The Darling Axe

There are two pillars to effective storytelling: immersion and emotional draw. Immersion is what transports readers into your story world. Emotional draw is what keeps them there.

Our editorial philosophy is simple: every element of a story must serve the reader's experience.

In our developmental edit, we take a close look at your plot, characters, relationship arcs, perspective, and voice. In addition to a written critique, you receive a marked-up copy of your manuscript with comments added throughout, including scene-level feedback and pointers for recurring grammatical or mechanical issues.

This fully customizable service is ideal for early-draft manuscripts, partials, stuck manuscripts, and novel outlines—and even would-be outlines. Your editor will support and guide you toward your next revision.

So you're ready to showcase your work to agents and publishers. Our query critique includes a few options, including a workshop of your query letter and a close look at your synopsis and first 5,000 words. 

This is a partial developmental edit. From the heights of the crow's nest, we take a look at your first 10,000 words. Most readers need to be captivated within the first forty pages, so our goal is to help you polish your opening and sharpen your hook. 

Whether you are working on a picture book, early reader, or middle-grade novel, our team of kidlit specialists is here to help. These services are designed for each project, so please get in touch so we can get the conversation started.