Services Offered
With over twenty years of experience, I am available for assistance throughout the editing process, all the way from your first rough draft to your query letter.
Working together to make your manuscript as consistent, cohesive, and clear as possible should feel like a collaboration, not like visiting your high school English teacher during office hours.
Manuscript Evaluation
Are you uncertain about key components in your manuscript? Do you want an option that provides more professional input than a beta read but doesn't require the financial commitment of a full edit? A manuscript evaluation examines the same bigger picture components addressed in a developmental edit but without making in-text changes. An email summary between three to five pages in length will be returned, listing strengths, weaknesses, recommended areas of improvement, and touching on characters and their arcs, plot, pacing, word choice, and if the manuscript matches its genre's expectations.
Developmental/Content/Structure Editing
A manuscript needs developmental editing (also known as content or structure editing) before diving into the finer details like spelling word choice, and grammar. Are characters relatable, consistent, and fully developed? Are there any plot holes? Does the dialogue read as natural and fitting for who is speaking? Are there spots where the pacing lags or is too rapid? Developmental editing covers all of this and more.
Line Editing
Line editing narrows the focus from larger components to a line-by-line examination of the text. Word choice and sentence rhythm are an integral part of creating a compelling story and when they fall flat, it can jar the reader back into reality and leave them scratching their heads. While many do not include line editing in developmental editing services, I bundle the two. The two are intertwined, one bolstering the other, with a firm grasp of the manuscript's larger picture trickling down to better inform the selections made at this level.
Copyediting
Copyediting takes place on the mechanical and grammatical level. Consistency, adherence to relevant style guides, and formatting are all addressed. These needs will differ based on the type of manuscript and where it will be published.
Book Doctoring/Writing Coaching
While these two terms aren't synonymous, they require an equal level of involvement and communication. The most collaborative of any of the services I offer, this covers discussing your manuscript, its outline, and areas where you may be struggling. Together, we will brainstorm story and plot possibilities, go over the fundamentals of writing when appropriate, and craft a polished and complete manuscript from a rudimentary rough draft.