James Machell: Editor
“Frankly, I don’t believe that creative writing courses or long mentorships have any significant benefit. The way to learn (or at least it’s been that way for me), is simply to get stuck in and start getting rejected. I recieved an MSc in Creative Writing from The University of Edinburgh but submitting, editing, and publishing has shaped my current output. The struggle is in getting started and convincing paying editors to engage with, and actually publish your work.
“My sessions (which I began offering when I joined the Utopia Science Fiction team), tend be be one-off. I want to see where your writing is at, the general ways which it can be improved, and provide some guidance towards publication. Because I believe that first session to be the most valuable, all subsequent session, should you require further support, are discounted.
“I can provide the most value to fiction writers, but having published poetry and nonfiction, I am open to all forms of writing. Send me a description of your project and we can discuss how best to move forward.”
Testimonials
“James was great. I’d spent years trying to sell my short stories and after two sessions with James, I’d got my first sale. Thanks a lot!”
Editorial Rates Overview
Editorial Package 1
$50
Manuscript evaluation, developmental notes, and line editing. Submit up to 5000 words by email for the text to be carefully annotated and returned with a paragraph of feedback and marketing advice.
Editorial Package 2
$100
This includes everything in Editorial Package 1, plus a 60 minute video consultation, during which, any notes can be discussed as we move towards publishing your work. If you require input throughout the creation of a novel or short story collection, all further sessions will be discounted by 50% until the project is complete.
James Machell 