Portfolio
How I work, on the page.
Excerpts from real editorial letters, identifying details anonymized.
THE MARGINS
Inline Comments
The praised line and the paragraphs that undo it, three lines apart, every note pinned to the exact spot. This is the delivery format of the full Developmental Edit: your manuscript comes back with the letter’s diagnoses living in the margins, at the moments they happen.
THE STRUCTURE
The Book Map
One line per chapter with a verdict for each: what it does, what changes, and whether it earns its place. Read the verdict column straight down and the structure of the whole book speaks for itself. Plants get matched to payoffs, and dead stretches have nowhere to hide.
THE DIAGNOSIS
Angle by angle
Every letter works through the story angle by angle: plot and structure, character arcs, the romance arc when it drives the book, stakes, tension and pacing, point of view, voice, dialogue, and where the book fits its genre and market. Each one gets its own section, its own evidence, and its own fixes.
THE PLAN
Revision Priorities
What’s working, what to fix, and the exact order to fix it in. Strengths are named so revision protects them; concerns come ranked, with the reasoning visible, so a 10-page letter turns into a plan instead of a pile.
The full letters run fifteen-plus pages and stay blurred because the stories belong to their authors. The fastest way to read one in full is to have me write yours.
Request a free sample edit
“Ricardo’s feedback was fantastic in that it made me think ‘I should have thought of that’, rather than ‘I didn’t think of that’. Everything made sense and it just resonated with me a lot. He discussed my novel in a way that showed he really understood the characters and the authorial intent, while still looking at it with the critical eye required for a developmental edit. He went into detail about what he loved, what to work on, pacing, worldbuilding, character motivations, emotional payoff of story events, and so much more. All the while writing in a way that showed he cared about the story I had to tell. Would highly recommend.”
Rebecca, romantasy author
“Thanks to Ricardo’s incredibly detailed, clear feedback, I feel confident that my revisions are strengthening my story’s structure, pacing, characters; I could never have caught the issues on my own, but his explanations made perfect sense and have helped me to look at my work in a new way. He is very honest and direct while always conveying warmth and respect for my work.”
D.L. Stanley, author
Both from full manuscripts, edited start to finish.
GENRES
Genres I work in
Character-driven fiction, wherever it lives.
Romance
All heat levels, including erotica. I read for chemistry that builds on the page and an ending that feels earned.
Romantic Suspense
Two engines at once. I check that the danger and the relationship feed each other.
Psychological Thrillers
Unreliable narrators, slow dread, twists that survive a second read.
Speculative Romance
Romantasy, paranormal, horror and sci-fi elements. Any setting works as long as the love story carries the book.
Upmarket Fiction
Book club territory. Strong voice, real stakes, pacing that trusts the reader.
Literary Fiction
Interiority, ambiguity, moral mess. The quieter the plot, the harder every scene has to work.
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