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hello@madeleinevasaly.com
Primary services: copyediting, developmental editing, production editing/project management, proofreading, style guide development
Areas of experience include: automotive, aviation & aerospace, brand-licensed/IP publishing, comics, cooking, DIY & craft, fiction, gardening, gaming, geek culture & fandom, history, home improvement, memoir, movies/film & TV, news, science fiction & fantasy spirituality, new age & witchcraft, pop culture, popular science, science fiction & fantasy, social media, spirits & cocktails, style guide creation
Testimonials • Portfolio • Contact Form
The Proofreader's Guide to Comic Book Style
As a former in-house editor and an independent professional since 2017, I’ve worked with projects of fewer than 1,000 and more than 100,000 words; with those needing a light touch and those needing extensive work; and with content that includes formal academic texts, YA novels, superhero comics, meme-filled online articles, nonprofit reports, video scripts, and more. I’m as much at home with copyediting and proofreading as I am with developmental editing, project management, and art research.
In addition, I’m one half of the leadership of Twin Cities Geek, a nonprofit website and community organization bringing news, reviews, cultural essays, and other content to Minnesota readers since January 2015. As senior editor, I help guide the editorial content of the site, edit articles for both style and substance, develop and maintain the site’s style guides, and supervise a small team of junior editors. I also write occasional articles for the site and jointly run our social media channels and community engagement initiatives.
Alongside my work for clients and for Twin Cities Geek, I’m the website administrator for the Professional Editors Network and was the marketing and communications manager from 2018 to 2025.
I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota and attended the Denver Publishing Institute. Before starting my own business, I worked for a midsize publisher in a traditional progression of roles, editing and shepherding books through acquisition, content editing, copyediting, design, proofreading, and production. I work with the Chicago Manual of Style and AP Stylebook and have experience with a variety of publisher- and project-specific styles—both following them and creating them myself. I also have foreign-language skills in French and Japanese.
You can find some of my current and former clients below and learn more from my testimonials and portfolio.
“In short: any assignment that lands on Madeleine’s desk is in excellent hands.”
—Shannon Pennefeather, Managing Editor, Minnesota Historical Society Press
(read more testimonials)
I work with publishers large and small, book packagers, authors (traditional and self-publishing), agencies, nonprofits, and anyone else who deals with words. Publisher and packager clients include but are not limited to:
- 1517 Media
- BuzzFeed News
- Catapult/Counterpoint
- Coffee House Press
- DC Comics
- DK
- Erewhon Books
- IDW Publishing
- Insider
- Minnesota Historical Society Press
- Penguin Random House
- Quarto Group
- Redleaf Press
- Sourcebooks
- Tapas Entertainment
- University of Minnesota Press
“I love working with Madeleine! Her attention to detail, robust editorial knowledge, and pitch-perfect judgment on queries and sensitivity concerns have made her one of my go-to freelance proofreaders. I know I can rely on her to treat every project with care.”
—Anonymous Senior Proofreader, Major US Comic Book Publisher
(read more testimonials)
Contact me to see what I can do for you!
