Academic and Nonfiction Services

What I Offer

    • You have an outline, basic idea, or argument that you need some support fleshing out

    • You have a partial draft that’s going in several (sometimes contradictory!) directions and you’re not sure which threads to follow

    • You’re excited about your idea/argument/outline/partial draft but don’t know what the next steps are

    For this service, I’ll work with you on a call or via email to flesh out your idea, outline, or partial draft, guiding you to follow the threads that spark with the most aliveness. You’ll leave with a 3-5 page evaluation of your draft (if you have one), more confidence in your work, and next steps to move forward.

    Coaching can be especially helpful for newer writers and those who prefer to talk things over. More experienced writers as well as those with more complete drafts may prefer the evaluation component on its own.

    $72 USD/hour, and/or starting from $250 for draft feedback

    • You want to write but you’re having trouble making the time for it

    • You can’t seem to meet the deadlines you set

    • You value process, curiosity, and play, but struggle with incorporating it into your work

    Running into issues protecting your writing time and committing to your writing practice? I offer coaching for just these kinds of situations!

    We will go through a framework to explore what’s getting in your way and ideate on potential solutions; we may also do writing exercises and body doubling to support your practice.

    $72 USD/hour

    • You have a complete draft, whether it’s of a chapter, an article, a full dissertation, or a book manuscript, and you’re looking for some external support before it goes to committee or to a journal or publisher

    • You’re looking for reader feedback from someone who can ask generative questions that will guide you towards clarity and effective argumentation

    With this service, I provide big-picture feedback on your draft (in the form of a letter, usually around 3-5 pages) focusing on both strengths and recommended areas for improvement from the perspective of a scholarly reader.

    Ranging from around $250—$500 for essays and articles and $400—$1,200 for full manuscripts. Rate increases with word count and also takes into account the amount of work needed on the manuscript.

Reach Out to Get Started

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Reach out through my contact form.

Contact Me

  • Fill out my form, let me know what your budget is, and we can chat! I’d love to find a way to work with you. Some departments also provide professional development funding for their students, and this may be an option if you’re in a grad program.

  • Let’s chat—one potential solution is if you’re applying for grant funding, you can write editing services into the grant itself.

  • I’m not yet trained in the developmental editing of academic or nonfiction work, which is why I don’t currently offer it. Beta reading is an evaluation of your work from the perspective of a careful reader rather than that of an editor. It’s helpful for determining what parts of your draft or argument lack clarity or coherence, and generally involves less restructuring of the draft itself.

  • While many of the platforms I use have some AI components to them (including Notion, Google Docs, and Gmail), I don’t use generative AI personally or professionally, and prefer to work with non-AI generated manuscripts. If this is a concern, feel free to reach out and we can discuss.

  • Yes! My primary clientele is other queer and trans people, but I love to work with writers and scholarly allies who appreciate a queer and trans editorial perspective. 

Kind Words

“I love working with Elliott. Working with him has consistently been super affirming—he’s so good at helping me figure out the fullest shape of what I want to write on both a structural and syntax level. As a primarily nonfiction writer, I benefit from his academic training, precise eye for structure and argumentation, and his large mental library of references. But he’s always taken care not to let his point of view overshadow my own voice and perspective.

I enjoy that he isn’t afraid to hold me accountable, while always remaining a generous listener and editor. He’s changed my process through that; when I edit on my own, I often wonder what the Elliott in my head would say. His advice is usually what I need to hear: hold yourself to a high standard of both clarity and ambition; stop worrying about bad faith readings; and ground yourself in the embodied, the material, and the experiential.”

— G Mondry

“Working with Elliott has been unexpectedly personal and meaningful for a process that I assumed would be more technical and dry. He coached me through imagining the scope of my work, its content, and what I wanted out of it in a way that felt really expansive and encouraging. As someone who was struggling with a sprawling essay with what seemed like every kind of theory I knew haphazardly applied onto it, Elliott helped me narrow down my focus into a substantive thesis. I think my writing and analysis is sharper and more deeply developed for having worked with him.”

— Danielle S.