I have mentored a number of students and have a Master Of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College Of Fine Arts. I also have advanced degrees in computer science and management.
I work on picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and poetry. I am a member and volunteer of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Western Washington chapter, volunteer at We Need Diverse Books, and I blog about children’s books at Diverse Verse and Cynsations. I’m a mentor for the 2026 We Need Diverse Books Mentorship Program.
I offer the following services:
Developmental Editing — This service provides a close read and deep dive into the structure and elements of your manuscript. It provides inline notes and comments as well as a longform editorial letter that covers such craft elements as character and plot arcs, structure, setting, pacing, voice, conflict etc. After the initial manuscript review and letter, this deliverable is followed by a one-hour one-on-one call for discussion.
Editorial Assessment — This service is like a developmental edit in that I offer a close read of the work, a detailed and comprehensive editorial letter, giving you “broad stroke” insight into your manuscript, and a one-hour follow-up conversation. This service differs in that it stands alone and does not offer subsequent reviews.
Line Edit – Full review of your manuscript that hones in on word choice, readability, inconsistence, cadence, tone, style, and use of language on a sentence-by-sentence level. All work done in track changes. This is NOT a copy edit.
Query Letter Review — Review of your query letter followed by a one-hour zoom where we hammer out what will make your query stand out and attract the eyes of an agent or editor.
Author Coaching – From concept to a complete first draft of a manuscript in weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly sessions, I offer one-on-one customized coaching and offer accountability, feedback, and writing exercises to help you from first thought to completed manuscript. This is accomplished through “packets” of manuscript or homework pages being turned in for review, followed by a one-hour call for discussion.
Picture Book Rounds of Revision Edit – I do not do editorial assessments for picture books. Picture books are difficult to write and we count every word because every word counts. I offer three rounds of developmental editing.
Editing Intake Form:
sumasubramaniam.com 