About:

The Clean Sweep service offers a full edit on a short project of 20,000 words or less.

Ready to send that short story to a competition, that pitch package to an agent, or that grant application to a funding organization, but feel your submission could use some tidying up? Gail and Graham Anderson-Dargatz team up to give your project the attention it deserves. The clean sweep is an all-in-one: structural edits from Gail and line edits from Graham.

Gail will dig deep into your manuscript's themes, story goals, conflicts, structure, character arcs, pacing, point of view, and dialogue to help you develop your project to the fullest. Graham will polish your manuscript, providing stylistic editing as well as some fact-checking where appropriate.

How it works:

Contact Gail's office to schedule your clean sweep. We'll send you an invoice, and once you've paid and emailed us your submission, we'll get to work. You can expect a marked-up copy containing Gail and Graham’s notes within a week for a short story under 5,000 words.

Manuscripts must be submitted by email as a single Word document in 12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced. To keep the cost reasonable, there is no Zoom discussion or follow-up email exchange as there is for Gail's other services. This is not a proofreading service and will not guarantee publication.

About your editors:

GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ taught for nearly a decade within the CW MFA program at UBC, where she was a thesis advisor and sat on application juries. She has also served as a peer assessor on grant juries and as a juror for fiction competitions. Gail has worked with many of Canada’s finest established and emerging writers as a mentor and developmental editor for over twenty years. Click here for more on Gail's successful writing career.

GRAHAM ANDERSON-DARGATZ is currently completing the SFU editing certificate program and holds the Editing Essentials certificate from Editors Canada, where he’s a member. He has written extensively on language, linguistics, and etymology and has developed language courses that are used in schools throughout British Columbia. He is delighted to work with writers who have English as a second language.

Cost:

Four cents a word, plus GST/HST for your province.

For example, a 4,000-word manuscript would cost $160, plus GST/HST.

This service is designed for short projects. For manuscripts over 20,000 words, contact Gail's office or check out Gail’s developmental editing service.

Writers hoping for feedback on a project outline are better served by a blue pencil session, which allows for brainstorming.

To schedule your clean sweep, contact Gail's office: books@gailanderson-dargatz.ca. We can usually get your project back to you within a week.

Praise:

"Gail and Graham offered a fresh perspective on my work which allowed me to crack it open and completely revamp the narrative. Their insight and expertise on the developmental and line edits pushed my work to a new level."

— Lindsay Foran, RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award finalist, longlisted CBC Short Story Prize, 3Macs finalist

“Gail and Graham's complementary and aligned skill sets brought out the true potential of my novel. Gail's insightful big-picture questions helped me craft a more authentic storyline and add compelling conflict to my character arcs. Graham not only helped propel my pacing, but he cleaned up my bulky prose and delivered outstanding fact-checking. I'm already planning my next project with them!”

— Rina Nichols Rina Nichols, writer, Canada Council for the Arts grant recipient, shortlisted CANSCAIP 2023 Writing for Children competition YA category

“Graham's skills brought precision to my writing, resulting in clearer character definition and a focus on storyline that helped bring my writing to life. I could feel it on the page.”

— Florence MacDonald, an award-winning, internationally produced playwright and short story writer

“Working with Gail has saved me months, if not years, of time wasted on taking wrong turns and going down rabbit holes in my fiction... She is excellent at identifying weaknesses and inconsistencies with structure, character, and narrative arc.”

— Ellen McKeough, short story writer and physician

“I'm very grateful for the attention to detail paid by Graham. I learned so much about editing for consistency, clarity, and accuracy. I'll be back for more!”

— Liza Potvin, creative nonfiction award winner

The Clean Sweep

Writing is messy. Clean it up! Get a detailed edit of your story, pitch package, grant application or any short project under 20,000 words.

Alpha and Beta Reading Service

Alpha and beta readers give feedback on a manuscript from a reader’s perspective. Move your project forward with this affordable service.

Writing Retreat

This week-long writing retreat in the Shuswap region of British Columbia is timed to coincide with the sockeye run on the Adams River, a natural wonder.

Creative Writing Course

This course is offered free to writers enrolled in Gail's fiction mentorships, developmental edits, and fall retreats, to support instruction.

Meet and Greet

Meet Gail for a 20-minute Zoom session to get a sample edit or discuss which one of Gail's services is right for you.

Blue Pencil Sessions

Not your average blue pencil session, this consultation with Gail is a full workshop. Book at any time.

Fiction Mentorships

Gail's flagship course. In this one-on-one, private, four-month online mentorship, Gail will guide you as you put together your fiction project.

Developmental Edits

For writers with a complete draft. Gail digs deep into your manuscript's big picture story elements -- themes, story goals, conflicts and structure, character arcs, pacing, point of view, and dialogue -- to help you develop your project to the fullest.