I have a passion for good writing and I know what writers need because I am an award-winning author of 12 novels and numerous shorter works, and am a full member of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association)

I have a BA in English, Writing Option from Penn State University, and have since taken writing classes, seminars, and webinars from Donald Maass, Eric Witchey, Elizabeth Lyon, Charles de Lint, Lorin Oberweger, Charles Vogler, and others. (I once drove to Idaho and couch-surfed with a complete stranger in order to attend a seminar taught by David Farland.)

I learned more than I can say from the late Mary Rosenblum, a respected author, editor, and teacher who edited my books from 2013 until her tragic death in 2018. I model my editing style on hers and sometimes feel like she is looking over my shoulder as I work. I have been a writing panelist at events such as Orycon and Gear Con for almost a decade. I have been editing on a freelance basis for Wyrd Goat Press for several years, but and have recently made myself available more widely.

I explain my changes as I go; I want you to understand not only what changes are needed to make this book better, but come away with knowledge that will improve all your future works, whether you bring them to me for editing or go another route. Since I charge by the hour, I am able to be very flexible to meet your needs. I encourage you to start with a sample edit of 10,000 words or so. Not only does that give you an idea of how much an edit of a full manuscript would cost, but it gives you a chance to go back to your manuscript, should you choose, and apply what you learned from the sample edit to fix issues in your manuscript so that the rest of the edit goes more quickly and costs you less.

Some of the things my clients have said about me:

" I can highly recommend Shawna Reppert. I recently worked with her on a short story of mine and was impressed with her skill, suggestions, and professionalism. I look forward to working with her in the future. "

"You worked so fast, I can’t believe how detailed your edits are. I’m still working my way through them.

Some make me chuckle (What does “that” refer to here? The grammatically logical answer would be cat-watching.), some make me think, some make me smile because you really got me and rephrased what I was trying to say, only much better." (This client sold her very first short story to an anthology after working with me!)

My rates are $50/hour. I feel charging by the hour is more fair than charging by the word or by the page, since some manuscripts need more help than others. (If you are determined to pay by the word, you can look me up in Fiverr under Shawna R, since they forced me to price that way, but be aware you may end up paying more since I estimated my prices based on a worse-case scenario.)

I am happy to work with any genre, but my particular strengths are fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, steampunk, and mystery.

I am also available for writer coaching at the same rate. I am happy to talk about teaching classes in a space you provide at a negotiable total rate that depends on travel time and prep time. For example, a First Pages workshop where the pages are read aloud and then discussed would cost only $50/hour plus travel, split among participants. Feel free to reach out to discuss ideas. I am also willing to discuss teaching short classes or meet-the-author sessions on a pro bono session for local-to-me libraries or other non-profits.

I also have a YouTube channel, Shawna the Word Witch, where I offer writing advice.