Editing & Consulting Services

Need help on your novel, short story, or personal essay?

What I Offer

I edit fiction of all genres, adult or YA, including short stories. I also edit agent/publisher submission packages. A submission package typically includes a query letter, a synopsis, and the first ten pages to three chapters of your novel. Additionally, I edit non-fiction personal essays and memoirs. I do not generally edit children’s fiction or non-fiction. But if you’d like to work with me, please contact me to see if your writing would be a good editing fit.

Beyond editing, I offer a consultation service for writers in need of writing coaching, which includes working with me one-on-one on your writing, as well as publishing advice & guidance, which includes starting writing and/or a career as an author, submitting writing to agents and/or publishers, discussing the differences between indie vs. traditional publishing, navigating genre and comps, and other writing- and industry-related questions.

How it Works

1. Contact me with the following information: what service you are interested in, whether you have work to submit, the type of work (novel or memoir manuscript, short story, or non-fiction essay), the genre, how many pages, and any other details or questions. We will then discuss what type of edits you are looking for, and whether we are a good editing fit!
2. Sign a short contract that will detail the scope of work and protect your work
3. Receive an invoice for payment from me (see more here)
4. Pay to reserve your spot, and receive a payment confirmation from me
5. If you have work for me to edit, please send me the pages in a Microsoft Word document as an attachment with your name, title, genre, and page number. Please send the document per industry standards: 1-inch margins on all sides with 0.5-inch paragraph indents, Times New Roman font, 12pt size, double spaced unless query or synopsis
6. Receive a confirmation of receipt and an estimated date of completion (which will also be included in your contract)

Queries: $75 (1 single-spaced page; includes a follow-up edit)

Synopsis: $150 (2 single-spaced pages; each additional page is $5 per page)

First ten pages: $350

• In-depth evaluation of opening scenes
• I will cover such elements as syntax, paragraph & sentence structure, voice & style AND developmental editing elements, including coherence, pacing/tension, themes, motivation, plot & structure, and character development, among others
• Includes:
  • In-line manuscript comments relating to the evaluation
  • An actionable edit letter summarizing developmental and line edit steps to take

Developmental Edit: $5 per page

• Big picture evaluation of the manuscript, including plot & structure from chapter to chapter to the manuscript as a whole; character arcs, motivations, & development (including secondary characters); pacing & tension; voice, tone & style, including POV; themes; and marketability (current market for your book, comps, and genre expectations)
• Includes:
  • In-line manuscript comments relating to the evaluation
  • An actionable editorial letter summarizing the evaluation and developmental edit steps to take
  • Add a one-on-one coaching/consultation session with me for $75 per hour (the usual price is $100 per hour, see here)

Line Edit: $6 per page

• A more detailed evaluation of the manuscript, including such elements as spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, paragraph & sentence structure, voice & style
• Please note: I reserve the right to decide whether your manuscript is ready for a line edit once you send it to me. A line edit is appropriate for a manuscript that does not require major overhauls to plot, structure, and character. If I don’t believe the manuscript is ready for such an edit, I might recommend a developmental edit first.
• Includes:
  • Detailed in-line manuscript edits AND comments relating to the evaluation
  • An actionable editorial letter summarizing the evaluation and line edit steps to take
  • Add a one-on-one coaching/consultation session with me for $75 per hour (the usual price is $100 per hour, see here)

• Please note: This is not a copy edit, which is the final stage of the publishing process, and involves copy editing expertise and experience to point out every typo/grammar/consistency/etc. in a manuscript

Developmental & Line Edit: $8 per page

• Includes
  • Both developmental & line edits (see previous)
  • An actionable editorial letter summarizing the evaluation and developmental & line edit steps to take
  • Add a one-on-one coaching/consultation session with me for $75 per hour (the usual price is $100 per hour, see here)

• Please note: I reserve the right to decide whether your manuscript is appropriate for a simultaneous developmental and line edit once you send it to me. This service is for manuscripts requiring some developmental work yet largely ready for line edits

*If you purchase a manuscript developmental and/or line edit, I will evaluate your query letter for free & give you 50% off an evaluation of your entire submission package

Writing Coaching & Publishing Consultation: $100 per hour

Please contact me with the following information: whether you are interested in writing coaching or publishing consulting, what questions you’d like to discuss with me, and how you’d like to communicate (i.e., Zoom, Teams, Facetime, phone, email, etc.).

For writing coaching, I’d also love to know if you currently have a work-in-progress and, if so, the type of work (novel vs. short story vs. essay), the genre, and the word count. If you don’t have a work-in-progress, I’d love to know what you’d like to work on with me and what goals/vision you have for your writing. We would then identify what we would work on together, how we would meet, and with what frequency. Here are sample topics that I like to cover:

• Idea generation
• Story plot/other type of writing development
• Writing planning & preparation
• Structure & organization
• Sentence/paragraph level work & flow
• Word-level guidance
• How to take your writing to the next level & avoid beginner’s mistakes
• Drafting how-to’s, which includes covering all aspects of the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising, and editing
• Editing tips & tricks
• Balancing writing with life
• If fiction, includes covering such topics as plot & structure, tension, character development, tips and tricks, and other fundamentals, depending on your level of writing and experience

For publishing consultations, I’d also love to know what stage of your career you are in, what advice/guidance you need, and what specific questions you have. Potential questions could be related to:

• Starting writing and/or a career as an author
• Submitting writing to agents and/or publishers
• Discussing the differences between indie vs. traditional publishing
• Navigating genre and comps
• Author tips & tricks
• The business of being an author
• Other writing- and industry-related questions

Once I know this information, I will reach out to you with possible dates/times for our session.

I can’t wait to talk to you about your writing & publishing needs and questions, no matter what stage of the process you are at!

Need help with your undergraduate or graduate admissions essay?

What I Offer

I love working with students on crafting well-written, wholly original, and highly personal narratives for the Common App, supplemental, and graduate school admissions, with a specialty in undergraduate, law school, and medical school graduate programs.

I view essays as one of the most critical aspects of the application process. This is a chance for you to not only reveal yourself beyond your GPA and test scores, but to show the real you. Your individuality and uniqueness, your passions and talents, your aspirations and goals and dreams. Many students struggle with essay writing, struggle with thinking up that eye-catching idea or simply an idea that feels right to you as a person and student. Or maybe you do have the idea, but you don’t quite know how to execute it.

That’s where I come in—with a highly personal, hands-on, one-on-one coaching approach, starting with identifying your interests and experiences to understand your goals, your vision, and your ideas; brainstorming these ideas to arrive at the best one; breaking down your idea to find the most original and creative approach to it; exploring ways to execute your idea; coaching you every step of the way in transforming your idea into an effective, well-written admissions essay—all while staying true to you, your vision, and your goals; meeting all relevant essay guidelines and requirements in your application(s); polishing your essay so that it shines; and acting as an advisor and guide through the essay-writing process so you don’t have to worry.

Ready to work with me?

How it Works

• Contact me and let me know what step of the process you or your child is at, your goals for working with me – including which package you might be interested in (see below), and your preference re meeting (i.e., email; in-person – your house, a library, a coffee shop, etc.). We will then discuss what type of package is best for you or your child, what it will entail, and any deadlines/expectations
• Sign a short contract that will detail the scope of work and protect your or your child’s work
• Receive an invoice for payment from me for the entire sum for the essay review or the starting sum for the essay package)
• Pay to reserve your spot, and receive a payment confirmation from me
• If you or your child already have/has an essay written, please send it to me in a Microsoft Word document as an attachment with your name and per application standards: 1-inch margins on all sides with 0.5-inch paragraph indents, Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri fonts, 12pt size, double-spaced (even though formatting in the Common App will default to single spacing)
• Receive a confirmation of receipt, estimate completion of my work, and any pertinent dates for deadlines and meetings (all of which will also be included in your contract)

Essay Evaluation & Edit (one-off): $200

• In-depth evaluation of your essay, including brainstorming strengths and weaknesses, areas for improvement, and actionable steps to take
• I will look at the following elements: uniqueness/authenticity, lay-out and structure, sentence and paragraph- level analysis, advice on wording & writing generally, streamlining and conciseness (word limits are key), developing a unique and active voice, and highlighting strengths
• Includes:
  • In-line edits & comments relating to the evaluation
  • A summary of my feedback in a Word document

• Please note: This service is best for students with an already drafted essay. I reserve the right to recommend another evaluation package if I don’t feel the essay is ready for this kind of evaluation

Essay Evaluation & Edit (package): starts at $650 (*depending if you add on additional evaluation/edits and/or coaching meetings with me)

• One-on-one work with student—which includes highly personal, hands-on coaching & in-depth evaluation of your essay (see essay review)
• I am transparent with my work, so this is how a typical one-on-one coaching & evaluation would go with me:
  • Initial meeting with the student to discuss their unique interests and experiences to understand their goals, vision, and any ideas for the essay they might have. If the student is ready, brainstorm the ideas and outline next steps. We will also zero in on essay guidelines, word count, and other application requirements/any questions the student might have
  • Follow-up meeting to arrive at the best idea, including finding the most original and creative approach to it; exploring ways to execute the idea; coaching the student to transform their idea into an effective, well-written admissions essay—all while staying true to the student, their vision, and their goals. Sometimes this requires multiple meetings, which you can add on
  • Once the student has a rough draft of the essay, I perform an in-depth evaluation (see above essay review)
  • Meeting to discuss my feedback and to make sure the student is on the right track with their goals, their vision, and their writing
  • The student then works on the essay based on my feedback, and I will perform another round of evaluation & edits
  • Check-in meeting to discuss feedback, progress, and any other questions or concerns

• Add hours, either for evaluation/edit or coaching—for additional meetings or additional hours, the fee is $90 per hour; for additional essay evaluation/edit, $100 per essay

***Packages for multiple essays are available. Please contact me.

Need a sensitivity read?

What I Offer

I perform sensitivity reads of fiction and non-fiction, adult or YA, related to the Slavic culture, its people, and its history and traditions. I do not generally work on long-form historical nonfiction. But if you’d like to work with me, contact me to see whether your work might be a good editing fit.

I was born in Moscow, Russia to a Russian and Ukrainian family. I have personal experience with the language, culture, people, history, and folklore/traditions of Russia and the former Soviet Union. All three of my novels—The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru, The Haunting of Moscow House, andThe Witch and the Tsar—are inspired by the Slavic, specifically Russian, culture, people, history, mythology, folklore & traditions, and have been published by Berkley Publishing of Penguin Random House.

I have significant experience performing sensitivity reads—for authors who have been published by the traditional Big Five publishers and/or those who have top literary agents, as well as for publishers. See testimonials below for feedback from the authors and publishers that I’ve worked with.

How it Works

1. Contact me, with information about the cultural and/or historical focus of your work, as well as the genre, page count, and any other pertinent details or questions. We will then discuss the type of sensitivity read best for you, and whether we would be a good editing fit!
2. Sign a short contract that will detail the scope of work and protect your work
3. Receive an invoice for payment from me (see more here)
4. Pay to reserve your spot, and receive a payment confirmation from me
5. Please send me the pages in a Microsoft Word document as an attachment with your name, title, genre, and page number. Please send the document per industry standards: 1-inch margins on all sides with 0.5-inch paragraph indents, Times New Roman font, 12pt size
6. Receive a confirmation of receipt and an estimated date of completion (which will also be detailed in your contract)

Sensitivity read: $4.50 per page, but may depend on how involved the project is

• Evaluation of the manuscript for offensive content, misrepresentation, stereotypes, bias, lack of understanding, etc., if you are writing about Russia and/or Slavic culture, history, people, folklore, and/or traditions and are yourself non-Slavic
• This includes:
  • In-line manuscript comments relating to the evaluation
  • A report summarizing the evaluation
  • Add a one-on-one consultation session with me for $75 per hour (the usual price is $100 per hour, see here)

Testimonials

Olesya provides thorough, comprehensive editorial services that encompass a wide range of needs. Her attention to detail and honest, forthright feedback helped me to hone my story and make it shine before querying.
—Paulette Kennedy, author of Parting the Veil and other novels from Lake Union Publishing

In addition to being a skilled novelist, Olesya also has a remarkable editor’s eye, and her insights were exactly what my book needed: thoughtful, thorough, and genuinely useful. She has a sharp instinct for the places where a manuscript is almost working but not yet landing, especially around pacing, character agency, emotional clarity, and reader expectations. Her notes were honest and specific without being discouraging, and always respectful of my vision for the book. Her feedback strengthened the manuscript I later queried successfully, leading me to sign with a literary agent, and I highly recommend her to any serious writer looking for smart, generous, and actionable editorial guidance.
—Rebecca Mildren, Author

For the last decade and a half, Olesya has been editing all of my written work. She helped craft my personal statements for college at Johns Hopkins and post graduate programs at Harvard University and George Washington into concise, but introspective and meaningful essays. With low test scores, I needed powerful personal statements, which Olesya masterfully empowered me to deliver with her edits. On multiple interviews, they brought up how my well worded essays intrigued the selections committee.

Olesya also helped me with my English essays. Her edits were extremely direct and easy to follow. Through her edits I learned how to improve not only my writing but the way I interpret and analyze the things I read.
—Katerina Tassis, MD

I have been fortunate enough to work with Olesya Salnikova Gilmore for many years on various developmental edits related to historical fiction. She gives open, honest feedback and has such a sharp editorial eye for character, plot, setting, and details, understanding exactly what the story needs and, even more importantly, what my vision is for it as the writer, and helps me achieve it. A good editor will listen, ask questions, challenge the writer to bring out the best in the work, and also offer praise, support, and encouragement, and Olesya does all of these things and more. I can trust her implicitly with my work, with the knowledge that my story is in excellent hands, and that, with her help, it will become even stronger than I hoped it would be. Highly recommend for all editorial needs!

When depicting a culture that is not one’s own, a sensitivity read is imperative to ensure you are treating the culture with the proper respect. Olesya Salnikova Gilmore provided this necessary sensitivity review for my historical novel, Daughters of Victory, which takes place during the Russian Revolution and WWII Soviet Union. Authenticity is not an experience that can be uncovered in a research book, and I am endlessly grateful to Olesya for being that source of authentic knowledge, providing such prompt, thorough, educational feedback, and for her willingness to give my story the expert eye it needed, one I was unable to give through my own experiences. Her insight was invaluable to the story and to helping me understand the nuances of people, place, and setting that breathe life into the unique beauty of the Russian culture. My eternal thanks!
—Gabriella Saab, author of The Last Checkmate & Daughters of Victory from William Morrow and other novels from Harper Muse

I’m very happy I commissioned Olesya to carry out a sensitivity read on a passage about Slavic folklore. Olesya’s feedback was clear, thoughtful, nuanced, and backed up by experience and wider sources. I would absolutely recommend Olesya’s consultation services to anyone.
—Alex Hithersay, Senior Editor, Wide Eyed Editions, Quarto Publishing Group

Olesya’s feedback on my novel was exactly what I’d hoped for: specific, actionable, well informed, and generous. She’s fast, communicative, and deeply in tune with the mood and needs of my book. Her review was like turning up the sharpness on a photograph, bringing all the details into clearer focus. I’m so grateful for her expertise!
—Allison Epstein, author of Let the Dead Bury the Dead (Doubleday Books)

Olesya went above and beyond in her cultural read of The Soviet Sisters. Besides checking the usual issues of the Russian language, customs or locations, she gave me nuanced insight into how a native Russian might think or feel about aspects of the story that I was less sensitive to. Without her help, my book would have been less authentic, less of what I hoped it would be. If you’re looking for deep, thoughtful insight from a Russian perspective, I can highly recommend her!
—Anika Scott, author of The Soviet Sisters (William Morrow)

Olesya is a fantastic resource for Russian and Slavic culture. As an Italian-American writing about Russian characters and a Catholic writing about Orthodox believers, I needed Olesya’s help to make sure my story rang true and that the cultural details I included were accurate and respectful. When she needed to set me straight, she did so with kindness and diplomacy, while still helping me make my manuscript the best it could be. Olesya is a true treasure!
—Rose de Guzman, author of The Lion and the Eagle

Payment

You will receive an invoice from me and can pay via Zelle or Venmo. Once the payment has been received, I reserve your spot and give you an estimated date of completion.