Blair Hurley works with writers to edit their manuscripts and help bring them to fruition.
I'm Blair Hurley, and I'm a writer and instructor of creative writing. I received my A.B. from Princeton University and my M.F.A. from NYU. My debut novel, THE DEVOTED, was published in August 2018 with W.W. Norton & Company, and my second novel, MINOR PROPHETS, will be available April 18, 2023 with Ig Publishing. I have stories published or forthcoming in The Georgia Review, The New England Review, Electric Literature, West Branch, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere. I'm a winner of a 2018 Pushcart Prize, and was nominated for Pushcart Prizes in 2019, 2021, and 2022. I teach at the University of Toronto, McMaster University, Grubstreet and the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies, and elsewhere.
I offer in-depth manuscript critiques, line-by-line story editing, and private writing coaching. Read below about the many ways I help writers, from query letter assistance to full manuscript consults and more. Contact me today about preparing your manuscript for success.
Make it stand out.
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Manuscript consultation
Before sending out a manuscript to editors or agents, writers can benefit from a thorough, in-depth critique of their work. A manuscript consult includes a close reading of your work and a thorough letter analyzing the strengths and weaknesses.
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Content editing
Struggling with line-by-line questions of language, music and mood? Content Editing is a comprehensive examination of your writing, including line-by-line edits of your manuscript or story, with feedback on language, style, voice, and clarity. I'll highlight strengths and weaknesses of the language and offer suggestions for focusing and honing the power of your voice, and help point out clichés or over-familiar phrasings. Content editing can help you polish your project on a sentence level and bring out the full potential of your story.
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First chapter consult
The manuscript is ready to head out the door — but how do you get agents to want to read it? It's time to polish that query letter or book proposal so that your manuscript makes it past the first gatekeepers of the publishing world. A query letter consult will receive an in-depth edit of your letter and book blurb, with suggestions for how to draw out the central conflict of your manuscript in an enticing way.
Contact me.
Contact me with your manuscript query to learn more about what services I offer for your work.
Testimonials
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If you are interested in polishing your writing to its full potential, consider hiring Blair Hurley as your editor. I did. She is tough and terrific. Tough because she caught every little mistake and foolishness I committed to page. Terrific because she is incredibly smart and creative, and she guided me so that dull storylines turned into gripping ones.
-Lee Anne, writer
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Blair herself is an accomplished, talented, sensitive, and PUBLISHED writer, so I knew when I chose to work with her, I’d be getting support from someone who has been through the entire process of creating a concept, writing, rewriting, and eventually being published. She was always prepared after reading the pieces I had sent her and responded with thoughtful and helpful input. Encouraging and positive, she framed her suggestions in a digestible manner. She is sweet and kind.
-Lois, writer
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I knew my novel wasn’t ready to send out, but I wasn’t sure why until Blair identified exactly what needed to be done. She gave me notes filled with valuable insights that generated some of my best writing and revisions. Thanks to her, a draft that was a detached and timid family drama is on its way to being an intimate page-turner. Rest assured that with Blair, you are getting a bright, experienced, caring, and honest editor. Too many adjectives, I know, but they all apply. I look forward to working with her again.
-Rebecca, novelist