Editing Recommendations
I have very limited openings at this time and therefore must be choosy about what I accept. Please email me with your request: [email protected]. My rates for line editing generally run from $7 to $10 per page depending on project.
I have numerous small press editor / publisher recommendations here, as well as these more recent ones specifically addressing editing:
"Chila Woychik edited Waking Water, my lengthy novel of rather dense prose, and I was impressed by her skill as well as her penetrating knowledge of the craft. In almost every case, I found her structural comments insightful and her syntactical suggestions spot-on. Whether cutting excess verbiage or proposing word substitutions, her line-editing seemed to possess an instinctual feel for the novel’s flow. She is grounded in the rules of grammar and her copyediting skills i.e. punctuation, tenses, verb agreement, are sterling. I recommend her highly." - Stephanie Dickinson, author of Half Girl (Spuyten Duyvil), “Lynching in Stereoscope” (Best American Nonrequired Reading), “Love Highway” (New Stories from the South), Heat: An Interview with Jean Seberg (New Michigan Press), and many dozens of credits in literary journals including Glimmertrain, Oxford Review, Mid-American Review, and African-American Review. Along with Rob Cook, she publishes and edits the literary journal Skidrow Penthouse.
***********************
"Over the years I worked with several editors and I worked with Chila too. I have to admit that Chila’s unique ability in understanding my story quickly and thoroughly impressed me immediately. I have found that she is very quick in editing and she has an unbeatable keen sense about odd word or wrong sentence arrangement in a paragraph. I simply couldn’t disagree with her suggestions. She has vast knowledge about literatures and cultures around the world and foreign materials. Her knowledge and professionalism earned my full trust. Being a foreigner I feel comfortable enough about my lines when I know Chila is there for me to edit my piece. I am blessed that I had met this wonderful, friendly, talented, creative woman and an excellent editor in this creative literary world." - Rachana Rahman's writings appeared in The Kentucky River, and KUDZU. Her short story "Fishing Pole" was given an Honorable Mention in the 2010 Trajectory short story contest and her “China Cabinet” was an Eric Hoffer Prose finalist in Best New Writing for 2012.
************************
"I have the highest respect for Chila Woychik’s editing skills and recommend her without reserve. At the time my collection (Joliet in My Blood) was accepted, I was already the author of two full-length poetry collections, a memoir, and a number of chapbooks, yet I had never been 'line-edited.' I was apprehensive about a stranger making changes to essays I had worked on for years. [But] I need not have been anxious. Chila respected my vision and did not tamper with my voice, yet working with her showed me how a fresh pair of eyes can significantly improve a manuscript. Her sense of pacing is excellent. She rearranged the order of the essays and shortened paragraphs to make a more fast-paced, readable book. Her line edits gave my sentences variety and punch. Finally, Chila 'cut my darlings,' i.e., urged me to delete choice bits I considered my best writing. In fact, these passages were rather self-consciously writerly and all too often instructed the reader what I expected her to take away from a particular essay. Chila knew that readers do not like to be told how to feel and what they are 'supposed to learn' from any piece of writing. Her cuts resulted in a tighter, stronger collection that I am very proud of. I value the months that Chila and I worked together. I know many other authors will value working with her as well and will benefit from her determination to make a manuscript the best it can be." Francine Marie Tolf has published two poetry collections, Rain, Lilies, Luck (North Star Press of St. Cloud) and Prodigal (Pinyon Publishing), as well as a memoir and five chapbooks including Eighteen Poems to God and a Poem to Satan by Redbird Chapbooks of Minnesota. Her latest work, Joliet in My Blood is another memoir and was published by Port Yonder Press. She has received grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Barbara Deming / Money for Women, and the Elizabeth George Foundation. Francine lives and works in Minneapolis.
************************
"When my essay was accepted by Port Yonder Press, Chila Woychik immediately contacted me to say congratulations and respectfully point out potential edits. Her polishing of the piece was done with a discerning ear for the language and keen sense of syntax. She kept the integrity of my own voice throughout any changes to the manuscript and I certainly appreciate the chance I had to work with her!" - author Stephen Mead, http://stephenmead.weebly.com/links-to/poetry-on-the-line-stephen-mead. His latest Amazon release is entitled "Our Spirit Life”", a poetry/art meditation on family heritage, love, and the evanescence of time. For Christmas 2014 he released a sound collage song cycle, "Threnody for a Forgotten Plague", a series-in-progress, dealing with the early days of the AIDS Pandemic, free to listen to via http://amazingtunes.com/stephenmead/albums/24122.
*************************
"To others who will have to admit that a good editor improved their prose: There is always a short worry-note sounded when being accepted for publication depending on some edits. In my case, I always find that my wonderful prose clunks in places, or my punctuation becomes a tripping hazard to clarity. Sometimes I even use a wrong word. After a good edit, I feel embarrassed (only for a day), and then I’m glad my work got improved. Chila Woychik did that for me recently on a hybrid piece (part prose, part poem) accepted by the Eastern Iowa Review. I was very impressed by her ability to fix, to get syntax in order, to keep the focus on the ideas instead of the writer’s language skills. I also appreciated how respectful of my writing she seemed, not heavy-handed. I hope I get another opportunity to work with Chila." - Lee Kisling is a recent graduate of Hamline University in St Paul, Minnesota. In December 2013, his poetry chapbook The Lemon Bars of Parnassus was published by Parallel Press in Madison, Wisconsin. In 2014 his work was accepted for publication by Stoneboat, Sixfold, Oberon, Bryant Literary Review, Off the Coast, and others.
*************************
Chila Woychik is a gift to the literary profession. She has mastered her craft for elevating good literary works to a higher level of success. Her work ethic, professionalism,
and compassion also impressed me. Not only does she have exemplary editing skills, she has the vision and compassion for authors of all career stages. Chila accepted my first essay for the Eastern Iowa Review. Through this experience, I learned a great deal from her suggestions, line editing, and guidance. I am looking forward to the next project with her. - Trisha Georgiou is the author of three chapbooks including, A New Life and other poems of Living Passions (918studio, 2014), Quartered Enlightenment (PbP, 2013), My Name is A (1999). She is an active volunteer and member of the Board of Directors for the Midwest Writing Center.
*************************
"Chila worked tirelessly with me on improving the book, making suggestions about cuts and revisions, and asking the right questions about plot points that showed me she understood where the novel was going.... Chila also asked for a few more descriptions in places where the writing was too lean; and being prodded thus helped me add specific details that really enhanced the novel. Not since Max Perkins at Scribners, who worked closely with Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe, has an editor coached and guided a writer. " Scott Evans, author
************************
I have very limited openings at this time and therefore must be choosy about what I accept. Please email me with your request: [email protected]. My rates for line editing generally run from $7 to $10 per page depending on project.
I have numerous small press editor / publisher recommendations here, as well as these more recent ones specifically addressing editing:
"Chila Woychik edited Waking Water, my lengthy novel of rather dense prose, and I was impressed by her skill as well as her penetrating knowledge of the craft. In almost every case, I found her structural comments insightful and her syntactical suggestions spot-on. Whether cutting excess verbiage or proposing word substitutions, her line-editing seemed to possess an instinctual feel for the novel’s flow. She is grounded in the rules of grammar and her copyediting skills i.e. punctuation, tenses, verb agreement, are sterling. I recommend her highly." - Stephanie Dickinson, author of Half Girl (Spuyten Duyvil), “Lynching in Stereoscope” (Best American Nonrequired Reading), “Love Highway” (New Stories from the South), Heat: An Interview with Jean Seberg (New Michigan Press), and many dozens of credits in literary journals including Glimmertrain, Oxford Review, Mid-American Review, and African-American Review. Along with Rob Cook, she publishes and edits the literary journal Skidrow Penthouse.
***********************
"Over the years I worked with several editors and I worked with Chila too. I have to admit that Chila’s unique ability in understanding my story quickly and thoroughly impressed me immediately. I have found that she is very quick in editing and she has an unbeatable keen sense about odd word or wrong sentence arrangement in a paragraph. I simply couldn’t disagree with her suggestions. She has vast knowledge about literatures and cultures around the world and foreign materials. Her knowledge and professionalism earned my full trust. Being a foreigner I feel comfortable enough about my lines when I know Chila is there for me to edit my piece. I am blessed that I had met this wonderful, friendly, talented, creative woman and an excellent editor in this creative literary world." - Rachana Rahman's writings appeared in The Kentucky River, and KUDZU. Her short story "Fishing Pole" was given an Honorable Mention in the 2010 Trajectory short story contest and her “China Cabinet” was an Eric Hoffer Prose finalist in Best New Writing for 2012.
************************
"I have the highest respect for Chila Woychik’s editing skills and recommend her without reserve. At the time my collection (Joliet in My Blood) was accepted, I was already the author of two full-length poetry collections, a memoir, and a number of chapbooks, yet I had never been 'line-edited.' I was apprehensive about a stranger making changes to essays I had worked on for years. [But] I need not have been anxious. Chila respected my vision and did not tamper with my voice, yet working with her showed me how a fresh pair of eyes can significantly improve a manuscript. Her sense of pacing is excellent. She rearranged the order of the essays and shortened paragraphs to make a more fast-paced, readable book. Her line edits gave my sentences variety and punch. Finally, Chila 'cut my darlings,' i.e., urged me to delete choice bits I considered my best writing. In fact, these passages were rather self-consciously writerly and all too often instructed the reader what I expected her to take away from a particular essay. Chila knew that readers do not like to be told how to feel and what they are 'supposed to learn' from any piece of writing. Her cuts resulted in a tighter, stronger collection that I am very proud of. I value the months that Chila and I worked together. I know many other authors will value working with her as well and will benefit from her determination to make a manuscript the best it can be." Francine Marie Tolf has published two poetry collections, Rain, Lilies, Luck (North Star Press of St. Cloud) and Prodigal (Pinyon Publishing), as well as a memoir and five chapbooks including Eighteen Poems to God and a Poem to Satan by Redbird Chapbooks of Minnesota. Her latest work, Joliet in My Blood is another memoir and was published by Port Yonder Press. She has received grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Barbara Deming / Money for Women, and the Elizabeth George Foundation. Francine lives and works in Minneapolis.
************************
"When my essay was accepted by Port Yonder Press, Chila Woychik immediately contacted me to say congratulations and respectfully point out potential edits. Her polishing of the piece was done with a discerning ear for the language and keen sense of syntax. She kept the integrity of my own voice throughout any changes to the manuscript and I certainly appreciate the chance I had to work with her!" - author Stephen Mead, http://stephenmead.weebly.com/links-to/poetry-on-the-line-stephen-mead. His latest Amazon release is entitled "Our Spirit Life”", a poetry/art meditation on family heritage, love, and the evanescence of time. For Christmas 2014 he released a sound collage song cycle, "Threnody for a Forgotten Plague", a series-in-progress, dealing with the early days of the AIDS Pandemic, free to listen to via http://amazingtunes.com/stephenmead/albums/24122.
*************************
"To others who will have to admit that a good editor improved their prose: There is always a short worry-note sounded when being accepted for publication depending on some edits. In my case, I always find that my wonderful prose clunks in places, or my punctuation becomes a tripping hazard to clarity. Sometimes I even use a wrong word. After a good edit, I feel embarrassed (only for a day), and then I’m glad my work got improved. Chila Woychik did that for me recently on a hybrid piece (part prose, part poem) accepted by the Eastern Iowa Review. I was very impressed by her ability to fix, to get syntax in order, to keep the focus on the ideas instead of the writer’s language skills. I also appreciated how respectful of my writing she seemed, not heavy-handed. I hope I get another opportunity to work with Chila." - Lee Kisling is a recent graduate of Hamline University in St Paul, Minnesota. In December 2013, his poetry chapbook The Lemon Bars of Parnassus was published by Parallel Press in Madison, Wisconsin. In 2014 his work was accepted for publication by Stoneboat, Sixfold, Oberon, Bryant Literary Review, Off the Coast, and others.
*************************
Chila Woychik is a gift to the literary profession. She has mastered her craft for elevating good literary works to a higher level of success. Her work ethic, professionalism,
and compassion also impressed me. Not only does she have exemplary editing skills, she has the vision and compassion for authors of all career stages. Chila accepted my first essay for the Eastern Iowa Review. Through this experience, I learned a great deal from her suggestions, line editing, and guidance. I am looking forward to the next project with her. - Trisha Georgiou is the author of three chapbooks including, A New Life and other poems of Living Passions (918studio, 2014), Quartered Enlightenment (PbP, 2013), My Name is A (1999). She is an active volunteer and member of the Board of Directors for the Midwest Writing Center.
*************************
"Chila worked tirelessly with me on improving the book, making suggestions about cuts and revisions, and asking the right questions about plot points that showed me she understood where the novel was going.... Chila also asked for a few more descriptions in places where the writing was too lean; and being prodded thus helped me add specific details that really enhanced the novel. Not since Max Perkins at Scribners, who worked closely with Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe, has an editor coached and guided a writer. " Scott Evans, author
************************
