Editing services for travel & adventure writers
What kind of editing do you need?
You’ve finished your manuscript. Hooray! Now what? Chances are, you’ve heard you should work with an editor before you publish, but what does that mean? What does editing look like? What do we editors do to your text?
If you know the difference between developmental editing and copyediting, skip straight to ways I can help you. But if those words have you scratching your head, read on.
If you’ve googled the different types of editing, you’ll have a rough idea of what you might need. But what can help more is talking to an editor (like me!) who can hear where you’re at and and suggest what your next best steps could be (and that might even be not working with me)
Book a free half-hour call with me and we’ll figure out where your story is at and what you need.
Want the overview?
Watch and learn the basics between developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading.
More of a reader?
Go to my blog:
Ways I can help you
Manuscript Evaluation
Develop your adventure memoir with specific storytelling feedback
Got your whole story written but you’re not sure if the structure is holding together? Start with the Manuscript Evaluation.
You’ll get a bird’s-eye-view edit that explains what’s working in your story and where you can go deeper.
Great for writers who want to refine their story’s structure before they venture into sentence-level revision.
Adventure Edit
In-the-weeds, sentence-level editing to deepen your story
Got your structure down and now you’re wanting to fine-tune the text? Time for the Adventure Edit.
Let’s kick your writing up a notch with detailed, attentive editing that honours your voice and your story.
Great for writers who want to self-publish or pitch to publishers.
Bite-Sized Edit
Sentence-level editing on your first 10,000 words
Not sure about a full edit just yet? Get your first 10,000 words edited so you can see how editing deepens your writing and takes readers along for your trip.
Get my usual detailed, attentive editing on a bite-sized chunk of your manuscript.
Great for writers on a budget.
❝Working with Deborah has been an amazing experience.
Her feedback, interpretations and care she brought to my manuscript was insightful, constructive and reassuring. She brought out the better writer in me. It was an absolute pleasure working with Deborah and I wouldn’t hesitate to work with her again.
– Tami Lou Castillo, author of The Mould Maker
Kia ora, I’m Deborah
I edit travel and adventure manuscripts for writers who know their story is almost there but can’t see what’s keeping it from sounding just right.
I edit in your voice with your writing style, so the book that comes out the other side is tighter, clearer, very much you, and one step closer to getting on bookshop shelves.
My editing style is all about…
Giving feedback
that goes far beyond just catching typos and fixing grammar
Providing ideas
to fix issues like plot holes, flat dialogue, or dull descriptions
Making suggestions
that enhance your personality so your story sounds like you
Encouraging you
to bend conventions when it works
❝Deborah’s prompt work and clear comments made the editing process easy for us.
We are grateful to Deborah, whose highly professional copy editing saved us potential embarrassment in many instances. Her sharp-eyed attention to detail revealed numerous literals and errors that had escaped us.
– Helen Crisp & Jules Stewart, authors of Cádiz: The Story of Europe’s Oldest City
Manuscript Evaluation
Get specific storytelling feedback and actionable ideas to develop your adventure story into a compelling page turner
A manuscript evaluation gives you the insight of a professional editor (that’s me!) on what’s working and where you can go deeper so you can confidently refine your adventure story before moving on to self-editing and copyediting.
You’ll come away with pointers for what’s working well (so you can do more of that), ideas for developing weak spots, and targeted advice from an editor who knows the genre inside and out.
This a great first step if you’re not sure that your story is coming across the way you picture it. You get:
- pointers on where your story is already engaging and where you can go deeper with your descriptions, thoughts, feelings, and flashbacks
- a reader’s perspective so you know if your message is getting through the way you want it to
- honest and actionable feedback about the storytelling, narrative, pacing, and dialogue so you can revise with confidence
- clarity on the steps you need to take next to get your story one step closer to publishing
Here’s how the manuscript evaluation works
Step 1: Tell me about your story
Tell me about your story through my manuscript evaluation form. Knowing what your story is about, what your publishing goals are, and whether you’ve had any feedback already really helps me tailor my feedback on your manuscript.
Step 2: Sign up and send the manuscript
If we look like a good fit, I’ll send you my agreement and ask for your manuscript. Our editor-author relationship begins! [hop on a quick call]
Step 3: Reading time
I get to work reading your story and commenting on your manuscript. Your job: take a break from looking at your manuscript and go do something else, like planning your next trip.
Step 4: The deliverables
Once I finish my reading, I’ll send you:
- a report that goes into the strengths and weaknesses of your story, with suggestions and ideas to help you refine your writing further, and what your next steps should be.
- your annotated manuscript, with comments highlighting what’s working, where improvements will help, and how I’m reacting as a reader.
Step 5: One-hour follow-up time
Got questions about the evaluation? Let’s discuss them and talk more about next steps.
I offer flat-rate pricing based on the length of your manuscript.
Price
- 40,000 – 60,000 words: NZ$1,500
- 60,000 – 80,000 words: NZ$2,200
- 80,000 – 100,000 words: NZ$2,600
❝Deborah helped me bring a book to market that I can really be proud of.
Deborah’s guidance and suggestions were technically brilliant, sensitively delivered and extremely constructive. I made virtually all her suggestions and trusted her implicitly.”
– Hannah Powell, author of The Cactus Surgeon
Adventure Edit
Get the confidence to stop rewriting and get excited to share your adventure story with professional editing that gives you a clearer, more compelling manuscript that’s still in your voice
You’ve rewritten the same paragraph seven times. You know it’s not working, but you can’t figure out why. Is it the pacing too slow? The tone wrong? Word choice too flat? You read it aloud. You read it backwards. You sleep on it and reread it with fresh eyes and still can’t say what you’re trying to say.
You’re stuck in a loop, but it’s not because you don’t know how to write. It’s because you’re too close to your text. You need a second set of eyes that knows what to look for. That’s where the Adventure Edit comes in.
This is my full-service edit. I get deep in the weeds of your writing, pulling out flat prose, dodgy dialogue, and wonky descriptions. You get:
- suggestions that build on your voice and personality so your story sounds like you
- ideas for where you can go deeper and pull the reader further into your adventure
- kind, constructive feedback that goes way beyond just catching typos and grammar
- encouragement to bend writing conventions when it works
Here’s how the Adventure Edit works
Step 1: Free sample edit
I edit a sample of your manuscript so you can see how you work and the types of changes, comments, and suggestions I make. It’s a try-before-you-buy deal. You’ll also get a price for editing the whole manuscript.
Step 2: Sign up and send the manuscript
If you like the sample, then you’ll pay a deposit, sign my agreement, and send me your manuscript. The official start of our editor-author relationship. Time to sit back and forget about your story for a few weeks!
Step 3: Editing time
I beaver away on your manuscript making changes, leaving comments, and offering suggestions. I read through the whole manuscript twice, both as an editor and as a reader. This allows me to get in the weeds and get a feel for the story as a real reader would.
Step 4: The deliverables
Once I finish my edit, you’ll get:
- your edited manuscript
- a style sheet that captures the rules of your writing
- a detailed editorial report that goes deep on what’s working in the manuscript and what could be improved, and what your next steps should be.
Step 5: One-hour follow-up time
I don’t send your manuscript back and call it done. You also get one hour of follow-up time, used however you want. We can get on a call to talk through the edit or any questions you have, or I can edit up to 2,000 words of any rewrites you do.
Price
Prices are based on the word count and sample edit, and start from NZ$2,500.
❝Your sensitivity, warmth, and remarkable feel for language have brought these pages to life in a way I could never have achieved on my own.
What I appreciated most was how you refined every sentence with such care while always preserving the heart and authentic voice of the story. I truly couldn’t have wished for a better editor, and I am deeply grateful for all the time, thought, and heart you have invested in this book.”
– Dr. Christine Vogeler, author of GrowFlowTravel
Bite-sized Edit
Get your first 10,000 words edited for one flat rate
Not sure what editing is all about? Querying agents or publishers? Editing on a budget? The Bite-sized Edit is a pared down version of the Adventure Edit. You’ll get your first 10,000 words edited to the same high standard as the Adventure Edit so you can get those all-important first chapters strong, clean, and engaging for agents and publishers.
And if you want to come back later and have your whole manuscript edited, no problem, I can do that.
Here’s how the Bite-Sized Edit works
Step 1: Tell me about your story
Tell me about your story through my bite-sized edit form. Knowing what your story is about, what your publishing goals are, and whether you’ve had any feedback already really helps me tailor my feedback on your first 10,000 words.
Step 2: Sign up and send the manuscript
If we look like a good fit, I’ll send you my agreement and ask for your manuscript. Our editor-author relationship begins!
Step 3: Editing time
I work away on your 10,000 words, making changes, leaving comments, and offering suggestions. I read through the text twice, both as an editor and as a reader. This allows me to get deep into the words and get a feel for the story as a real reader would.
Step 4: The deliverables
Once I finish my bite-sized edit, you’ll get:
- your edited 10,000 words
- a style sheet template that captures the rules of your writing
- a short report that explains what’s working in your early chapters, what could be improved, and what your next steps could be.
Step 5: Thirty-minute follow-up time
Got questions about the edit? Let’s discuss them and talk about next steps. You get thirty minutes of follow-up time to ask questions or brainstorm ideas.
Price
The bite-sized edit is NZ$800.
❝I found your work enormously helpful and precise –
a great learning experience for me. My great respect and thanks to you.”
– John Harry, author of Talking of Michelangelo
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of editing should I get – the manuscript evaluation or the Adventure Edit?
The best place to start is with a chat. I can help figure out where you’re at and what would be appropriate for your story.
If you’re a new writer, I recommend starting with the manuscript evaluation. Getting your structure sorted is the first best step. Everything else – descriptions, dialogue, reader immersion – flows from having a solid structure.
Starting at the sentence level is like trying to chuck all your gear into a half-erected tent right as the rain is coming. If you put in the time to get the tent properly pegged down (your story’s structure), then rolling out your mat and sleeping bag is way easier (your sentence-level writing).
If you’re confident with your story’s structure, or it has a straightforward chronological format, then going straight to the Adventure Edit could be the way to go.
Who do you work with?
I work with new authors who’ve never been edited before and authors who have a book or two (or more!) to their name. I love helping new authors through the editing process and seeing how their writing style develops. It’s so rewarding to see authors build confidence!
For authors with more experience, I love digging into a manuscript and pulling at the threads to tighten up prose and create a great reader experience.
I work with authors from anywhere in the world who have gone on any type of adventure. Maybe you’ve written about your thru-hike or you’ve recreated your grandmother’s gap-year journey, or you’ve kept your travels to your own backyard (perhaps even literally!) – wherever you’ve been, I’d love to hear from you. Book a free chat with me and let’s talk about your book!
How long does editing take?
For the manuscript evaluation, I aim to return my comments in two weeks for manuscripts up to 60,000 words. For manuscripts that are over 60,000 words, I need around three weeks.
For the Adventure Edit, I require about a week per 20,000 words.
- 60,000 words will take around three to four weeks
- 100,000 words will take around five to six weeks
If you’re working to a deadline, let me know when you apply for the sample edit and I’ll do my best to accommodate that
How much does editing cost?
The manuscript evaluation is a flat-rate based on the length of your manuscript.
- 40,000 – 60,000 words: NZ$1,500
- 60,000 – 80,000 words: NZ$2,200
- 80,000 – 100,000 words: NZ$2,600
For the Adventure Edit, the cost depends on how long the manuscript is and how much editing is needed. I work out the price based on my sample edit so you know exactly how much the edit will cost.
As a guide,
- a 40,000 word manuscript starts from NZ$2,500
- a 60,000 word manuscript starts from NZ$3,500
- a 100,000 word manuscript starts from NZ$5,500
I can price (and invoice) the edit in your local currency so you don’t have to worry about conversions. For writers outside of New Zealand, I use Wise, which makes bank-to-bank transfers easier and cheaper for us both.
The Bite-sized Edit is a flat fee is NZ$800 for 10,000 words.
Do you offer payment plans?
I ask for a deposit up front and the balance when I return the edit. I’m happy to talk payment options if needed.
I’ve never worked with an editor before. What can I expect when I work with you?
I’m all about collaboration and choice and confidence. I give you suggestions and explain what conventions readers may expect, but I don’t tell you what to write or how to tell your story. You’re free to ignore my suggestions if they don’t feel right.
My aim is to give suggestions that enhance your voice and personality so your story sounds like you.
I also give you an editorial report that breaks down my edit and lets you see your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses, and what your next steps should be. I can also point you to resources and people who help with the next stages, whether you’re self-publishing or submitting to agents and publishers.
You also get an hour of follow-up time so you can talk through any questions that came up as you work through the edit.
Will my manuscript be perfect and error free after editing?
With the manuscript evaluation, I’m not touching the text itself, so I won’t be tidying up spelling or grammar. But if I notice over-use of a particular word or phrase, I’ll note that you can keep an eye out when you’re revising. The idea is to get your overall structure solid before you go on to refining the story at the sentence level.
For the Adventure Edit, I can’t guarantee that your manuscript will be completely perfect and free from errors after editing. I am human, after all (ChatGPT, Grammarly, and ProWritingAid can’t guarantee perfection either). But I do ensure that your manuscript is as error free as possible.
Proofreading is another excellent line of defence against typos and any funky issues with the layout. It’s best done after layout (usually on PDF), and with a fresh pair of eyes. I offer a 14-page proofreading checklist to all writers who book the Adventure Edit with me.
It teaches you how proofreading fits into the publishing process, how to mark-up your designed page proofs, and what to look for. It’s even got videos to guide you through each step, and examples from published books.
Typos even slip their way past editors and proofreaders in professionally published books. As frustrating as they are, they’re unavoidable. But just think of the hundreds of other typos that could have slipped through without editing.
Will my manuscript be ready for publishing once you’ve edited it?
As I edit, I’ll leave questions and comments for you to consider. Some of the queries will be solved with quick changes, but some may need deeper changes and recasts. My aim is to get your manuscript one step closer to publishing. You’ll still have some work to do, but for most writers, the hardest part – getting the manuscript written – is already done.
What’s your AI policy?
I don’t mind if you’ve used generative AI as part of your writing process, but please tell me how you’ve used it. It’s helpful for me to know if you’ve used it for developing story structure, sentence-level rewrites, or spelling and grammar fixes.
I don’t use generative AI to edit or your manuscript. Nor do I use AI to develop suggestions for rephrasing or rewording. My editing report is my own thoughts specific to your story. All the suggestions and edits I give come from my own squishy brain and years of editing experience.
What credentials do you have?
Like you, I love the outdoors. I started tramping (that’s what New Zealanders call hiking) when I was 16, and since then I’ve been tramping all around the southern half of the South Island.
I also love reading travel and adventure books. Daring summit attempts, long-as thru-hikes, backyard adventures – I love to read about trips that I’m far to scared to go on!
I received my graduate diploma in publishing from Whitireia’s highly regarded publishing programme here in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2014.
I’m also a professional member and an accredited editor of the Institute of Professional Editors, the professional editing association for editors in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
And I received a first class honours degree in philosophy from the University of Otago. For my fellow philosophers, my dissertation was about feminist epistemology.
❝Deborah enabled me to be able to step back from the content, assess critically and make the necessary changes to enhance the manuscript.
I was particularly fussy when looking for an editor for my memoir, and Deborah was recommended to me. After researching her, and her tramping hobby (which aligned with my memoir) I knew she was the right person for the job. Her method, evaluation and review exceeded my expectations. I can’t thank you enough for all your help on this project.”
– Verity Jackson, author of NZ Hiking Adventures