Book coaching
A partner who provides structure, momentum, and honest feedback chapter by chapter as you write, keeping you moving toward your writing goals.
For novelists ready for a partner
Show me the book you’ve written; I’ll show you the one only you can write.
I’m Amanda Sumner, a developmental editor, line editor, and book coach with thirty years in publishing, including major New York houses.
- W. W. Norton
- Ecco / HarperCollins
- Reedsy
- RWA speaker
Is this you?
Maybe you’ve just finished your first novel. Maybe you’ve published five and want the next one to be your best. Either way, you’re not after a light once-over and a pat on the head—you want someone who reads every line closely, tells you the truth with kindness, and cares about your book almost as much as you do.
Elevate your craft
What I’ll help you do
Whether you’re staring down your first finished draft or shaping your fifth published novel, here’s the work we’ll do together.
- Find the story you’re reaching for and help you get it on the page, whether you’re still outlining or already deep in a draft.
- Pinpoint what’s holding the book back—the structure, the second-act pacing, or a scene you love that doesn’t move the plot forward.
- Sharpen the prose line by line so your voice rings clearer and every sentence is solid.
- Push a strong book to become an unforgettable one—the kind that keeps readers rapt until the wee hours.
- Tell you the truth about what’s working and what isn’t.
- Serve as your cheerleader, bossy big sister, brainstorming partner, and mentor from your book’s first glimmer to the final polish whether this is your debut or your fifth novel.
Three ways I can help
Editing for wherever you are in the book
Not sure which you need? That’s what the order below is for—find yourself in it, and we’ll take it from there.
Developmental editing
Big-picture work on character, plot, structure, and pacing—a clear-eyed editorial report plus in-line notes that show you the book your draft is trying to become.
Line editing
Sentence-level craft—rhythm, clarity, and word choice, line by line—sharpening the prose until it reads unmistakably like you, only better.
Fiction I edit
I work in the genres I love—and know inside out
Four markets, four different sets of rules. I edit each on its own terms.
Romance
Heat, heart, and the tropes that make readers auto-buy—edited by a two-time RWA national speaker who knows the genre’s promises and how to keep them.
Learn moreErotica
Character-driven fiction where the protagonist’s arc is driven by sex, not paused for it—edited on the genre’s own terms, heat and all.
Learn moreScience fiction
Ideas with consequences—internal logic, worldbuilding, and pacing held to the standard a demanding genre and its readers expect.
Learn moreFantasy
Worldbuilding that holds together—magic systems, lore, and character arcs tracked across a sprawling canvas without losing the thread.
Learn more Voice first
My job isn’t to make your book sound like me. It’s to help it sound unmistakably like you—at your best.
I trained at major New York publishing houses, and I’ve spent more than thirteen years bringing that experience to independent novelists. I’m warm, I’m candid, and I’ll be as invested in your book as you are—your partner in making it the strongest, truest version of itself while keeping it distinctly yours.
Experience & results
Three decades behind your book
30+ years in publishing, including major New York houses
13+ years with independent fiction writers
2× national-conference speaker for Romance Writers of America
IPPY & National Readers’ Choice awards among client books
Trained and certified as a copyeditor. Books I’ve edited have won and placed in the IPPY Awards and the National Readers’ Choice Award.
In their words
What writers say
A few of the novelists I’ve worked with—in romance, fantasy, and beyond.
Amanda has been my go-to freelance editor for years. She is thorough and thoughtful, and I trust her work implicitly. In fact, she is so good that readers have left comments on how well-edited my book is. Seriously. More importantly, she is a lovely person and a dream to work with. I recommend her highly!!
If you’re after an honest, diligent, highly experienced editor, then look no further than Amanda. I’ve entrusted her with my fiction novel series, and her edits and suggestions were valuable, making for a stronger, more compelling story.
She is very professional and sweet, loving my characters almost as much as I did.
How it works
From first pages to finished book
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Start with a sample or a call
Send a few pages for a sample edit, or book a short call. Either way I get the project questions I need first.
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A plan and a quote
I tell you straight which service fits where you are, what the work involves, and what it costs—no surprises.
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The edit itself
We work in the manuscript together: candid notes, respectful back-and-forth, and close attention to your story.
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The book only you can write
You come away with a stronger draft and a clearer sense of your own voice—ready for readers.
Let’s find the book only you can write.
Send a few pages for a sample edit, or book a 15-minute call. I read every message myself.