10,000-word agent teaser for fiction writers

10k-word agent teaser – who it’s for

You’ve nailed your story and are happy with the structure. Now you want to focus on sentence-level readability.

A full line- and copyedit feels like a stretch too far because you've yet to secure representation. Polishing the first 10,000 words will increase your chances of getting an agent's attention.

I'll correct and smooth your prose while respecting style and narrative voice.

Costs and format

Price: Flat fee of £500
Word count: For 10,000 words
Format: Microsoft Word
Booking fee: £500 (non-refundable, but deducted from final invoice)

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What’s included in this editing service

1. A line-by-line edit of the first 10K words

I'll edit 10,000 words of your novel. Front of my mind will be clarity and flow. I'll address the following:

Chapter sequencing
Character-trait consistency
Cliché and awkward metaphor
Dialogue expression: particularly authenticity of phrasing and word choice in relation to character voice, mood and intention
Effectiveness of sentence-level narration, including an assessment of word choice, repetition and overwriting, especially in action and suspense scenes
Effectiveness of suspense and thrill points
Layout guidance
Letter, word, line and paragraph spacing
Problematic representation, stereotyping and othering
Sentence pace, rhythm and flow, and whether it reflects the setting and mood of a scene
Speech tagging and punctuation
Spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, hyphenation and capitalization
Standard document formatting using Word’s styles palette: indentation, paragraph style, section breaks
Told versus shown prose
Use of tenses
Verb use, especially to create tension and suspense

2. An editorial report

My extensive report details my observations while editing your book. I'll focus on where your strengths and weaknesses lie in relation to the topics listed above.

This is a stylistic line editing service. If you're looking for support with story structure, character arc and development, theme and voice, world-building, and market and audience fit, I recommend you work with a developmental editor.

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What authors say about my editing ...

I’ve worked hard on those opening eight chapters. They’ve been adapted in accordance with your suggestions and edits, and the impact on the beta reading team has been explosive. The raw voice of both the narrator and characters was preserved despite such powerful changes.
Daniel Garrett, mystery author

Deft and precise in her edit, she enhances what is written so at once it is crisper and more elegant, revealing the writer's voice by making it stronger, clearer and more eloquent.

In short – if you want your writing to be better, then you need to get Louise to edit it. I can't recommend working with her highly enough.
Kess Goldland, thriller author

Guidance on inclusive and respectful writing

This service includes a free booklet featuring resources that help writers work to actively consider whether the words in a novel are driving story forward and enriching readers, or causing unintended harm.

The tools linked to in this booklet aim to help you apply good judgement to your fiction from a conscious language perspective.