Storybook Mermaid is a creative storytelling studio.

I sharpen stories by elevating clarity, celebrating whimsy, and ultimately preparing them for publication. 

Elevating clarity. Celebrating whimsy. 

My name is Kibby Araya, and I’m a story editor who specializes in fiction and nonfiction.

I established Storybook Mermaid, a creative storytelling studio dedicated to female-centric projects developed for the page and for the screen. I’m the mastermind behind She Lit, a literary lifestyle brand highlighting the diversity of female authors. 

I developed thousands of stories as a daily news editor and reporter over my 15-year journalism career.

I’m also an agented author with an upmarket/book club fiction manuscript on submission. My young adult manuscript, “Before Everything Goes Up in Flames,” was the 2022 winner of the Black Creatives Revisions Workshop, a partnership between Penguin Random House and We Need Diverse Books. 

When I’m not shaping stories, I’m rainbow-coding my bookshelves or cosplaying as a mermaid.

Meet the Founder

Work With Me

Services

Manuscript Consultation

*Fiction and nonfiction 

  • Discovery call

  • Full read-through of your manuscript (up to 100,000 words)

  • Comprehensive editorial letter

  • Revision roadmap

  • Marketing and positioning insight

  • Follow-up call

Book Consultation

Submission Consultation

*Fiction

  • Discovery call

  • Full read-through of your manuscript sample (up to 50 pages) 

  • Revised query letter

  • Revised synopsis

  • Revision roadmap

  • Marketing and positioning insight

  • Follow-up call 

Book Consultation

Short Story Consultation

*Fiction and nonfiction 

  • Discovery call

  • Full read-through of your short story (up to 5,000 words)

  • Editorial letter

  • Revision roadmap

  • Marketing and positioning snapshot

  • Follow-up call

Book Consultation

Frequently Asked Questions

  • My services cover the main needs for writers. I have consultation packages for developmental editing, novel submission, and short story editing.

  • These are deliverables:

    • Comprehensive editorial letter

      • Story structure

      • Plot development

      • Character development

      • Pacing

      • Voice 

    • Margin comments 

      • Constructive comments in Microsoft Word Doc or Google Doc 

    • Revision roadmap

      • Prioritized list of revisions

      • Timeline 

      • Optional enhancements 

    • Marketing and positioning insight

      • Genre and subgenre classification

      • Comparative titles 

      • Audience

      • Market trends 

      • Positioning statement 

    • Follow-up call

      • 60-minute chat about revision plan

  • These are the deliverables:

    • Revised query letter

      • Rewritten version

      • Margin comments in Microsoft Word Doc or Google Doc

    • Synopsis

      • Margin comments in Microsoft Word Doc or Google Doc 

    • Revision roadmap

      • Prioritized list of revisions

      • Timeline 

      • Optional enhancements 

    • Writing sample

      • Margin comments in Microsoft Word Doc or Google Doc 

    • Manuscript formatting 

    • Follow-up call

      • 30-minute chat about revision plan

  • These are the deliverables:

    • Editorial letter

      • Story structure

      • Plot development

      • Character development

      • Pacing

      • Voice 

    • Margin comments in Microsoft Word Doc or Google Doc 

    • Revision roadmap

      • Prioritized list of revisions

      • Timeline 

      • Optional enhancements 

    • Marketing and positioning insight

      • Genre and subgenre classification

      • Comparative titles 

      • Audience

      • Market trends 

      • Positioning statement 

    • Follow-up call

      • 30-minute chat about revision plan

  • Select one of the packages and pay 50% of the fee. You will receive an introductory email and an intake form to start the editing process. Throughout the weeks-long process, you will receive updates while I complete the deliverables, which includes a video call.

  • I offer standard pricing for my packages. Literary agents and literary journals are rejecting stories more than ever in our post-pandemic business environment. They want manuscripts to be clean enough to promote them for publication.

  • Here are my preferred genres:

    • Women’s fiction 

    • Upmarket and book club fiction 

    • Contemporary fiction 

    • Emotional and psychological suspense fiction

    • Literary fiction 

    • Romance fiction

    • Young adult fiction

    • Memoir 

    • Personal essay 

    • Cultural nonfiction

  • Collaborative, honest, and straightforward. I’m here to guide the process, bring ideas to the table, and keep things moving.

  • I can be reached anytime via the contact page or email at shello@storybookmermaid.com. I aim to respond quickly—usually within one business day. Serious inquiries, please.

Book a Consultation