I’m a novelist, a copyeditor, a writing coach, a mom, a backpacker, and a whole bunch of other things.
I teach workshops on the writing craft at writers’ conferences and retreats. If your writers’ group would like to have me teach, drop me a line. I live in California, near San Francisco, just so you know how far away I am from you and your writer friends. I also enjoy guest blogging, so contact me if you’d like me to write a post on writing, editing, or Labrador retrievers (just threw that in there; I’m not an expert but I love them). I am, however, quite the expert on pygmy goats. I ran a commercial pygmy goat farm for ten years and delivered a lot of kids! So, if you need some goat advice, I’m your gal.
I Really Love My Day Job!
I love to help writers with their novels. I specialize in thorough annotated critiques, so if you have a manuscript that needs some work or you’re not sure if it does, check out my site specifically dedicated to my critique services. You’ll find a lot of informative articles on why you might need a critique and how to choose the right editor for your needs. Not many copyeditors are writers, and few know how to critique all the major elements that hold a novel together.
If you would like me to edit your manuscript, I do it all–from substantive editing to proofreading. I’m pleased to have a terrific team of editors and project developers on my “team” and a part of my tribe. The editors who work with me on projects have years of terrific experience specializing in various aspects of the editing process, and so if you have a nonfiction project, whether scholarly, professional, travel, or memoir, and you need a proposal or assistance in organizing your material, check in with me. My fiction editors have dozens of years of professional experience and are published novelists with a great respect for author voice and deep knowledge of novel structure. I will often enlist their help and second set of eyes for the content editing stage, so that you get a thorough first pass through your manuscript. I do all the final copyediting and proofreading so that my hands are involved in every project. Editing services don’t get any better than this–and we believe every writer passionate about their story deserves the best!
If You’re Not Sure What Help You Need
If you’re not sure what kinds of editing services are available, the description on my editing page will help you figure that out. If I’m not available, you can hire Skritz (see photo on right), although I wouldn’t give him a high recommendation. He tends to leave muddy paw prints on my charts and outlines, and he just can’t resist knocking pages to the floor with his frisky tail (His editorial style: shuffle them all up and put them in any order; that’ll do!). I highly recommend beginning novelists have a full manuscript critique before considering any editing. Don’t waste years and gobs of money trying to sell and promote a book that really isn’t ready for publication. And how can you be sure it is ready? By having a professional critique done either before you go from outline to first draft, or after that draft (or tenth rewrite) is done. The earlier in the writing stage you can get a critique, the better. And if you are not sure if you are even close to a professional, well-structured novel, have the first few (critical) chapters critiqued, and once you get back the comments, you’ll have a clearer picture of where you are on the learning curve. Most authors will tell you a critique has been the most invaluable feedback they’ve ever received and perhaps the best money spent in their writing journey.
I’ve also written thirteen novels in some different genres, most traditionally published and a few that are only in eBook format. I was told to stick to one genre by many agents and publishers, but I just don’t listen, and so write what I love to write, which suits my eclectic tastes. You can actually buy them and read them too!
Contemporary Fiction
You can check out descriptions and links to purchasing my contemporary fiction in various forms (printed book, eBook, audio book) at my author page here:
Contemporary Fiction by C. S. Lakin
![]() Someone to Blame |
Conundrum |
![]() A Thin Film of Lies |
![]() Innocent Little Crimes |
Fantasy
You can check out descriptions and links to purchasing my fantasy in various forms (printed book and eBook) at my author page here:
These are four of the seven in my series (five currently released)
![]() The Wolf of Tebron |
![]() The Land of Darkness |
![]() The Crystal Scepter |
Young Adult Sci-Fi
My very cool Young Adult Sci-Fi Time Travel Adventure chock-full of physics and romance! A bit reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time.
















