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EDITING SERVICES
If you’re here, you probably know who I am but to recap: I’m an 1x Eisner Award and 3x Ignatz Award-nominated cartoonist, artist, and writer. I’ve worked with companies like Pixar, Viz Media, New Republic, Image Comics, Cartoon Network, DC, Dark Horse, Namco and more. I’m most well-known for my slice-of-life graphic novel, A MAP TO THE SUN and my indigenous psychedelic sci fi series, PRISM STALKER. My newest graphic novel is GRAVENEYE, a horror story written by me and drawn by Anna Bowles. I also have short fiction at magazines Dark Matter Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, Fireside Fiction, Analog, Lightspeed and many more.
I’ve also conducted writing and comics mentorships through Ancestral Futures and with my friend Leslie Hung (co-creator of SNOTGIRL) through our creative criticism podcast and show, Salt and Honey. I also frequently panel and give lectures on comics, writing, sci-fi and have done so as a guest at Brown University, Clarion West, WorldCon, the Nebula Awards Convention and more. I also edit stories and art for my illustrated short fiction horror anthology Death in the Mouth.
I’ve been successfully making comics and writing fiction since I was 16 years old and have been a full time working creative for over a decade. I have no degrees or higher formal education which I view as a unique strength; what I’ve learned, I’ve gathered from a wide variety of educational and philosophical sources and creative work. It’s allowed me to cultivate a comprehensive and unique approach to story and art and helped me to develop a creatively flexible approach as a creator, reader, and critic.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING FOR COMICS
There are many stages of a comic: ideas, outline, script, thumbnails, sketches, inks, colors and lettering. Many cartoonists or creative teams work in various combinations of the above stages. I offer developmental edits for all the above stages, with a focus around your specific storytelling goals.
In the writing stage, I’ll take an in-depth look at all elements of your story like theme, mood, plot, characters, relationship dynamics, perspective, and voice. In the art stage, I’ll offer feedback on all aspects of your visual language, coherency, and how it flows compositionally on a page and panel level.
You can also request specific points of interest you’d like me to analyze in both stages.
SERVICE A: For comics in the early stages–ideas, outlines, partials, stuck manuscripts, I offer a sliding scale depending on word count or amount of material. Please e-mail to request a quote.
What you’ll receive: this depends on the material you provide and what you need direction or insight on. Feedback may take the form of:
– a consultation by video chat to discuss and brainstorm
– an assessment of your idea, a section or the entirety of your outline—this could be a detailed 1-page critique to assist you towards the next stage of your project or a marked-up document with comments added
SERVICE B: For comic scripts, my base rate is $10.00 per page.
What you’ll receive: a marked-up copy of your script with comments added throughout. I’ll offer scene-level observations and suggestions for the whole of the story, along with ways to add depth, interest, or to weed out cliches.
SERVICE C: For comics in the sketch or final stage, my base rate is $15.00 per page but may change depending on complexity.
What you’ll receive: marked-up copies of your comic pages with comments about style, coherency, technique, flow, and layout added throughout. I’ll offer scene-level observations and suggestions for the whole of the comic, along with ways to add visual interest and weed out poor visual or sequential choices.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING FOR FICTION
I’ll take an in-depth look at all elements of your story like theme, mood, plot, characters, relationship dynamics, narrative distance, choice of perspective, and voice. For fiction, my rate is .05c per word. For stories in the early stages–ideas, outlines, partials, stuck manuscripts, I offer a sliding scale depending on word count or amount of material.
What you’ll receive: a full developmental edit letter, margin notes with suggestions, and some light line editing. (I don’t provide proof reading, copy editing or fact-checking.)
READY TO WORK?
If you’d like to request a quote, you can email me at sloaneleongart (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line “Editing Services.” Please include the following information:
– Your name and whatever background you’d like share about yourself or your story
– Services you’re interested in
– The material you’d like me to provide feedback at so I can assess if we’d be a good fit
– How much editing or workshopping your material has already received
– Your ideal project timeline
– Your budget
I’m happy to provide sample feedback letters I’ve given other clients for your consideration. For fiction, I’m also able to provide a sample edit using a 500 word excerpt from your story. If we move forward on collaboration, payment will be 50% upfront and the remaining 50% upon completion of the job. If you identify as BIPOC, houseless, incarcerated or are otherwise marginalized, let me know; I’m happy to adjust pricing according to your situation.
TESTIMONIALS
I recently hired Sloane Leong to review the script that I had for [a short comic I was writing] Good Bones. Sloane is an artist whose work I really respect, and when I read that she was opening up for freelance editing services I knew I had to jump on it! [This comic] Good Bones is a piece where I really want to push myself as a writer, and I knew that Sloane would understand the type of piece I was trying to write. She had some great feedback. My main concerns were whether the main ideas were getting across, and whether the whole thing overall was too short to meet the goals I had for it. I’m really grateful to have Sloane’s experienced insight to help me push this work to be the best it can be.
– Jam, Cartoonist
Over the years I’ve received edits on my comics from publishers, anthology editors, and friends — so I know how rare it is to receive truly helpful edits. That’s exactly what I got from working with Sloane. I asked for her help at a low point, when I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue my project, but she found a way to offer honest, even harsh feedback about my comic’s weak points while also giving me to confidence I needed to see my book through to completion. I can’t recommend working with her strongly enough.
– Andrew White, Cartoonist
“I’m so glad this mentorship took into consideration genre and the business of writing. As a minority, I didn’t feel like I always had access to the business side of publishing. To have someone knowledgeable I could bounce ideas off of in real-time was invaluable. Also, with Sloane specifically, she helped me understand how to use my voice in my writing in a way that’s both measured and meaningful.”
– Beatrice Iker, Fiction Writer [Ancestral Futures Mentorship]
“Sloane’s insight into story structure is absolutely invaluable. Sloane intuitively carved the rough spots off my outline, leaving me with a well-rounded gem to polish. Her edits were easy to understand, and helped me identify areas of narrative that needed special attention, so I can make my story clear and comprehensible for readers. I received a vital outside perspective to push my writing to its fullest potential. I would recommend Sloane to anyone looking for an honest and comprehensive analysis of their drafts and outlines.”
– Heiko, Cartoonist
“The mentorship was such a big help for me, it motivated me to take my graphic novel project and feel brave enough to properly look and work on it. Back when I applied, my story felt like a hard to approach, very tangled mess; the mentorship gave me the clues to get out of my head and make sense of my ideas and goals. Leslie and Sloane’s perspective, advice and criticism on my writing and art was honest and encouraging while taking my personal taste, drawing style and goals into account. I’m still working on this project but now it seems like an adventure I can tackle, so I’m very grateful for the experience!”
– Gabriela Gutiérrez, Cartoonist [Salt & Honey Mentorship]
“Getting mentored by Sloane and Leslie was one of the best things that happened to my comics journey! From someone who created comics without a structured process (if it’s done, it’s DONE), they helped pinpoint how I can make my story better: developing characters, plotting, paneling, character acting, and more. I learned so, so much in a short amount of time and was able to create both a tight outline and a few sample pages – eventually leading me to my amazing agent!”
– Tori Tadiar, Cartoonist [Salt & Honey Mentorship]
“I highly recommend being mentored under Sloane & Leslie! I learned a lot from the time I spent with them. I learned how to think about the flow and formant my comics a lot more as well as writing a more developed and well thought out story/plot. They really helped me feel confident in the work I was developing!”
– Ayanna Johnson Steptoe, Cartoonist [Salt & Honey Mentorship]