Motherwell’s editorial services

Are you a writer looking to improve your craft, bring a draft to fruition, ensure accountability, or get two sets of eyes on your work for the price of one?

We’ve got you covered—for either individual essays or longer-term projects. And unlike online courses, we will tailor our edits to your needs, because we know that every writer has his or her own distinct process.

You can choose one of two ways in which to retain our services, for whatever combination of projects you are working on:

NUMBER OF EDITS PACKAGE. Multiple edits on an individual essay or a single edit on each essay (up to 1,500 words per draft). This package is perfect for a writer who has a series of pieces in the works, some of which might need several rounds of editing.

One edit: $150
Two edits: $250
Four edits: $425
Six edits: $600

NUMBER OF MONTHS PACKAGE. Unlimited drafts and feedback. This package is perfect for a writer with a longer-term project or a writer who is looking for continual feedback along the way.

One month: $1,500
Three months: $3,500
Six months: $6,000

Both packages include:

  • Line edits, e.g., grammar, syntax, word choice
  • Developmental edits, e.g., narrative arc, tension, logical flow

Contact us here: editors@motherwellmag.com
We are happy to answer any questions or provide more information. 

Lauren Apfel and Randi Olin are passionate editors, with years of experience between them.
Testimonials

Randi Olin and Lauren Apfel, the editors of Motherwell, are extremely effective editors who know how to turn promising, if flawed, early drafts into coherent, lyrical prose worthy of publication. The writing on Motherwell is consistently polished and eloquent. It has been a pleasure working with them over the years! Jessica Lahey, writer for the New York Times, The Atlantic, author of The Gift of Failure

Randi and Lauren are gifted editors, balancing a deep respect for the writer’s voice with a sharp insight for what can be clarified or tightened. I always send them what I think is my most polished work, and yet their astute suggestions and comments always make me think, “Of course!  That’s so much better, and exactly what I was trying to say.” Plus, Lauren and Randi are both simply a pleasure to work with. I can’t recommend them highly enough!—Sharon Holbrook, writer for the New York Times, The Washington Post

To say that Lauren is a gifted editor would be an understatement. We’ve worked with her on two of our HerStories Project anthologies, and she has an amazing (and envious!) ability to get to the heart of a piece and then guide a writer to craft beautiful, powerful sentences and paragraphs. Lauren was also a guest instructor for our personal essay writing class. Her feedback was exceptional, detailed, and practical, and she helped several writers reach their goal of being published in their dream publication! Jessica Smock, The HerStories Project

As a contributing editor to Modern Loss, Randi was an invaluable member of our team. She has exemplary instincts for storytelling, and is top-notch when it comes to idea generation, structural editing and line editing. She’s a pro, and a pleasure to work with to boot. —Gabrielle Birkner, Co-Founder, Modern Loss