh Plague & other YAs
“Deborah has her finger on the pulse of YA fiction and can diagnose even the most elusive problems in a manuscript. Her suggestions have proven to be spot on time and time again. She can take a book from good to great; a rare skill that requires a keen eye and nuance. Working through an edit with Deborah is educational and fun, not fear-inducing and depressing, because she also won’t hesitate to tell you what you’re doing well. My manuscript quickly landed a 3-book deal after her edit. I highly recommend her.”
— CHRIS BABU, The Initiation series, YA
“Deborah’s expertise helped me fine-tune my debut novel Written in the Stars and was the smartest decision I made for my writing career. The lessons I gained from her advice stay with me to this day.”
—AISHA SAEED, bestseller, Amal Unbound and Written Under the Stars, YA
“My manuscript received two offers and both publishers agreed to have a two-book offer…. Deborah’s touch brought the book to a higher level.”
—JI-LI JIANG, award-winning, Red Scarf Girl & other YAs & picture books
“Good News! I signed a three-book deal…. It was a tough journey to publication, but I feel confident that my work is stronger because of all the hard work. Thank you for being a positive player on my path to publication!”
—KAT SHEHATA, bestseller, Russian Tattoos trilogy, fiction for adults
“Deborah has a way of communicating her thoughts in a gently constructive way that makes sense. I incorporated her comments into the revision of my manuscript and landed a contract with Knopf.”
—ANNEMARIE O’BRIEN, award-winning, Dance with Borzois, YA
“Deborah was a big reason I was able to sell my novel to a publisher. She has a keen eye, she works quickly and efficiently, her guidance is right on, and she sees the big picture.”
—SARAH SCHEERGER, Operation Frog Effect & other MGs, YAs, young readers, and picture books
“I worked on my first manuscript for years and wasn’t getting anywhere. I was stuck. Until, I sent a draft to Deborah. She was able to look at it through the lens of an editor and make suggestions I hadn’t thought about. Every one of them made my manuscript stronger. She pointed me in the right direction. It’s the manuscript that got me an agent and my first book sale.”
—KIM TURRISI, Just A Normal Tuesday and Carmilla: The Novel, YAs
“Deborah is a crackerjack editor—creative, caring, clever—and those are just the C’s.”
—KATHLEEN KRULL, award-winning, Harvesting Hope & other picture books
“Deborah’s perceptive editorial remarks helped me look at my manuscript in a whole new way and gently pushed me and my book to a higher level. After implementing her suggestions, I received a two-book publication deal. Her concise, discerning suggestions taught me many skills I have carried over in the crafting of other novels. I appreciated the timely manner in which she completed the edit of my book and the very reasonable rate she charged.”
—KRISTEN LANDON, award-winning, Life in the Pit, The Limit, & other YAs
“The best person who ever happened to my novel, Tiger Drive, is Deborah Halverson. She was the first editor to see it. Thanks to her manuscript evaluation and her advice to ‘give us a reason to care about these characters,’ my debut novel went on to win Best New Fiction at the American Fiction Awards.”
—TERI CASE, award-winning, Tiger Drive and In the Doghouse, fiction/nonfiction for adults
“Deborah did much more than line-editing. She suggested a completely new ending to my Christmas novelty book. It helped me avoid predictability and layered the revised work with much more complexity and depth. She’s awesome!”
—KIMBALL FISHER, bestseller, Finding Baby Jesus & other fiction/nonfiction for kids and adults
“I feel like I just got a personalized graduate course in writing!”
—MEGHAN M. HILL, MG fiction & thrillers for adult readers
“Deborah is not only an excellent, discerning, and responsive editor, she is also a great pleasure to work with. She has a fine command of language and a great sense of story.”
—JEAN FERRIS, award-winning, Once Upon a Marigold & other YAs
“I am reading and rereading Deborah’s letter, overwhelmed with the completeness of her work and the superb suggestions and help she has given me.”
—JERI CHASE FERRIS, award-winning, Noah Webster and His Words & other books for young readers
“In addition to being a keen editor with discerning tastes and inspired vision, Deborah is also an enormously talented writer who is tuned in to the interests and issues that engage young readers. Deborah’s energy, experience, enthusiasm, and knowledge make her an extraordinary teacher. She knows every aspect of writing, editing, manufacturing, and developing books for young readers.”
—ROBIN CRUISE, former Deputy Publisher of Harcourt Children’s Books, award-winning author, Fiona’s Private Pages, Only You, & other MGs and picture books
“Deborah is not only extremely knowledgeable but also capable of sharing that knowledge productively. And her critiques provide valuable insight for our writers. She is an excellent instructor with a keen sense of what each writer needs to hear to improve their work and the sensibility to provide critiques in a manner in which they are well-received.”
—ANTOINETTE KURITZ, Literary Publicist at Strategies Public Relations Consulting, and Founder/Director of the La Jolla Writers Conference
“I love Deborah’s editing style. Helpful, honest, yet not tearing me down.”
—DEBORAH HONAS, MG fiction
“Deborah’s editorial letter completely blew my mind. She saw directly into the heart of my story and actually found more to it that I didn’t even see was there. Her suggestions were not only logical but actionable. It’s clear to me where I need to go with revisions. I so appreciate her stellar editing, keen eye, and critical thinking!”
—HAYLEY GERMAN FISHER, contemporary romance for adult readers
“Never before have I seen so many suggestions to improve my novel! Deborah nailed down the thread I needed to take my novel to the next level.”
—DIANE ASITIMBAY, No Perfect People Please & other fiction/nonfiction for kids and adults
“There’s a lot to digest but I LOVE Deborah’s suggestions! Now I know why she’s so highly recommended.”
—KATHLEEN KULL URBAN, picture books
“Deborah is gifted at cracking open a story and stirring up the ingredients. Her feedback has fueled and fired me up creatively.”
—CHELSEA LIN WALLACE, picture books
“I just read over Deborah’s editorial letter. She did a brilliant job, I’m in awe of her talents.”
—DEBORAH BLUMENTHAL, award-winning, Hurricane Kiss & other picture books, MGs, YAs, and books for adults
“Deborah has a wonderful ability to maintain a bird’s eye view of a project, yet she manages to zoom in close to pick out important details.”
—MAUREEN HOURIHAN, MG fiction
“Deborah has been my freelance editor/coach for two years, and before that she was my writing instructor at UCSD Extension. Deborah’s input has been extremely candid, insightful, and useful.”
—RANDAL MORRISON, Seven Moon Circus, MG fiction
“Deborah’s input is priceless. Your manuscript will spark off the page thanks to her storytelling omniscience.”
–SCOTT SUSSMAN, Silly the Seed & other picture books & MG
*author photo credit: Roxyanne Young Photography
