How to Get in Touch With Catherine Dee for a Writing or Editing Project

Catherine Dee is a freelance writer and editor whose site, deebest.com, presents her under the banner "Catherine Dee — Freelance Writer & Editor," with marketing content and book editing named as her areas of work. The practical next step is to start an inquiry through the contact route offered on that site, and to make your first message specific enough that she can judge fit and availability. The guidance below assumes you already know you want to reach her; if you are still deciding whether she is the right fit, treat the first message as a scoping question rather than a booking.

What the site tells you before you write

The site itself is deliberately minimal. The visible content is limited to her name, the "Freelance Writer & Editor" descriptor, and the two service lines: marketing content and book editing. There is no published price list, no booking calendar, and no stated response-time promise in the material available. That means you should not assume anything about rates, turnaround, or whether she is currently taking work — those are exactly the things to ask.

What you can reasonably infer is the shape of the work: marketing content (typically shorter, business-facing pieces) and book editing (typically longer, manuscript-based projects). Those two categories call for different information in a first message, so it helps to know which one you are.

How to open the conversation

Use the contact method published on deebest.com rather than a guessed address or a social profile you have not verified. If the site offers a form, a listed email, or another stated channel, that is the intended entry point.

A first message that gets a useful reply usually contains four things:

• Project type — marketing content or book editing, and the specific format (for example, a landing page, a series of blog posts, a full manuscript, or a single chapter).
• Scope — word count or page count, and how many pieces if it is a series.
• Timeline — when you need it, and whether that date is fixed or flexible.
• Stage of the material — whether you have a finished draft, an outline, or only a brief.

If you have a manuscript or a brief, say so and offer to send it. Editors generally prefer to see the actual material before quoting, because a 60,000-word manuscript with structural problems is a different job from one that needs a light line edit.

A short template you can adapt

Hello Catherine,

I'm looking for help with [marketing content / book editing]. The project is [describe it in one or two sentences], roughly [word or page count], and I'd like it completed by [date, or "no fixed deadline"].

I have [a full draft / an outline / a brief] ready to send. Could you let me know whether you have availability, how you usually scope a project like this, and what you'd need from me to give a quote?

Thanks, [Your name]

This works because it answers the questions she would otherwise have to ask back, and it ends with a concrete request rather than a vague "let me know if you're interested."

What to ask before you commit

A first reply is not a commitment on either side. Before agreeing to anything, it is reasonable to clarify:

• Availability — whether she can take the project now or when she could start.
• Process — how she works: does she edit in the document, return comments, or hold a call first? For book editing, ask whether she does developmental, line, or copy editing, since these are different services.
• Deliverables — what you receive at the end, and in what format.
• Rate and terms — the site does not publish pricing, so ask directly rather than assuming a figure.

For book projects, it also helps to ask whether she wants the full manuscript up front or a sample chapter first. Many editors prefer a sample to assess the work before quoting the whole book.

Common snags

• Sending a vague inquiry. "Are you available for a project?" gives her nothing to price or schedule. Include type, scope, and timing.
• Attaching a full manuscript in the first email. Unless the site says otherwise, ask first — a large attachment may not be welcome before she has agreed to look.
• Assuming published rates. None are listed, so treat any number you have in mind as unconfirmed until she states it.
• Treating a reply as a booking. Availability, scope, and terms all need to be settled before work starts.

If you are still weighing whether Catherine Dee is the right writer or editor for your project, the same first message doubles as a fit check: her answer about process and scope will tell you as much as her answer about availability.