Kelly Lynne

ConKelly Lynne - YA book editortact Kelly

The Fourth Wall

Mirrors of Fate

Pure Blood

Sleeper Cells

paranormal romance book editing services

KELLY LYNNE is a professional writer and editor with over 15 years’ experience in fiction manuscript critique and over 170 published titles edited. She edits Young Adult and Middle Grade novels featuring adventure, fantasy, mystery, romance, sci-fi, and psychic or supernatural phenomena. These are books for readers who no longer need pictures.

Empathic about the “feel” of a story, Kelly teaches authors craft techniques to draw readers into the emotions and action on the page, all while maintaining the author’s voice. As an author, Kelly has published four short stories and two novels. She has felt the sting of the editor’s red pen and knows how important constructive feedback can be to bring the manuscript to the next level.

Specialties:

  • tracking of continuity, timeline, and plot sequence
  • 20-point analysis of plot, character, setting, and writing technique
  • Verifying readability with Flesch-Kincaid mapping to keep Middle Grade stories in the expected reading range for vocabulary and sentence complexity

How do you know if the story should be marketed as YA or middle grade?

Young Adult (YA) fiction is designed for readers aged 12-18 years but is often popular with adult readers as well. The protagonist in a YA book changes inside from events that thrust the character into adult problems, forcing him or her to grow, adapt, and change. Also called a “coming-of-age-story,” a YA story allows the protagonist to see where he or she can make a difference in the lives of other people. Themes are more mature than those found in middle grade stories, and show the struggles that teenagers face between childhood and adulthood.

Middle Grade is narrative fiction for readers aged 8-12 years. Protagonists are learning about themselves and where they fit into family, school, the neighborhood, and the world. Children this age are finding greater independence, beginning puberty, and starting to form their own opinions; readers of this age group want a protagonist who shares their journey.

Published books edited by Kelly Lynne include:

YOUNG ADULT

Fantasy/ Scifi

Sandra Desjardins Sleeper Cells Tale of Two Kitties Publishing

Gwen Gardner Givin’ up the Ghost

C.E. O’Brien Unlikely Hero TomCinKat Publishing

Cindi Lee The Mirrors of Fate: Out of the Past

Rebecca McCray The Miyran Heir

Elizabeth Naranjo The Fourth Wall WiDo Publishing

Cris L.P. Olsen Pure Blood WestBow Press

Meera Paul Reaper: A Love Story; The Extraordinary (Book One)

Carla Saari If Wishes Were Portals

Contemporary Coming-of-Age

Tom Berquist Stalking Los Angeles

MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY

Kim Cooper Findling and Libby Findling The Sixth Storm Dancing Moon Press

David Goodfellow The Moon Lives Stage Left

Billy Phillips and Jenny Nissenson Once Upon a Zombie: The Color of Fear The Toon Studio Press

Kay Potter I Hate Fairies!: the Adventures of Katie James Strategic Book Publishing

Testimonials

"Kelly Lynne has a great attitude and was easy to communicate with." - Christine Heckart

"Kelly was very astute in what needed to be done with my manuscript. She was professional and courteous. She always had time for my many questions and I value her opinion immensely." (On file with Network Coordinator)

"Kelly Lynne was great! She pointed out things that I was blind to and was able to put me on a path to figuring out where my book is really going." - Kathleen Weldon

“After reading all of the editor’s bios, I knew just who I wanted to edit my book. Kelly Lynne was quick to respond, professional but approachable, and her price was more than fair. Her critique of my novel was very insightful; I’d put the book through four beta readers, but Kelly pointed out several areas that still needed clarification. As a bonus, I discovered she is also a writer, and I was delighted to find that I loved her book. In short, being able to choose among the many talented and qualified editors on Book Editing Associates gave me the opportunity to find the right editor for my book.“ - Elizabeth Maria Naranjo

“I am a first time author of a young adult paranormal romance novel…Kelly was familiar with the genre of my manuscript and we totally connected. Her comments about my manuscript were insightful, well thought out, well researched and she has a firm grasp of the market and what it takes to get a manuscript noticed. Kelly’s email responses were timely and her answers to my questions were thorough and voluminous...If you’re writing a paranormal romance, she’s definitely the editor to choose for your critique! She’s worth every penny!" - Cris L. P. Olsen, author of Pure Blood

My story, Black Armor and the Maiden’s Noose, is written in a unique format using clever turns of phrase and rhyme. Kelly was able to assimilate to my style and apply useful suggestions accordingly, while still allowing my words to tell the story in the particular delivery and manner I intended. Kelly also helped me to rein in my propensity towards verbose sentence structure, and her advice on a key storyline issue led me to create one of my more favorite passages in the story, a critical event that previously I had merely glossed over. Her suggestions for clarification in the plot were also useful in enhancing the reading experience of the story. I now have a tight and concisely written story. That is what I wanted and that is what I got. How often can you say that these days? - Tyler M. Thomas

As a new author I was anxious about finding a freelance editor online. After reading her positive reviews, I hired Kelly Lynne to critique my young adult paranormal mystery novel. I am so lucky to have found Kelly! Besides being a complete professional, her insights into my novel were spot on. From eliminating weak verb use, filler words and quantifiers, to her style sheet with plot, setting and character summaries, Kelly’s input helped turn my work into a much stronger novel. I would absolutely use her services again. - Gwen Gardner, author, Givin’ Up the Ghost