The editorial report was extraordinary, rigorous, thoughtful, and deeply respectful of both craft and my voice.
Shanthi’s structural letter gave me clarity that had been missing from my many redrafts and edits. Her analysis of plot, character, pacing, and formatting was incredibly precise, yet never prescriptive. She didn’t just tell me what needed attention; she showed me why and offered clear, intelligent ways forward, always honouring my creative intent.
The in-manuscript mark-ups were just as powerful. Patterns in my writing that I had been circling instinctively suddenly became obvious, particularly around tension, scene grounding, and formatting choices. Once seen, they were impossible to unsee, and my revision process has been genuinely joyful as a result.
What impressed me most was Shanthi’s ability to work confidently at both the structural and sentence level, with a sharp understanding of how story, character, and pacing function specifically within young adult fiction.
Her feedback strengthened the emotional impact of the story without flattening its heart, its cultural nuance, or its voice.
Her report re-energised my desire to edit and made me feel more confident and excited to revise, knowing the manuscript is becoming the book it was always meant to be.
This is editorial feedback of the highest calibre, and I would recommend Shanthi without hesitation to any writer serious about their craft.