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About Me

Good evening! I’m Cara Walker, a developmental book editor in Indiana.

I help authors bring out the best in their stories and craft books their readers will love and obsess over.

Portrait of the editor as a young woman with brown hair and glasses, smiling

Cara Walker, Developmental Editor
Founder of Midnight Quill Story Development Services
Unabashed Nerd

Experience & Education

Informally since 2019 and formally since 2021, I’ve helped authors in many genres strengthen their stories, deepen their craft knowledge, and even find the light in their stories again. 

I've trained with professional organizations like the Editorial Freelancer’s Association (EFA), Editorial Arts Academy (EAA), and Club Ed to hone my developmental editing and develop adjacent editorial services. Even though I’m a professional, that doesn’t mean I’ll stop learning – continuing education is an important part of my business as editing best practices and conscious language evolves.

As for education, I have a bachelor’s degree in English with a Creative Writing concentration and Spanish literature from Indiana University Bloomington, where I graduated with high honors after taking every elective I could about science fiction and fantasy.

A year of that degree was spent at the University of Oxford at St. Anne’s College, where I kept my writings trained on the weird, magical, and feminine aspects of literature, from Chaucer to the Victorian era. 

Genre Specialties

I specialize in: 

  • Fantasy (adult & YA)

    • Especially epic fantasy, high fantasy, urban fantasy, grimdark, and crossovers.

  • Science fiction (adult & YA) 

    • Especially ​soft sci-fi, space opera, dystopian, and post-apocalyptic. 

  • Speculative fiction (adult & YA)

    • Especially magical realism and gothic fiction. 

  • Literary fiction (adult)

I'm also comfortable editing stories that feature violence, mature themes, gore, and any level of spice (sexual content). 

I am happy to beta-read and do manuscript evaluations for any and all genres! For developmental edits, I edit within my genre specialties because I am most familiar with the expectations, tropes, and executions of these genres. Contact me if you have any questions!

Training & Professional Memberships

  • Editorial Freelancer's Association (EFA) - Developmental Editing Suite (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)

  • EFA - Introduction to Professional Beta Reading

  • EFA - Book Mapping for Fiction

  • EFA - Line Editing (Intermediate)

  • Editorial Arts Academy (EAA) - Introduction to Developmental Editing

  • EAA - Developmental Editing Practicum

  • Club Ed - Editing Science Fiction and Fantasy

  • Club Ed - Editing Query Letters, Synopses, and More

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Personal Details & Interests

Oh, me? I’m the grown-up version of the kid who got in trouble for reading in math class.

I live in northeast Indiana, USA, with my family. I connect with a network of writers and creatives that has been absolutely central to my journey so far. I can only hope that I can be as helpful to them as they have been to me.

I have most of the typical editor hobbies, like reading, writing, playing video games, nerding out over select fandoms (ask me about Dragon Age: Inquisition, I dare you!), and staying cozy indoors no matter the weather. I also enjoy cooking, dogsitting, music of all kinds, daydreaming (who doesn’t need an escape from reality every once in a while?), and affectionately bothering my newfangled husband.

Acknowledgements

Logo design by Nicholas J. Klein of NJ ProductionsPhotos by Pexels, StoryBlocks, and Freepik (licensing provided by NJ Productions).

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