Seeking editorial support for your text? Reach out to discuss how I can best support you on the road to publication.
Seeking editorial support for your text? Reach out to discuss how I can best support you on the road to publication.
I provide thoughtful line editing, copyediting, proofreading, and book coaching to help prepare your manuscript for publication. But what do these terms mean? What does each stage of editing entail? Read on to learn more about the kinds of editing I do, and if you’re still not sure which service is right for your project, please reach out.
““Your professional abilities left my prior editors in the dust. For subsequent books, I won’t consider working with any other line or copy editor before you.””
Also called a publishing consultant or writing coach, a book coach facilitates your path to publication by providing editorial feedback and/or helping you navigate the publishing industry. Learn more here.
A line editor evaluates the rhythm and flow of a text, calling out word repetition and repetition in form, for example, and provides suggested edits to vary the rhythm when warranted. Learn more here.
A copyeditor reviews your text for continuity, style, and errors in grammar and mechanics. Learn more here.
A proofreader ensures consistency of all design elements and corrects any remaining errors in grammar and mechanics. Learn more here.
The services I offer are best suited to manuscripts that have already been revised through several drafts and some kind of developmental work. Many writers make early revisions based on feedback they receive from a critique group or beta readers. You might also consider having a developmental editor review your manuscript in a full-blown developmental edit or in a manuscript evaluation. These are steps you’ll want to pursue before contacting me.
Developmental editors can review a manuscript at any stage in the writing process, and they often work collaboratively with an author over several drafts. A good developmental editor facilitates and supports the writing process, offering feedback and specific suggestions for the author’s consideration that are in keeping with the author’s style and voice and may help shape the manuscript. The author, of course, retains autonomy throughout the project and may accept or reject any of the editor’s changes and suggestions. This phase of editing does not address errors in grammar and mechanics; these are checked later in the editing process.
In the landscaping analogy I use to describe each stage of editing (see individual pages linked above), working with a the developmental editor is like hiring a landscape architect to help develop your vision for your yard.
A much lighter version of the developmental edit is the manuscript evaluation: a thorough review of a near-complete manuscript that results in written feedback addressing organization, clarity, consistency, character development, voice, and so on. When you feel stuck in the writing process, or you cannot see your text clearly anymore, this is a great way to get some objective feedback to help you move forward.