Editing
Cover Design & Interior Design
Publishing Assistance
Social Media & Author Growth
Book Reviews & Author Interviews
Testimonials, Features, & History in Publishing
Intentional Art. Intentional Living. Intentional Publishing.
Welcome to the Path to Peaceful Publishing. Where Are You on Your Journey?
Maybe you’ve written your first draft and aren’t sure what to do next. Maybe you’re already published but find yourself spending more time writing social media content than your actual content. Maybe you’re just getting started. For whatever reason, you landed here, because something is unclear, stressful, or feels unaligned in what you’re trying to do as a writer.
Here’s How I Can Help:
From our first correspondence, you’ll notice that I’m very celebratory and bubbly when it comes to writing, authorship, and books. That’s because I see it as a world of growth and possibility, not mistakes, failures, and red pens. Since the beginning of my writing life at a very young age (we’re talking age four or five when I scrawled some largely incoherent poems about flowers and stories about Godzilla on paper strewn across the floor), I had the instinct to look inside what I was creating and find the parts that I liked, ask myself what I liked about them, and what I could do to make the rest of the work match that quality and energy.
This approach is very much in tune with The Gateless Method, a technique developed by Suzanne Kingsbury, a Fulbright scholar, novelist, and one of the most sought-after development editors in the United States. The Gateless Method focuses on where the energy is and what’s working. Through it, not only do you learn a new way of seeing and appreciating your work, but you’ll start to view your work that way earlier in the writing and editing process. Instead of being focused on flaws, you’ll start to lean into what makes your work brilliant, fluid, and fun, while reducing the fear you might have built up around creating, revising, publishing—and sharing. (I first came across this concept when Terri Trespicio, the award-winning author of Unfollow Your Passion: How to Create a Life That Matters to You, referenced it while speaking on working from a place of intentionality and openness.)
That’s what I want to bring to you. Yes, we will still dig into the errors. Yes, we will polish your work. But we’ll do it from a place of “How can we make this better?” and “How can we bring this to the level of the rest of the work?” instead of “We have to FIX and CORRECT this.” It’s a gentler, more peaceful approach to the writing-to-publishing process, while still getting you the same results you’d get from a shouting critic sporting a box of red pens (just with a lot less stress). Most importantly, you’ll have a much better relationship with the book you’ll publish.
A Quick Note About Rates & Compensation:
The following sections detail my current services. For transparency, I have disclosed my expected rates. These are standard, mid-market rates set by the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) and my almost 15 years of experience. Though I could reasonably charge top-of-market rates, I choose to make my work more accessible, because I want to see more incredibly talented authors have access to high-quality services they might not otherwise be able to afford. If you do not see a service that you’re looking for listed here, or if you would like to work with me but need a customized payment plan, please contact me, and we can discuss it! I can’t say yes if you don’t ask!
A goofy little reminder: We all make mistakes! Embrace them!
Take the Woes & Whoas Out of the Editing Process
You did it! You’ve put words to the page. But there are errors: you used their instead of there, “silhouette” is much harder to spell than it should be, and you wrote toast instead of ghost, and now there’s a whole bunch of hungry Victorians in your gothic novel. Or maybe you wrote that first draft, changed a side character’s name halfway through, and you completely forgot to go back and write how that guy was going to get out of that problem, so now you have this gaping hole between the train station and him being back at his apartment. Oops.
But this is all normal! SO NORMAL. The idea we have formed in our head can be excellent, and our writing can be good, but sometimes what we put on the page the first time just doesn’t click. That’s what editing is for.
How I Will Help:
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- Communicative & Thoughtful Developmental Editing
- In-Depth & Consistent Line-Editing
- Quality Proofreading and Copyediting (Yes, There’s a Difference!)
- Research and Dissertation Services Available: Indexing, Fact-Checking, Citation, Bibliography, etc.
- Limited Spots: Beta Reading, Ghostwriting, and Writing Coaching
Every editing service includes the editing level and focus you have requested (i.e., developmental editing, but focus on examining a specific subplot’s effectiveness), as well as a complimentary 1-2 page comment sheet of my thoughts on the overall work, where it sings, and where you concerns (like that subplot) fit into that.
Rates:
Alpha and Beta Reading: $0.01 per word (average: $2.50 per page)
Line-Editing and Developmental Editing: $0.03 per word (average: $7.50 per page)
Proofreading & Research-Related Items: $0.02 per word (average: $5.00 per page)
These rates include two rounds of edits. Additional edits, if requested, will be discounted.
Discounts will be added if other services are purchased.
Make Your Book Beautiful
Wait, what is InDesign? Do I HAVE to use Photoshop? Why does this book cover look so… basic? What do you MEAN Canva and Amazon “don’t like each other”? This does not look how I thought it was going to. Why is this taking so long? Why is this so hard?
…Maybe you can relate? I have a love-dislike relationship with how easy some people try to make the design process sound, because InDesign has a fairly steep learning curve, and while there are formatting programs out there that are affordable and easy to use, maybe you don’t want your book to look like every other book out there, or maybe you’re trying to write the next House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, and you need more formatting finesse than those programs can give you. But the bigger issue for me is the intuition involved in good formatting—like designing a page to emphasize a poet’s use of white space or ending a page in a way that encourages the reader to move on to the next one. That comes from experience!
How I Will Help:
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- Quality & Customized Interior Design
- Page Numbers & Headers, Table of Contents, and Bibliography (If Needed)
- Properly Integrated Artwork (Bleed and No Bleed Available)
- High-Quality Cover Designs and Fonts
- Also Available: Custom Illustrations for Interior (like Chapter Header Illustrations)
- Complimentary Resource for Book Cover Recipients: Marketing Packet, including Facebook Header, Instagram Post, etc.
Rates:
Interior: $7 per page
Book Cover, Art Supplied: $150
Book Cover, Original Art: $250
Interior and Book Cover Combo: $6 per page and $150 cover
Each of the above rates includes two rounds of e-galley edits and/or two book cover options.
Additional discounts will be added if other services are purchased.
Book cover designs will be provided in e-book, paperback, and hardback dimensions, and promotional designs for social media platforms will also be included.
Heidi Ling (left) and her mother (right), Charlotte Johnston, holding their printed copy of Charlotte’s edited and organized poetry collection with an early mockup cover of It’s How You Catch the Light. We still had several big steps to go before publishing day, but my heart still hums from the excitement on their faces!
The ebook edition of Issue 3 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Spooky (TEETH) Edition in 2023!
Easy, Breezy, Beautiful—Publish Your Book
If you’ve told any writing friends you’re thinking of publishing your book, you’ve surely heard some of the fears and frustrations: IngramSpark is expensive and hard to navigate; Amazon KDP has terrible customer service; it feels impossible to get a cover’s dimensions approved; WHAT IF SOMEONE PIRATES YOUR WORK?! …and so much more.
It’s time to let go of the stressed-depressed-lemon-zest vibes around publishing and embrace the easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy vibes. This is an exciting moment! Dealing with the last few fine print details shouldn’t distract you from that. Let your publishing journey be peaceful.
What I Will Do:
- Provide your very own tech support
- Unlimited emails
- Information & guidance to choose the publishing platform that’s right for you
- Information about ISBNs and Barcodes
- Assistance setting up your account
- Assistance uploading your book and cover, writing the product descriptions, SEO-optimizing your book, and hitting that publish button!
- Easy walk-through for author copies
- Also Available: Assistance with Copyright
- Also Available: Approaching Bookstores
- Complimentary Resource: Navigating Royalties
- Complimentary Resource: Creating a Series and Linking Books to Each Other and Your Account
- Complimentary Resource: Your Book Is Published! What Other Accounts Do You Need?
- Complimentary Resource: Make Peace with the Pirates
Rates:
$60 per hour
This process goes fairly quickly, even if you want every bell and whistle I have to offer, and there are also four complimentary resources you acquire just by working with me.
The hourly rate can be slightly discounted if other services have been purchased.
Beyond Social Media: Design the Author Website of Your Dreams
Websites are a vital tool to effective business strategy, and they’re a wonderful addition to a writer’s arsenal. You can host your books, share your events, link to your social media, share a portfolio of your writing and media features, and so much more on a website—all in one place instead of hoping someone will go “to the link in your bio.”
Though I’ve had ample experience over the years with web design, WordPress, Squarespace, and the like, I’d much prefer to outsource this important tool in your writing life to someone who is very important to me—my husband! Dragan Tozan is my partner in crime, the Operations and Technical Director of Lit Shark, and the proud owner of GrL’Ca: Tech Repair and Web Design. (Fun Fact: GrL’Ca, pronounced “grr-lee-sahh,” means “bird” or “dove” in Croatian, but Dragan chose it because it represented our three kids’ names: Grayson (Gr), Landon (L’), and Cadence (Ca), hence the interesting capitalization!)
Including my author and services website and Lit Shark‘s website, Dragan has also helped fellow authors, literary magazines, small presses, and local artists.
If you’re ready for a custom website and portfolio design; attractive front-end development; maintenance and technical support; website hosting; search engine optimization (SEO), and e-commerce, reach out to Dragan for more information!
A Shared & Sacred Space by Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas, which includes a lengthy book blurb on the back cover by yours truly, and my book review of this collection is now live on Lit Shark’s website.
Be Reviewed, Interviewed, & Most Importantly, Read
I cannot stress this enough: One of the most important methods of increasing your book’s chances for success is getting it into readers’ hands and acquiring a few book reviews. You could develop a “street team” prior to your book’s publication, you could ask trusted sources to share a review after they’ve read the book, and you can search for people (like me) who write professional book reviews and seek out places to publish those reviews.
In my case, I’m incredibly fortunate, because with my launch of Lit Shark Magazine, I have one place that’s always ready to consider a review or interview from me. If the piece cannot be published with Lit Shark, I’ve also published book reviews and author interviews with The Rumpus, Green Mountains Review, BookPage, Indie Reader, Kirkus Reviews, Reedsy Discovery, and The Lifestyle Collective, as well as Goodreads, Amazon, Netgalley, BookishFirst, and Eidelweiss. If all else “fails,” I’ve been publishing my reviews and interviews right here on my author and services website, and the traffic has been impressive.
Rates?
That was a trick question. Outside of accepting review copies, I do not accept payment for book reviews and author interviews, and I will not automatically accept a review or interview request in exchange for payment. Thank you for understanding!
To be considered for a book review or author interview, please contact with me with the following information:
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- Are you interested in a book review, author interview, or both? If you’re sending a poetry collection, are you interested in my Poem of the Day feature?
- Tell me a little about yourself and why this book is important to you.
- If you’re not interested in your review/interview appearing at Lit Shark Magazine, let me know of any wish list publications you have so I can try to place mine there. I cannot guarantee publication in these situations, but I can try!
If we are a good fit, I will ask you for a PDF of the book, a PDF of the book’s cover, your author photo, and/or a press release or early buzz about the book. Because I’m located in Croatia (originally from the US), it’s easier to receive electronic copies I can read on my Kindle instead of navigating a book’s delivery.
See What Others Have To Say!
McKenzie’s work reflects a LOT of time, creativity, thought, and knowledge.
I am grateful, and without the words to express the degree of my gratitude, for the work she has done.
It is clear to anyone who works with McKenzie or with Lit Shark Magazine how much she undertakes and how fruitful her endeavors are; how strong her connection to words and the people who write them are; how much effort and energy it takes to do the amount of work that she does so well and then shares with us.
What a good fortune for me to be included in the pages of Lit Shark Magazine. What a good fortune for me to know this good human.
Let’s spread the connection to McKenzie Lynn Tozan and Lit Shark Magazine, and hopefully, it will yield a shark attack of work submitted, more beautiful books published, and of course, new readers!
Truly, A No-Brainer
I have to tell you, when I was first looking for someone to help me write and research this book, I never expected to find someone with so much drive, smarts, and talent. You are so incredibly smart, driven to ask questions and research, and you help keep my ADHD brain in check. Even better, you’re able to listen to my ramblings and somehow translate that onto the page into something worth reading—a feat I truly do not understand and could never do myself.
I’ve loved working with you and am so impressed by what you’re able to do. Anyone who ever thinks about working with you I hope will not think twice. Hands down, it would be stupid of them to skip over you and a tragic loss to their project.
A Remarkable & Extraordinary Experience
I have loved my experience with McKenzie Lynn Tozan at Lit Shark Magazine! She read and reviewed my book, A Shared & Sacred Space with such passion, insight, and enthusiasm, it was truly remarkable.
If you have the opportunity to work with her on any literary project, you won’t be disappointed. Her thoroughness and attention to detail are extraordinary.
A Gift to Poetry!
Simply put, McKenzie has got to be the loveliest person in poetry.
She is such a rare, irreplaceable, and priceless gift to our literary community, and I am blessed to know her.
A Literary Artist Not To Be Missed
Shout out to McKenzie Lynn Tozan, who helped this first time self-publisher navigate the insanity of book design and MULTIPLE platforms like Ingram and KDP!
Forgotten never would’ve made it to print without her, and you can check out her other work on her Facebook page, Instagram, and of course her website. She’s a literary artist, and you don’t want to miss out on what she’s doing.
A Passionate & Caring Fellow Poet
As a poet sending work off to McKenzie Lynn Tozan to be considered for the far-reaching and ever-growing Lit Shark Magazine, I immediately felt her passion and a huge sense of care in what she does.
I have been fortunate to have poems in various Lit Shark Magazine issues and have won the Poem of the Month contest in January 2024.
On each occasion, McKenzie has been a delight to work with, often going the extra mile. An example is her own creations of beautiful ‘on theme’ digital broadsides to enhance each Poem of the Month poem on Lit Shark’s page.
Recently, McKenzie Lynn Tozan also produced a beautiful blurb and review for my debut poetry collection, Into The Under. I am proud to recommend her.
A Family Heirloom &
A Force to Be Reckoned With
McKenzie, I’ve mentioned in previous emails how hard it’s been to travel to see my mother [during the pandemic]. Well, we were finally able to visit today, and it was one of the most blessed of occasions; I only wish you could have been there with us.
Charlotte wasn’t totally herself today, but she snapped to attention once I showed her the scrapbook I’ve been keeping of all of our edits, the awards and press releases we’ve been chasing, the conversations. She lit up at your words, your enthusiasm for her work that reverberated from the page. She loved how you loved her poetry.
You have truly blessed our family by helping me publish this book while my mother is still alive and coherent enough to appreciate her accomplishments. What I was expecting would just be a precious family heirloom has proved to be successful all throughout Wisconsin, especially our beloved Door County, making my mother’s legacy an absolute force.
Writings on Craft and Publishing Have Been Featured In:
Check Out Many Books from the MLT Community:
I am endlessly pleased to offer a round-up of the books I have coached, developmentally edited, line-edited, formatted and designed, created covers for, promoted and marketed, published, and launched.
This does not include the many, many books I have ghostwritten, beta read, reviewed, or the books that I cannot disclose for privacy reasons (all in the nonfiction genre), though they deserve all the love in my heart, as well!
CONTEMPORARY FICTION
The Weaver Girl, Michael James
Tyger: A Thrilling Story of Survival Deep in the Jungles of Nepal, Michael James
Nonprofit, Matt Burriesci
What Ends, Andrew Ladd
History’s Child, Charles Boyer
HIGH FANTASY
Forgotten, R.T. Heath
5-Book series similar to The Five Crowns of Okrith series by AK Mulford
Romantasy Duology similar to The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
NONFICTION: BUSINESS, MEMOIR, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
She Laughs: Choosing Faith Over Fear, Carolanne Miljavic
The Second Civil War, Peter Montoya
Take the Easy Path: 10 #GroundingGuidelines for a Better You, TC Currie
A Brand Called You, Peter Montoya
Borderless, Jackie Haze
POETRY
It’s How You Catch the Light, Charlotte Johnston
Landscape with Plywood Silhouettes, Kerrin McCadden
Gazelle in the House, Lisa Williams
Tree Line, Judy Halebsky
In the Museum of Coming and Going, Laura Stott
Dark-Sky Society, Ailish Hopper
Trouble Sleeping, Abdul Ali
My Multiverse, Kathleen Halme
Little Spells, Jennifer K. Sweeney
The 26-Hour Day, Olivia Clare
Little Arias, Kristin Case
Kingdom, Myronn Hardy
A Swindler’s Grace, Adam LeFevre
The Mimic Sea, Erica Bernheim
Our List of Solutions, Carrie Oeding
ROMANCE & ROM-COM
5-Book (and counting!) animal-centric rom-com VERY similar to the Prickle Island Zoo series by Ali K. Mulford
One Fire Burns Out Another’s Burning (Wheeler #3), Sara Zalebsky
In Darkness, There Is Still Light (Wheeler #2), Sara Zalebsky
Wheeler, Sara Zalebsky
Villa Fiore, Mara Anna Violi
Spirited Constellations: The Star, Mary Anna Violi
Spirited Constellations: Travels, Mary Anna Violi
Spirited Constellations: The Magic, Mary Anna Violi
Here’s a Glimpse into My History in Publishing:
I entered the publishing scene, honestly by accident, in 2010 when one of my creative writing professors saw something in me and invited me to work at 42 Miles Press as an editor and submission reader. I quickly found my stride and became the Managing Editor for 42 Miles Press and became the lead Poetry Editor for the university’s literary magazine, Analecta. I was hooked. I loved reading submissions, thinking about how they worked, and pondering the thought the writer behind those pieces put into choosing which pieces to send to Analecta, or when they thought they were ready to send a complete collection to 42 Miles Press. I thought about how poems spoke to each other, where some plots fell flat around the middle while others soared, and what a quality writing life looked like. I thought about what I wanted for my own writing life while I spent time rooting for others’.
When I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing and Publishing, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Secondary English Education, with certifications in Reading and Developmental Psychology, I was accepted to Western Michigan University to complete my MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Poetry while I began my teaching. Within days of arriving, I was invited to join Third Coast Literary Magazine, again as a Poetry Editor, and New Issues Poetry & Prose, this time as a submission reader, event planner, web content writer… and to my surprise, as the Interior and Design Editor for their two annual book series. I had worked with Adobe Photoshop minimally before that and was excited to learn more about it and to dig into InDesign so I could really “make books.” To this day, interior design work is now one of my favorite aspects of the writing and publishing process. I love thinking about how a design can make the biggest impact in a work: what word or phrase will make the reader turn the page the fastest, or what design on the page will really make a poem sing.
During my MFA, I started freelance editing on the side (theory papers, my first few romance novels, and multiple poetry chapbooks and anthologies), as well as diving into the dissertation world. I learned what took a dissertation from completing an assignment to being a profound study, a resource for fellow researchers, and a book that would tempt readers to pull it from the shelves. In my third year of my MFA, things really started to shift, as I not only was starting to get regular editing clients and felt like it could grow into a business I could love, but I also announced to my writing community that I wanted to start writing book reviews and to interview authors. While a lot of readers review the books they read on Amazon or Goodreads, I wanted to dive into long-form, detailed reviews and have thoughtful and meaningful conversations with authors about their work beyond what their writing routine looks like. As if I wasn’t already attached to the literary world, my intense study of books followed by commenting on them publicly was the cherry on top, the book that made the whole TBR tumble off the nightstand onto the bed—in the best way possible.
From 2010 to now, I’ve unapologetically thrown myself into every possible scenario and role I could in the literary world—beta reading, different forms of editing, web design, social media, event planning, being a personal assistant to multiple authors, and so much more—and I honestly cannot say that I disliked any of them. There’s importance to every step, from the initial spark of an idea to the book being put on the shelf, from writing the social media post to planning the booked-out reading event, for making a book happen, for enriching the literary community, and for making a writer’s life meaningful far beyond the success of publishing a book.
My approach is rooted in kindness, intentionality, and creativity. I am not shy about celebrating your wins or the things that are working on the page. I’ll, of course, talk about what needs to be reworked, as well, but I’ll do that in the context of how to make the good stuff even better. Whether I’m beta reading your book, scan-editing your book just for how you’re using independent clauses, or formatting your book for publication, I’ll communicate the steps I’ll have to take to demystify the process for you, I’ll explain my reasons behind my choices to decrease your decision fatigue and stress, and I’ll celebrate you and your work when we cross our finish line together. The publishing process, wherever you are on your journey, is a lot of work, but it does not have to be stressful to the point of making you question why you did this in the first place. It can be peaceful. It can be gratifying. And it can motivate you to grow your writing life into something you weren’t sure you thought it could be.
Join Me on the Path to Artistic, Intentional, & Peaceful Publishing.
Writing doesn’t have to be a side hustle or the next rat race. Let’s put the art back into our writing and take a more peaceful approach to editing, publishing, and book marketing.
Get In Touch! Let’s Go on This Journey Together.
If you’d like to tell me more about what you’re working on, hear more about my services, or get started, send me an email! I’m excited to hear from you.
Your story deserves to be told. I’m rooting for you.
Practice Intentional, Mindful, & Authentic Outreach
I can see it now: you’re either putting the finishing touches on your book and you’ve started teasing it on social media, or you’ve already completed the book and are trying to hype people up after launch day. But now you’re in the weeds, you’re into the thick of it, you don’t know what to post, you’re obsessing over your engagement (or… lack thereof?), and you’re spending so much time doing (flails wildly) THISSSS that you have no time to do the important things: create your art, spend unplugged time with loved ones, and live your life.
What If You Could…
Rates:
Virtual Book Launch: $250, one night
Customized Social Media Schedule: $150
Book Merch Package (postcards, bookmarks, broadside, etc.): $150
Newsletter (Hubspot or Substack) Writing, Maintenance, and Engagement: $350
Monthly Social Media Management and Audience Engagement: $400
Monthly Social Media Management Audience Engagement, Unlimited: $850
By popular request, a single newsletter is $100, and a single social media post is $50.
Let’s Get Started.