Discover the Best Version of Your Story.
As an editor, my goal is to produce the best version of your vision, not to enforce my ideas of what is right or wrong. I not only understand story structure and grammar rules, I also take a close look at the effect your writing is having, and whether that’s conducive to the story you want to tell.
Developmental Editing
A developmental edit address the needs of the reader, creating constant engagement and an emotional bond between reader and story. It also helps the author develop the ideas of their story with a reader who is skilled at giving feedback. Often, this stage of editing is very exciting for authors, as together we strengthen or create aspects of narrative or character development that the author may have had in mind but didn’t know how to quite achieve.
You will receive an editorial letter that analyzes in depth both large-scale issues and strengths of the manuscript. I will also highlight specific examples of any subjects discussed in both the letter and in the manuscript itself.
Line Editing
With a line edit, I make notations throughout the manuscript to address clarity, sentence structure, tone, and imagery. This editing is about communication. I point out which sentences are working, and which ones are not working and why. The essence of the story is finished, but this edit seeks to fully immerse the reader in the experience. This process is illuminating for authors as I specifically and expertly answer why certain sections may have lost past readers.
I edit your manuscript file using Microsoft Word’s Track Changes, so you can see and approve of every change I make. I also provide comments on the changes I make to help you understand my reasoning or to give other options.
Copy Editing
A copy edit is all about fixing mechanical errors. This is about making your work look professional and making sure that typos don’t interfere with all the other work already put into the manuscript. This can be a relief for the author, not having to go through such minutiae themselves.
I will correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other mechanical errors using the Chicago Manual of Style for this stage of editing, but am comfortable using other style guides or a house style. I will cite rule references in CMoS for each type of error correction, so the author feels confident in the decision and knows about the guideline for the future.
Let me help you share your unique voice.
Start with any of the editing services above, or choose a Start-to-Finish Package, to have my expert eyes on your story from your first draft to your finished product. This package includes all stages of editing for your story:
- Developmental Editing
- Line Editing
- Copy Editing