Who We Are—Story Mechanics and Editors for Hire

Thanks for stopping by! Trusting your book to someone else is a big step, and if you’re interested in working with us, we’re happy to start off the introductions.

Ground Crew Editorial is made up of twin sisters who have been telling and talking about stories for as long as we can remember. Our dad’s Air Force career meant we grew up with a deep appreciation for hard work and afterburners. We are writers and editors who have called the United States, England, and Japan home for a time, and now we are freelance editors based in Colorado Springs. Our passions and interests have allowed us to share many adventures, including studying writing craft at the University of Oxford.

We specialize in editing kid lit (middle grade and young adult in particular) as well as adult sci-fi and fantasy. However, we’ve both worked on a wide variety of projects and love branching out!
For high-performance planes, every hour of flight time is supported by seventeen hours of maintenance, and writing is no different. It might take a reader a few hours to take a book cover to cover, but what they don’t see are the hours and hours of planning, writing, revising, and even daydreaming that go into crafting a book. We’re here to help you prepare for flight, taking the guesswork out of the nuts and bolts so you can enjoy what you do best—creating.
Because we are both writers ourselves, we understand how difficult writing can be, whether it’s putting words on the page or doubting you’re good enough to put them there. We’ve both had our share of not-so-great writing groups and terrible critique sessions, and collecting rejection letters is a lifelong hobby of ours (like most writers). Writing is a long road, and each book is unique. While we can’t physically pull our desks next to yours, we’re here to support your creative journey by offering:
—honest and deep critique
—feedback that you know how to apply
—open consultations for any questions and advice
—guidance and tools for developing writing craft
And when you’re ready, we’ll be clearing the runway, pulling away the blocks, and waving you on.
We both hold bachelor degrees in literature and masters degrees in creative writing. Between us, we have over twenty years of editing experience and have worked on more than three hundred books. Since we work so closely together, regardless of which one of us you’re working with, you’ll always get the benefit of two professional editors on your project.
We belong to the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA); serve as volunteer editors for Japan Harvest, the official magazine published by the Japan Evangelical Association for their members; and we are active members and enthusiastic volunteers for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
As with any partnership, it’s important to find a good fit. You’ll find lots of information about us on this website as well as an ever-growing collection of resources, so you can check out our passions and our approach. But when it comes to the actual experience, there’s nothing like hearing from other writers, so you can also read reviews from authors who have worked with us in the past.
Once you’re ready, fill out our contact form, where you can share a few details about you, your project, and your goals. If you’d like schedule a chat, let us know in the message. We want to make sure we’re the perfect fit for you.
After discussing your needs, goals, and desired timeline, if you would like to proceed with the next step, we will send a proposal your way that outlines the service we will perform for you, dates, any optional add-ons, and pricing. Upon acceptance of that proposal, we will send you a contract to sign. Before beginning work, we typically invoice for 30% of the total payment (other payment plans are available upon request). After this is paid, work will begin. The remaining payment will be invoiced at the end of the project before the deliverables are sent to you.
We take our job supporting authors very seriously, so you’ll be able to contact us any time during a project. During regular business hours Monday through Friday (Mountain Time), you can email us and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Rest assured that everything you send us, whether it’s a document or email, is kept secure and private. We will never disclose any information about you or any work you entrust to us without your express written permission. We do not use artificial intelligence (AI) programs on our clients’ work, nor will we ever upload client work to any AI programs (such as ChatGPT or editing platforms). We write our own editorial letters and feedback based on our years of experience as editors and writers. What you receive from us will always be handcrafted, never generated by machine. For more information, you can read our privacy policy.

Get in touch!

Ariane Peveto

I am a writer and editor who enjoys helping others bring their stories and ideas to life. I started out as a writing tutor and then taught courses in composition and rhetoric for college students. After making the very natural step from there to become an editor, I’ve had the privilege of working on a wide variety of projects, like one of NYT bestselling author Dave Asprey’s books and a text for Biola University—as well as dozens of independent clients with everything from picture books to memoir, young adult novels to adult sci-fi.

I am frequent presenter for SCBWI Rocky Mountain Chapter Connect events, and I was also a faculty speaker for the RMC’s Letters & Lines conference in 2022. My work has been published in several places, and I’ve received awards in short story and poetry from a local writers’ guild and was nominated for the Golden Pen Award at the RMC SCBWI 2020 fall conference. Most recently, I received a Highly Honorable Mention in Story Unlikely’s 2025 short story contest.

Currently, I’m pursuing publication for my YA novels, The Words We Know and Love (contemporary fantasy) and Still Dreaming (sci-fi/fantasy blend).

Aside from writing and editing, I keep busy enough as a costume seamstress, baker, cake decorator, scrapbooker, artist, and paper aficionado.

What I’m reading right now :

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao

What I’m playing right now :

Thief Gold

Jackie Peveto

I am a passionate writer, editor, artist, and enthusiast for anything involving imagination and paper. My love of story has been cultivated as much by my academic background as it has by travel and an never-ending pile of library books. There are few things I love more than talking about words!

Before becoming a freelance editor, I was a university-level tutor for several years and taught ESL. Now I have the privilege of collaborating with writers at all stages of the writing process and writing journey and working on a variety of projects with Penguin, Viking, and Philomel. I also volunteer with the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors and the Rocky Mountain chapter of SCBWI, giving talks and acting as co-registrar for our annual conference.

As a writer and reader, my passion is children’s literature, particularly middle grade and young adult, but I always have ears for a well-told story in any genre. I’m represented by Marissa Brown at Pippin Properties, and hopefully soon we’ll be taking my middle grade fantasy novel on submission!

You can read more about my writing projects here.

My work has been published in Small Wonders, YARN, The Garbanzo Literary Journal, and Tales to Go. If you’re interested in reading some of my work, please take a look at my portfolio of published clips.

What I’m reading right now :

Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan

What I’m drinking right now :

Chai

drop us a

Upcoming Events

Colorado Gold Writers Conference (October 1–4, 2026)

Past Events

Colorado Springs Connect of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI, presentation on dialogue (May 3, 2026)
Colorado Teen Literature Conference (April 18, 2026)
Letters & Lines: Annual Conference for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI (October 18–19, 2025)
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference (September 26–28, 2025)
Colorado Springs Connect of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI, presentation on theme (September 14, 2025)
Nan Desu Kan (August 28–31, 2025)

Words from Our Authors

Allowed My Voice to Shine

Jackie was a delight to work with! She was very efficient, thorough and thoughtful while still allowing for my voice to shine. She crafted a personalized letter that held meaningful comments and thought provoking questions that pushed me as a writer. I would welcome the opportunity to work with her again in the future.
— Deborah A., Author
Numerous Agents Requested Fulls

I’ve had the privilege to work with Ariane Peveto on two novels that I’ve written and her skills as an editor are priceless. Not only did she edit and return my book back in a timely manner, but she did so with an in-depth editorial letter that was as strong and detailed as you might get when working with an editor at a publishing house. Her ability to capture plot holes and character inconsistencies is remarkable. With Ariane’s fine attention to detail and understanding of my stories, I’ve been able to transform my novels into such tip-top shape that I’ve had numerous agents request to read my full manuscript.
– Christa M., Contemporary and Fantasy MG Author
Inspired Me to Keep Going

I needed a professional's perspective and expertise. Fresh eyes on my story. I honestly was completely satisfied. I would say how detailed and complete the developmental edit was (19 pages!) and how it inspired me to keep going and dig deeper into character and plot development. I feel we connected easily. There is a nice flow to working with you. You listened well and provided excellent feedback.
The entire experience starting with meeting you (on Zoom) and discussing my needs and project was very natural and authentic. I appreciate that!
— Patrick P.
I Feel Hopeful and Empowered

Ariane is amazing! I was looking to get overall feedback on the main elements of my story and a few key character relationships. She gave me such a constructive, helpful, thorough and thoughtful critique that I not only feel hopeful in my manuscript and sending it off to my agent, but also empowered now that I see what is working and not working in my story. HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend and well worth every dime! And I will definitely be going to Ariane again!
— Lindsay Eland
Jackie GETS IT

Jackie at Ground Crew Editorial surpassed my hopes for a developmental edit. I'm writing a middle grade fantasy and I wrote way too many words, especially for current publishing practices. This was the main problem that I asked for help with at the beginning. Jackie came back to me with an incredible editorial letter and suggestions throughout my whole manuscript, helped me realize that I had enough material in there for a whole trilogy, and spent a generous amount of time helping me understand the questions to help me refine the story. I'm so incredibly grateful. Jackie (and her sister, Ariane) is the right person to turn to for help with any story, but especially middle grade fantasy. She GETS IT. I can’t recommend Ground Crew Editorial enough. Highly recommend!
– Leigh Gaddy, Middle Grade Fantasy Author
Mortified at the Thought of Publishing Without Editing

After the final draft, you always have to consider hiring editors. Is it necessary? Maybe the manuscript is clean enough as is. After seeing the fixes found by Ground Crew Editorial, I am mortified at the thought of publishing a story without having it first professionally edited.

– AE Marling, Solarpunk Author
That Has Made All the Difference

I was looking for manuscript evaluation of a multi volume work of fiction. Ariane eyed my humble wheelbarrow stuffed with struts, sheet metal, lumpy threaded bits flecked with oil and rust. “I see wings in there,” said she. That has made all the difference.

– D. A. Neville, Sci-Fi Author
Went Way Beyond Any Expectation

The editors at Ground Crew helped bring my children’s book to the next level. They went way beyond any expectation, both with time and written feedback. I highly recommend!
– Christy Eiler Ward, Picture Book Author/Illustrator
I Feel So Supported!

Jackie was fantastic! I needed expedited editing services for a writing competition I was entering.
She was responsive, thoughtful, encouraging, and full of wisdom. I was grateful for Jackie's experience in the field and willingness to support me throughout the whole editing process. I would work with her again in a heartbeat!
I felt so supported!
– Keela Lupton, Picture Book Author
My Publishing Journey Has Taken a New Trajectory

When you have reached the end of all you can do for your manuscript, start here. Coming to Ground Crew for book help was like asking the Oracle of Delphi for guidance—minus the speaking in riddles aspect :) Going into this, I admit that I worried about the quality of the commentaries. I asked myself questions like "is this worth my money? Can they offer something few beta-readers could?" In the aftermath, I see my worries were unfounded.
My publishing journey has taken a new trajectory because of the help I received here.
– Nick Manwaring, Sci-Fi Author