Mentorship

One of my great joys in life has been supporting emerging writers on their journeys to publication and personal growth. Over the past ten years, I have worked with hundreds of emerging writers, both as a private mentor and as a post-secondary educator in Selkirk College’s Creative Writing program.

Are you looking for editorial support with an individual short story, essay, suite of poems, or a longer manuscript, like a novel or memoir? Please, send me a query about your project and what kind of support you are looking for and we can work from there.

What types of services do I offer?

You can work with me on shorter projects like individual stories, essays, or poems at any time; just send me a query with the description of your shorter project and I’ll confirm my turnaround time (usually within two weeks).

I am only able to commit to full manuscripts between April and August due to my workload as a full-time college educator. Those spots book up in advance, so if you are thinking of working with me on a longer project, do reach out well in advance.

I offer three types of manuscript evaluations. The prices below apply to prose projects. Please inquire for poetry manuscript pricing and for smaller projects.

Basic evaluation:

$1200 for books under 100,000 words (taxes included). The basic package means I will read the entire book carefully and provide a summary of substantive feedback via an editorial letter which addresses overall themes, possible directions, and what to consider in the next draft. The editorial letter is usually 6-10 pages long in that case. This package does not include line edits or in-line comments.

Substantive edit with in-line comments:

$1500 for books under 100,000 words (taxes included). In this package, I will read the entire book carefully and provide a summary of substantive feedback via an editorial letter which addresses overall themes, possible directions, and what to consider in the next draft. The editorial letter is usually 5-8 pages long in this case. In addition, I will ask questions/make comments in the text as I read. This package does not include detailed line edits.

If you are a writer who faces financial barriers and cannot afford this pricing but would love to work with me, do reach out. I am sometimes able to offer sliding scale pricing, payment plans, subsidy by barter/service trade, etc.

Full substantive edit with comments and detailed line edits:

$1800 for books under 100,000 words (taxes included). In this package, I will read the entire book carefully and provide a summary of substantive feedback via an editorial letter which addresses overall themes, possible directions, and what to consider in the next draft. The editorial letter is usually 5-8 pages long in this case but can be longer. In addition, I will ask questions/make comments in the margins as I read AND I will flag any grammatical areas for improvement, make word choice suggestions, and offer other more detailed forms of line edits as I read. These line edits will serve to reveal writing patterns to you as well as help prepare the manuscript for submission to agents and publishers.

Any questions? Just ask!

Testimonials from Past Mentees:

Ari Lord, author and journalist for Living Here Magazine

"As a new writer, I took classes with Leesa at Selkirk College and later hired her for manuscript evaluation of my queer literary novel. Leesa’s structural copyediting was instrumental in transforming my manuscript into a publishable state. She understood my unique voice and vision, and pushed me to highlight the strongest elements of my book. With her support, I’ve reached new heights in my writing career, as she consistently connected me with valuable resources, contacts, and fellow writers. I highly recommend Leesa for manuscript evaluation and mentorship as her approach to feedback is always positive, fostering growth and boosting confidence, while maintaining a rigorous dedication to improving craft. Leesa is a well-connected writer with a deep understanding of the Canadian literary world and is an invaluable guide for anyone navigating their writing journey and the ever-evolving publishing industry."