Editing and Literary Consulting Services

Your novel deserves to captivate readers and catch the eye of agents and publishers. I’ll help you strengthen its structure, deepen your characters, and sharpen your style so your story is ready for the next step in its journey — and so that you can overcome those hurdles keeping you from moving forward.

Story Strategy Session

Sometimes authors need a creative sparring partner to help them figure out how to structure their story or get unstuck from a half-completed draft.

In this one hour, one-on-one session, we’ll talk through and wrestle out your novel’s big-picture aspects, including structure, character, pacing, POV, and scene succession. We’ll brainstorm, test ideas, and challenge your story assumptions, helping you see your story’s possibilities clearly and giving you confidence for the next draft.

Perfect for:

  • Writers with partial drafts or outlines

  • Authors starting a new project

  • Anyone who feels “stuck” and needs an expert sparring partner

How It Works

I send you a pre-session questionnaire to get to know you, your work, and your biggest challenges. We’ll book a one hour Zoom meeting where we’ll wrestle out answers and guidance to your biggest challenges. After, I’ll provide a post-session summary email with bullet takeaways, next-step questions, or suggested craft readings.

Rate

Starting at $175 per session.

Fill out the form below to get started!

Developmental Editing

With 25 years of writing, workshopping, and studying craft, I bring both depth and perspective to my review of your novel. Through in-depth developmental editing, I’ll give you clear, actionable feedback to strengthen:

  • Structure and Pacing: You're hitting the right beats in classic structures like the Hero's Journey or Save the Cat.

  • Character and Motivation: Your characters are psychologically rich, interesting, and clear on their wants and drive.

  • Tension and Causality: You're building tension scene by scene and making the reader want to know more.

  • POV and Style: You have the right POV for your novel, and the right style and word choices for your narrator.

  • Setting and World-building: Your characters exist in a world that's as much a part of the plot as they are.

Genres I Specialize In

I'm the right developmental editor for adult book club, upmarket, and literary fiction, as well as historical fiction and speculative fiction.

What You’ll Receive

I give your novel two read-throughs (first to understand the full arc, second to review the craft elements), making in-document notes as I go. Then I write a 5-page feedback letter giving actionable feedback on the above craft elements to give you a roadmap for your next revision.

The transformation goes beyond the deliverables. This is about helping you see where you’ve been stuck and see the way forward with renewed creativity, passion, and confidence.

Rate

Starting at $0.02 per word, with a final quote provided after reviewing a 1,000-word sample.

Why a sample? Every novel is different. Some manuscripts just need their paths clarified; others need a full map redraw.. Reviewing a short sample lets me see what kind of support your manuscript truly needs and ensures you get a fair, transparent quote.

Fill out the form below to get started!

“Jessica was fantastic. She read my novel and within a week provided me with an editorial letter that pointed out strengths and weakness of the work, suggestions where elements could be eliminated or combined, and other actionable feedback that I found to be invaluable. Quick, detailed, and passionate. Would strongly recommend her to anyone here!"

Line Editing/Copy Editing/Proofreading

Once your story’s foundation is strong, it’s time to refine the language itself. I offer three levels of sentence- and style-level editing depending on where you are in your process.

Line Editing

Have you ever read a sentence that stayed with you, or prose so tight it guided the narrative alone? Line editing refines your novel at the sentence level, focusing on rhythm, clarity, flow, and voice while preserving your style. I smooth transitions, tighten language, and ensure every sentence serves your story. The goal is a manuscript that reads effortlessly, allowing your craft and characters to shine.

Copy Editing

Copy editing ensures your manuscript is consistent, polished, and publication-ready. I’ll check grammar, punctuation, syntax, and continuity, flag inconsistencies, and refine awkward phrasing while keeping your unique voice intact. The result is high-quality readability and precision.

Proofreading

Proofreading is the final step before publication or submission. I perform a careful surface read for typos, punctuation, formatting, and lingering errors after editing. It’s the last quality check to make sure your manuscript is as clean and professional as possible before publication or querying.

What You’ll Receive

To get started, I’ll review 1,000 words to determine the level of editing needed and provide a quote. Then we’ll finalize word count, rate, and delivery schedule. I complete the edits in Track Changes (either in a Word Doc or in a Google Doc — your preference), leaving clear, actionable notes, changes, and revisions. You receive your polished manuscript plus a short summary of key style or consistency notes.

Rate

  • Line editing: Starting at $0.02 per word, with a final quote provided after reviewing a 1,000-word sample.

  • Copy editing: Starting at $0.015 per word, with a final quote provided after reviewing a 1,000-word sample.

  • Proofreading: Starting at $0.01 per word, with a final quote provided after reviewing a 1,000-word sample.

Why a sample? Every manuscript has its own needs. Some require a light polish, others a deeper stylistic pass. Reviewing a short sample lets me see what kind of support your manuscript truly needs and ensures you get a fair, transparent quote.

Fill out the form below to get started!

Looking for marketing guidance to help you start building an audience as you draft and finalize your novel? Head to Kent Literary Marketing to learn how we can work together on your marketing.

Writing Career Strategy Session

Sometimes you just need a little help answering “What’s next?” As someone navigating the writing world, and who has also built a career across the literary ecosystem, I’ve learned that there are so many paths a writer or literary-minded person can take outside of traditional routes.

I can help coach you through some of the big questions you may have about your writing career trajectory, including:

  • “I’ve finished a draft — now what?”

  • “Should I query agents, hire an editor, or self-publish?”

  • “How do I build my author platform without burning out?”

  • “How do I balance writing with marketing/day job/life?”

  • “What does a realistic writing trajectory even look like for me?”

  • “I don’t want to go into teaching — what else is there for me?”

Let’s talk through it in a one hour coaching session!

How It Works

I send you a pre-session questionnaire to get to know you, your goals, and your biggest challenges. We’ll book a one hour Zoom meeting where I’ll coach you through a discussion about possible pathways and next steps. After, I’ll provide a post-session summary email with recommendations, key decisions, and possible next steps.

Rate

Starting at $175 per session.

Fill out the form below to get started!

Recent Projects Include…

  • Historical fiction (developmental editing)

  • Historical/magical realism (developmental editing)

  • Speculative fiction (developmental editing)

  • Literary fiction (developmental editing)

  • YA novel (developmental editing)

  • Historical fiction (developmental editing)

  • Contemporary fiction (beta read and feedback letter)

  • Literary/upmarket novel (developmental editing)

  • YA novel (beta read and feedback letter)

  • Experimental novel (developmental editing)

  • Romance novel (developmental editing)

  • Commercial fiction novel (copy editing)

Hi! I’m Jessica A. Kent

I’ve been writing and studying fiction craft for 25 years. My BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College laid the foundation of my writing craft knowledge and how to critique others' work. My MA in Literature from Harvard helped deepen my understanding as I studied and parsed great literature.

I’ve also read for literary magazines and even founded one myself, which gave me a deep understanding of what makes a submission stand out . . . and what causes a good story to fall short. That perspective informs how I approach editing: with both the writer’s intent and the reader’s experience in mind.

In the year-long Novel Incubator program, I helped nine other classmates develop their novels into publication-ready work. I've helped many writers develop and refine their drafts, several of which went on to publication, and I've also applied everything I've learned to my own fiction writing.

A little bit more about me:

I’m the founder of Literary Boston, a website that covers the local literary community, and other past literary roles include library assistant, bookseller, and book festival director. I hold a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson and a Master’s in Literature from Harvard, where my thesis on Moby-Dick and Calvinism won the Director’s Prize. My short fiction has appeared the North American Review, the Emerson Review, and others, and has received the Leah Lovenheim Award for Short Fiction. I recently graduated from GrubStreet's Novel Incubator program, where I’m working on a novel about paramedics in 1970s Boston.

Let’s get started today!

Fill out the form below to get started on your editing or literary coaching services.

Not sure which service is right for you? That’s okay — many writers aren’t sure what kind of feedback they need yet. Fill out the form and tell me where you are in your process, and I’ll help you figure out the best next step.