Nicole Dieker - Hugo House

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“Nicole is an invaluable developmental editor. During the first pass she looked at big picture stuff. Is this scene interesting? Is it easy to understand? Is everyone acting true to their character? Did they leave the house in the underwear they were wearing a moment ago, or did I put some clothes on them and just forget to mention it? (No really, that was one of Nicole’s notes.) She’s a great second pair of eyes on my work and I can’t thank her enough.” — Alan Lastufka, multimedia content creator and entrepreneur See All

Nicole Dieker $100/hr

Services Offered

Discuss Freelance Strategy / Growing Client Base
One-on-One coaching sessions
Read Complete Manuscript
Read first 15 pages of manuscript and provide feedback

Available For

Career Development
Essay
Genre
Line-Editing/Copyediting
Literary Journalism
Memoir
Novel
Short Fiction
Young Adult

“Nicole’s industry knowledge was a huge resource to me when I started working as a freelance writer. As an editor, she asks the right questions to get the best results from writers and always makes a final piece better.” — Meryl Williams, writer and social media strategist

“I took Nicole’s freelancing class. By the end of the class, I had submitted my first pitch, had it accepted and the article published. She guided us through the process of building a freelance career, with concrete steps to get started, ongoing resources for growth and answers to wide-ranging questions. She taught one of the most informative classes I’ve taken and she did it while providing individualized information for each member of the class.” — Beth Swanson, freelance writer and journalist

Nicole Dieker teaches writing, freelancing, and publishing classes (including Hugo House online classes) and works one-on-one with authors as a developmental editor and copyeditor. She’s been a full-time freelance writer since 2012, and spent five years as a writer and editor for The Billfold, a personal finance blog where people had honest conversations about money.

Nicole’s debut novel, The Biographies of Ordinary People: Volume 1: 1989–2000, published in May 2017; The Biographies of Ordinary People: Volume 2: 2004–2016 followed in May 2018. The two books are a Millennial-era Little Women that follow three sisters from childhood to adulthood.

Visit NicoleDieker.com to learn more, or to read Nicole’s daily blog posts about the art and the finances of a creative career.

Working Style

As an editor, I focus on whether the writer is effectively communicating their story to their audience. Sometimes there are narrative gaps that need to be filled so that a reader can link one section of text to another; sometimes the text is unbalanced, with too much time spent on a certain story element (most commonly exposition).

I read very quickly and can complete a 90,000-word manuscript in 2–3 hours, though you’ll want to add in another hour for me to write up my feedback. I’ll send the first round of feedback via email, and we can have a follow-up conversation over the phone or online (via text or video chat)—whichever is most comfortable for the writer. If you just want my initial feedback on a draft, that’s great; we can also continue the conversation and I can provide additional written feedback on subsequent drafts.

If you’d like copyediting/line-editing/proofreading services, estimate 30 minutes for every 600 words.

If you’re a freelancer who is looking to build your career, we can set up an hour-long consultation. We could look at your pitching strategy, discuss how to expand your client base, or address any questions/concerns you have about freelancing.

Availability

I am a freelancer with a flexible schedule, and I’m happy to do a 10-minute consultation over the phone or online to determine whether we’re a good fit.

Interests

I love stories, no matter how they’re told. I work with Billfold writers on personal essays, and have written a literary fiction novel—but I also read genre fiction and YA regularly, so I’m familiar with how those stories work (i.e. what readers expect from a portal fantasy or a cozy mystery).