Makenzi Crouch | Editorial Services

Line editing?
Copyediting?
Proofreading?
Not sure what you need but know you need help?

You’ve come to the right place!

I’m a freelance editor based in Portland, Oregon, with projects taking me virtually all over the globe. I love helping writers to create their best work, whether that means eradicating extra spaces and pesky errant commas or diving deep into character psyches and the logic of plot progression.

Please feel free to get in touch! I’d love to discuss your project with you.

Be the best you can be.

Expertise

Over the course of my career, I have edited 500+ fiction, non-fiction, and academic titles, including for Amherst Press, Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Change Empire Books, CRC Press, De Gruyter, Endeavour Press, Focal Press, Manchester University Press, Mohr Siebeck, MX Publishing, Peter Lang, Routledge/Taylor & Francis, SBL Press, Skyhorse Publishing, and University of Michigan Press, as well as articles for the Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture, the Journal of the British Academy, and Innervate, and short creative work for Quiver. Additional projects have included theses and dissertations, applications, grant proposals, cover letters, resumes, bios, blurbs, query letters, blog posts, and website copy. My CV can be seen here.

I take pride in safeguarding the integrity of the editorial process and have identified and had pulled from production two heavily plagiarized manuscripts and two manuscripts due to problematic content. My editing is informed by a lifetime of love for the English language and over fifteen years of practical experience writing both creative and academic texts. I hold a PhD in English from the University of Nottingham, an MLitt in Shakespeare Studies from the University of St Andrews, and a BA in Creative Writing with Honors in English Literature from Knox College, for which degrees I have completed three academic theses and a creative writing portfolio. I am intimately familiar with the intricacies of academic writing and publishing, as well as guiding and supporting authors in the development of plot, character, story arc, organization, continuity, and dialogue.

For academic titles, my particular subject specialisms are Shakespeare; English literature; adaptation; film, television, and media studies; theater and performance; new and digital media; and music, with additional interests in Renaissance and Regency-era history. For fiction, I specialize in young adult fiction, romance, speculative fiction, fairy tales, Regency-era historical fiction, and adaptations.

Diverse project topics provide familiarity with and insight into, among others, Asian studies, business, child development, communication, dance, economics, education, gender studies, geophysics, health care, history, hospitality, human trafficking, international relations and politics, linguistics, marketing, mental health, museum studies, philosophy, psychology, queer studies, sexuality, social media, sports, sustainability, theology and religious studies, video games, women’s studies, and youth studies; and biography, crime, general fiction and non-fiction, historical fiction, memoir, military fiction, self-help, and short story. My title list can seen here.

I have worked with people from many walks of life: an international cast of individuals of highly diverse personal backgrounds, personalities, cultures, and languages. The ability to engage thoughtfully, appreciate different areas of expertise, and acknowledge and navigate differing viewpoints is crucial to my approach to each new project and to my ability to foster positive and productive author–editor relationships. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me.

be the best you can be.

Get in touch!

Getting started on editing your project, whether it’s a novel, a monograph, or a memoir, can be a daunting task. I’m here to help!

Please provide a few details about your project below so I can best help you achieve your goals!