Services

copy/line editing

Do you need help cleaning up linguistic tangles, punctuation, spelling, voice, and tone? This is the service that most authors request. The story is complete, beta readers say it’s engaging, but you need a pro to make sure there’s no jarring the reader out of your story world because of awkward, confusing phrases, misused or misspelled words, misplaced modifiers, or run-ons and fragments that aren’t serving your scene’s pace or tone.

proofreading

Do you need fresh eyes to catch errors others might have missed? This service is the last line of defense for errors. Proper proofreading is done on the print-proof PDF, because it also is supposed to look for faulty paragraph indentions or alignment, changes in fonts or font sizes, words that should be italicized that aren’t (or vice versa), widows and orphans, consistent paragraph indentions. I do a final check all your character and setting details against your series style guide to be sure everything is consistent. The final professional touch to put your story in the most professional light possible.

manuscript evaluation

Is what you’ve got a compelling, marketable story? When I evaluate your story, I’ll be critically reading for all the elements that make a compelling, engaging story in the genre. I’ll provide a report that explains what’s working, and what’s not, and provide strategies for fixing the issues, whether they are in plot, characterization, dialogue, setting, etc. Note: beta reading is included under this service.

My advice is constructive and based on 17+ years expertise studying the structures of fiction, mentoring writers, and serving as a judge for multiple awards programs.

developmental editing

Do you need an accountability partner and coach to complete or revise your manuscript? If you want help from beginning to end, this is the service for you. Beginning with a manuscript evaluation, we take the report as a task list for rewriting and revisions.

This service concludes with a copy edit of the complete manuscript, so you essentially get 3-in-1 service: evaluation, coaching, and copy editing.