Blue Pencil Writing Consults

We are proud to partner with the Editors Hamilton-Halton, a chapter of Editors Canada, to bring professional editing advice for writers 18+.

Get professional advice on a writing project and get a taste of the editing process — supportive, honest, and effective. Submit a writing project of up to 2,500 words to be paired with a professional editor. The editor prepares a brief report on your project and provides feedback virtually through a meeting on Zoom. Please note, registrants can only attend one consult.

Poetry, scripts, or academic papers are not accepted.

Consultations are provided as a one-time service to authors. Past participants are not eligible. Please register for one consult only.

Once registered, each participant receives further instructions on how to submit their writing project (must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event).

You will meet with an editor who will provide free, one-on-one manuscript feedback virtually. You will need a computer with a microphone and webcam, or smartphone/tablet.

Presented in partnership with Editors Hamilton-Halton, a chapter of Editors Canada.

PLEASE NOTE: The April consults will take place in-person during the gritLIT festival at Homewood Suites (40 Bay Street South, Hamilton, ON).

Sign Up!

Submission Guidelines

  • Please submit in MS Word format (12 pt font, double-spaced), the standard for editorial practices.

  • Please include the author name and contact information on the first page, along with the title of work and the approximate total word count.

  • Please include the following information: what stage the project is at (e.g. 1st draft or subsequent draft, complete ms, incomplete, planning stage, etc)

Legal Stuff

  1. The Blue Pencil Writing Consults program is meant to be informative and educational for both writers and editors.

  2. Editors Canada Hamilton-Halton and gritLIT and offer Blue Pencil Writing Consults as a free (volunteer) service. Blue Pencil participants are not charged for their Blue Pencil session.

  3. Any author wishing to continue working with their Blue Pencil editor arranges that with their editor personally. Editors Canada Hamilton-Halton and gritLIT personnel bear no responsibility, fiscal or otherwise, for any agreement between the author and editor after the Blue Pencil session has concluded.

  4. Blue Pencil Editors are members in good standing of Editors Canada. Editors are not legal experts. Editors may flag items of concern in a manuscript, but such flags should not be considered legal advice. If the author has concerns, please consult an appropriate lawyer.

  5. Your Blue Pencil Editor will not share the author's work or any identifying details of the author's work outside of the Blue Pencil program unless it is necessary for the Blue Pencil session (e.g., sending author submission file to the assigned editor).