Rates & FAQs

Whether you’re self-publishing or publishing traditionally, producing a great book is never a solitary act. A Mad Lit editor can offer an objective eye and ear to help you develop, refine, and strengthen your material before your words are printed and bound (or digitized and downloaded).

The Mad Lit team provides support at various points in the writing process. From organizing your material to strengthening your narrative voice, reading for tone and continuity to checking a manuscript for grammar and punctuation, our editors have and years of experience and a toolbox full of resources to help elevate your material and get it print-ready.

Collaboration with a Mad Lit editor can come at various points in the writing process. For example:

When you’ve written a partial manuscript and aren’t sure how to tell the whole story, you’re ready for a developmental editor.

When you’ve completed your first draft and are in need of feedback, you’re ready for an editorial assessment.

When your manuscript is in great shape and you’re preparing to publish, you’re ready for a copy editor and/or proofreader.

Not sure what type of editorial assistance you need? Send us an email and we can help you match our resources to your project.

That is never going to happen. A good editor is like a good therapist: You will receive advice and guidance that can help you achieve your goals but the control over any decision making always remains with you. If you need help with rewrites, talk to us about our ghostwriting services.

With over 50 years combined experience as professional editors and working writers, we’ve been on both sides of the table. We know what it is to edit and be edited. We understand the emotional complexities of putting one’s heart and soul on paper and then handing it over to a stranger to be analyzed and critiqued. It can be a deeply personal and vulnerable experience. Our goal is simple: constructive thoughts and professional insight that elevate your work and make you shine.

At this time, Madame Literary works with women+ authors writing non-fiction manuscripts including memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, self-help and how-to guides, humor, food, and wellness titles, histories, essay collections, and anthologies, as well as children’s literature.

If the genre in which you write is not listed above, please email us at [email protected], and we will be happy to see how we can help with your project in house or with a referral to an editor we think is best suited for your needs.

Our mission is to help women+ tell their stories. At this time we are not accepting clients outside of this community, but we are happy to help those writers find the editorial help they need outside of Madame Literary. Email us.

We will not work with any subject matter that is in conflict with our mission here at Madame Literary, including material that glorifies violence, promotes hate speech, or spreads misinformation.

We define women+ as women and other underrepresented voices. The traditional publishing world is dominated by male authors. Books with male protagonists win most of the traditional publishing literary awards. We use the inclusive term women+ to represent storytellers and storytelling outside of this majority and will revise our language as inclusive terminology evolves.

Budgets are a reality, and we respect and understand that. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to editing. Feel free to email us at [email protected] about your project and what you need, and we will do our best to find ways to help you maximize the help we can provide within your budget.

You know what you want to write. Now what? One-on-one consulting with a Mad Lit editor can help you develop your story and define what is keeping you from moving forward. Email us at [email protected] about à la carte editing services.

Congratulations on your first draft! At this point, we’d recommend an editorial assessment or our Stage One editing package. Email us at [email protected] and we can determine what is best for you and your project.

If you’re ready to write but need help getting the process started, one-on-one consulting can be an incredibly helpful and cost-effective process. A Mad Lit editor can help you identity and explore what you want to write about, who your audience is, and how you can shape your story for the audience you seek.

Mad Lit has experience adapting essays, blogs, screenplays, and even random notes on scraps of paper into cohesive manuscripts. A project like this works well with our Stage One or Mad Lit Royale package. If you’re not there yet, we also have à la carte consulting and editorial assessment services to help get your project on track.

What you are going through may be totally normal though we know it feels anything but. We have a lot of tools in our Mad Lit kit to help you. Shoot us an email at [email protected] and we can tailor services to your specific needs. We’re here. Let’s tell your story.