Developmental Editor

Christine Bartsch
Writer, Editor, & Publisher

Write time. Write place. Write story...

My first taste of the editor's life came in college:  I was the go-to person for all my friends and acquaintances to proof-read their papers. What they looked on as a huge favor,  I looked on as an opportunity to hone my editor's ear for cadence and structure,  and my copy editor's eye for grammatical errors. 

One of my favorite parts of my academic experience at college was writing papers and essays.  It gave me the perfect excuse to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes:  research. Those research skills have served me well in creating authoritative,  accurate,  fact-based content for a variety of clients. 

As a professional editor,  I've taken on private clients to edit their screenplays,  novels,  essays,  and short stories.  I also worked as an entertainment copy editor for SheKnows.com,  proofing dozens of articles from multiple authors a day.  While I have a strong background in all kinds of editing,  I am now exclusively a developmental editor.

As a developmental editor of fiction novels,  screenplays,  and short stories, I provide a big picture,  critical assessment of the plot,  characters,  dialogue,  story arc,  and general structural elements.  This includes extensive editorial notes within the manuscript,  as well as a lengthy summary of overall recommendations.

At this time,  I am accepting a limited number of clients per month in the genres of:  young adult fantasy,  urban fantasy,  children's literature (picture, middle grade, etc.),  adventure,  detective,  mystery,  cozy mystery,  caper,  suspense,  thriller,  romance,  rom-com,  contemporary romance,  chic lit,  and historical romance.

As a general rule,  I do not accept clients who write: horror,  westerns,  sci-fi,  high fantasy,  poetry,  literary fiction,  or most types of nonfiction. (Nonfiction exceptions: biographies,  auto-biographies,  and true crime will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.)

While I will edit content with some degree of steamy romance, I do not edit any form of erotica. 
I also will not edit any works that have utilized any form of AI (artificial intelligence). 

Blurb Writing:

For indie authors with books ready to publish, I also offer a blurb writing service. You provide the summary and/or bulleted list of the most pertinent details of your novel, and I weave it into a sharp, concise preliminary blurb for you to then polish up with touches that show off your individual writing style.

Interested in my developmental and blurb writing services? Contact me at: editor@ishkabibblebooks.com

Writing & Editing Samples

Click the links below to view samples of my writing & editing work.
Developmental Editor Notes Sample # 1
Developmental Editor Notes Sample # 2
Developmental Editor Notes Sample # 3
Developmental Editor Notes Sample # 4
Blurb Writing Sample
View more writing samples on my personal website
Do you have any questions? Contact us

Developmental Editing Rates

  • Shorter works: $.04 per word
  • Longer works: $30 per 1,000 words
(*Rates may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis)

Blurb writing:

I offer a blurb-writing assistance service for a flat rate of $50. 

I write these based off of a short summary or bullet-point list (I do not read the full manuscript unless you also use my editing services). One rewrite is included in the initial fee. 

Note: This assistance service is intended to give you a clear, compelling yet concise blurb in semi-rough form that you can polish it to fit your writing style. 
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