Editor. Writer. Addicted to story.

A full-time professional content editor of over one hundred novels, Annetta Ribken has also been writing since a tender young age, when letters were chiseled on stone tablets. A precocious student, Annetta earned her Ph.D in the School of Hard Knocks, with honors, in the early Age of Disco. She lives and works just outside of St. Louis with her evil feline overlord, a rescued shelter cat named Athena.

Work Terms

I determine my rates based on level and length of the manuscript for content editing. Interested parties should submit the first two chapters and the last two chapters of their work. I will evaluate the first chapter of your novel (or 1500 words) at no charge. For shorter works, 15% of the story will be evaluated.

A one-page summary of the piece is also requested.

Content Editing: Also known as “developmental editing”, content editing includes evaluation for:

Plot logic

Story arc

Characterization

Narrative flow

Basic structure

Content editing also includes a fair amount of copy editing at no extra charge, but does not replace the need for a thorough copy edit.

My job is not to blow smoke up your nether regions. My job is to give you an honest, unbiased, educated evaluation of your work. My job is to help you make your story the absolute best it can be. I’m not mean, but I mean business.

Formatting

1. I work in Word with the Track Changes option. No exceptions.

2. Documents should be formatted in Times New Roman 12pt, double-spaced, and include a word count and genre.

3. Unsolicited manuscripts which do not adhere to #2 will be deleted unread. Sorry.

Business Hours And Hourly Rate

Monday-Thursday 9AM-9PM CST

Saturday 12-4PM CST

Fridays and Sundays offline.

Consultation services are available for brainstorming, hashing out story ideas, blurbs, and other publishing-related subjects. My hourly rate is $65/hour with a one hour minimum.