Holiday Sale on Editing Services for 2021

Hi, everyone! 

I already shared this news on my mailing list and social media, but I thought I’d announce it here as well. This month, I’m running another holiday sale on book editing services! So if you want to work with an editor on your book next year, this is the perfect time to inquire about my offerings and save money on the editorial fee. (You can also review my offerings at the Editing page of the Heart of the Story website.)

Here’s how this works: Email me about your 2021 editing project by Thursday, December 31, and you’ll receive a 10% discount on the price estimate. This discount applies to all editing and critique projects, including bundle packages for multiple rounds of editing. And it doesn’t matter if your manuscript would be ready for editing in January or next December. So if you want to work with a freelance book editor next year, then this sale is for you.

Interested? Then send me a message at sara [at] heartofthestoryeditorial [dot] com with the title of your manuscript, a 2- or 3-sentence blurb about your project, the genre and target age range (YA, adult, etc.), the word and page counts, your projected timetable or deadline, the type(s) of editing desired, the holiday sale password (HOLIDAY2020), and where you found it (my blog). If you’d like a sample edit so you can see my editing style, you may attach a 6- to 10-page excerpt from the manuscript (MS Word only) to your email. This will also help me create an accurate pricing and timeline estimate for your project.

Don’t wait too long, though! The sale ends on Thursday, December 31. So if you want to take advantage of this, or if you have other questions about my editing services, email me at sara [at] heartofthestoryeditorial [dot] com so we can start the conversation.

New Service at Heart of the Story: First 50 Pages Critiques!

Happy Friday, friends! In case you missed the news on social media earlier this week, I just announced another new service for writers: the First 50 Pages Critique!

This offering is a shorter, budget-friendly alternative to a full manuscript critique. It doesn’t cover a complete story or project, but it can still give writers a good idea of how to strengthen one of the most crucial sections of their manuscript while alerting them to potential issues in later chapters. So if you’re considering having your work critiqued but aren’t sure you can afford it at full price, this may be a good option.

(Read more after the jump.)

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New Service at Heart of the Story: Outline Critiques!

I have exciting news of a different kind to share with you today: I’m now offering outline critiques at Heart of the Story!

This service is perfect for writers who have an in-depth outline (20 to 40 pages) for a writing project but haven’t started the first draft yet. It’s a great way of ensuring that the structure of your story is solid, each scene has a purpose, and the main characters show a potential for growth or change.

(Read more after the jump.)

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New Interviews at Coach Daddy and SheBreathes

Hi, everyone! I’m here to share not just one recent interview I’ve done, but TWO. 🙂

First up is a #GirlsRock interview with Eli at Coach Daddy. The #GirlsRock series is dedicated to highlighting women who are doing amazing things and making the world a better place. Some of the women Eli has interviewed in the past include journalists, podcasters, TV reporters, and musicians / artists. So I’m honored – and psyched! – to be featured on Eli’s blog again. (I wrote this guest post for Coach Daddy back in 2015.) We talk about my editing / writing coaching business Heart of the Story, poetry, and my one piece of advice for women who enjoy writing.

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Heart of the Story’s Question of the Week (Plus, Looking for Feedback on Facebook Groups)

If you follow me and my editing / literary coaching business Heart of the Story on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you may have noticed an experiment I’ve been running on Mondays. It’s called Question of the Week, a conversation starter where I post a question about writing and any writers who are interested can respond.

So far, some of the questions have focused on your current writing project. Others have been about reading (since reading is an instrumental part of being a writer, right?) or the highlights and challenges of the writing process. So the topic varies from week to week; and since it’s not a chat with a set timetable, it’s something you can drop in on at your convenience.

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What’s Making Me Happy: February and March 2019 (Plus, I’m on a Semi-Hiatus Until May)

OMG! By the time you read this post, I’ll be back at the Iceland Writers Retreat!! 😀

I have to admit, though: The past two months have been a whirlwind. A big part of that was launching my business Heart of the Story Editorial & Coaching Services in February. Since then, life has been a juggling act between that, the day job, preparing for the Iceland trip, preparing for the ACES Conference (more on that shortly), and some unexpected things in my offline life, including a relative’s health emergency. And I’m aware that while I’m keeping up with my blogging schedule, I’ve fallen behind in just about every other area of this part of my life. 😦

In a way, I knew this was coming… and once I’m back from Iceland, it might be time to slow things down here and finally get the Heart of the Story blog up and running. But for now, let’s focus on the good that’s happened since the previous edition of What’s Making Me Happy. And as always, feel free to share the things that have made you smile recently in your comments on this post!

Let’s begin with…

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And the Big Secret Project Is… Heart of the Story Editorial & Coaching Services!

Hi everyone!

This is the Big Secret Project I’ve been working on since September: my own freelance editing and writing coaching business! I know I’ve been teasing about it for a while, but I’ve been reluctant to say much publicly before things were truly ready. And now, it’s Launch Day for…

Heart of the Story Editorial & Coaching Services

So what kinds of services does Heart of the Story offer? Who is the business designed to help? And, what does the business mean for this website? This post will go over all of that. So, without further ado…

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