Testimonials
“Jessica de Bruyn is an editor at the top of her field. Highly-qualified and with a rare, keen eye, Jessica’s feedback is not only comprehensive and insightful, but she also works closely with the individual client to elevate their work, tailoring her approach to the specific project. She gets the best possible book from her clients—she is a shaper of authors and molder of great works.”
—Ali McDonald, Partner and Literary Agent at 5 Otter Literary, and client
“Jessica came highly recommended to me by an agent who said she trusted Jessica’s opinion on a manuscript as much as her own. And Jessica did not disappoint. She provided an extremely insightful and detailed editorial letter providing concrete suggestions to address manuscript weaknesses that were extremely helpful and thought provoking. On my latest project, among her other suggestions, she brilliantly advised me to back up the beginning of the novel by a few hours and add one more scene/image to the end, which has made all the difference. While the world of publishing is extremely competitive and crowded, Jessica will ensure that your manuscript is at its polished best.”
– Susan Marshall, author of Double Negative
“Jessica has mastered the delicate balancing act of providing a supportive critique. She respectfully and kindly suggested creative plot directions I had never considered, but then clung to immediately. Her support has proven invaluable to my writing project because she brought a unique and professional perspective. She knows the market and doesn’t hesitate to share what will and won’t work in the field of publishing. She is the quintessential professional with her clear and concise communications and turnaround time. Jessica’s assistance ameliorated my writing in a way that I could have never achieved without her.”
– Amy Wilde-Taylor, middle-grade author
“Jessica helped me to move my manuscript from a very bumpy third draft to a cohesive tale. She broke down and evaluated each aspect of the story so I could decide whether to leave scenes as written, add to them, or eliminate them. Even though I knew that each scene had to advance the tale in some way or another, I had lost perspective after making many revisions, and she was able to give me an objective appraisal. She gave specific examples of details that could be elaborated. She gave me feedback about the credibility of the characters. She also looked at the bigger picture and identified over-arching themes that were not fully explored. One of Jessica’s strengths is her sense of drama: she knows what engages the reader, and encourages scenes that, as she says, “drag the characters through the mud.” That advice really helped me to punch up the story. My novel is being published now, and I have much to thank her for.”
– Linda Stewart Henley, author of Estelle
“Just made my first pass through your critique and I just wanted to tell you how helpful they are going to be. I know writers don’t generally like to receive notes, but I was at a complete standstill on this story. I couldn’t write anymore because I didn’t have any new ideas and yet I knew it wasn’t complete. Everything you said in your critique caused lightbulbs to flash over my head with dozens of new ideas. I’m very pleased. This will give me the kick I need to get on with the next draft.”
– Jake MacMillan, fantasy author
“Thanks so much for the manuscript markup and the critique. You’ve raised several points to explore. I can’t wait to dive in. The best part of the whole process is discovering the characters, and pointed questions and comments help me dig deeper.”
– Chris Ledoux, author of The Burnt Sunset Series
“I wanted to let you know how helpful your analysis was. I think I suspected a lot of what you said, so it was great to have this articulated so thoroughly. I can much better understand the task ahead for me, whether for this novel or the next one.”
– Gary Winter, novelist & playwright
“I just finished reading over your extremely helpful critique. Thank you so much! Your many points are well laid out and full of details that are easy for me to understand, and I believe will be equally easy to implement. I can’t wait to get started on my next revisions.”
– Jan Slatterlee, fantasy author
“Jessica, I love your input. This story has been missing …”something” and I think you’ve put your finger smack-dab on the elements.”
– Kim Kasch, young adult author
Editing Sample
In substantive editing and manuscript critiques, it is impossible to provide potential clients with an accurate sample edit for free – as critiquing a few pages would not give a fair representation of either the author’s work or the editor’s skill. The following sample is presented to give an idea of my style of editing and for those who are new to manuscript evaluations of this type:
Plot And Pacing (Please note that this excerpt of an editor’s letter has been altered to protect the anonymity of the author and work and has been displayed with permission from the manuscript’s author.)
