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I offer editing, manuscript assessments, and editorial pitch/submission/blurb services to writers, trade publishers, self-publishers, and private clients such as business owners and academics. Fiction, non-fiction, memoir, university projects, commercial projects, and submission materials are all welcome. I’m proficient and friendly – click to read some testimonials! Or just get in contact and tell me about your project. Different projects need different levels of work, so the process will likely involve sending me a sample along with the total word count for review – I’ll then read/edit a section, time myself, then advise you on the level of work your manuscript needs and give you a quote. Depending on the manuscript, my reading time can vary between 1,000 and 10,000 words per hour.

About Your Editor

When you’re entrusting an editor with your manuscript, it helps if you know a little about them. As a writer myself, I’m passionate about developing every manuscript to become the best it can be. I’ve helped hundreds and hundreds of writers improve their work since establishing my first writers’ group in 1991, and I haven’t stopped. I love words! I read extremely widely and enjoy: thrillers, crime, horror, science fiction, fantasy, women’s fiction, romance, dystopia, young adult, children’s, memoir, history, science and biographies! I have many interests – health, lifestyle, economics, the future, technology, nature. I also have many qualifications – from degrees in English Literature (of course!), psychology, media and cultural studies, to diplomas in law and intellectual property, to A-Levels in biology and history. I love learning! I’m also a keen traveller and have been to almost fifty countries, all across North, South and Central America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia – so wherever your story is set I’ll understand. I’m an advocate for inclusive creativity and have founded many community creativity projects. I’m open-minded and nurturing, and I know your manuscript is as important to you as mine are to me. I will take great care of it.

Structural Editing & Manuscript Assessments

If you suspect your manuscript has a hidden flaw, you’re probably right. I’ve seen countless projects, many already ‘a good read’, with fundamental issues that need fixing prior to publication or submitting to agents/publishers. Writers are often too close to their work to see these issues, but I’m not!

Both my structural edits and manuscript assessments closely examine your manuscript’s overall development, looking at content, structure, language, tone, consistency, flow, chronology, pacing and length. I check everything makes sense, consider readers and whether they’ll understand, identify major issues and (where possible) suggest solutions. I explain writing techniques if needed, and recommend development. My feedback is both honest and nurturing, enabling you to take your manuscript to the next level. With fiction, I also assess character arcs, dialogue, worldbuilding, and plot points. Are characters acting according to their personalities and motivations? Does the story sag or drop the pace? Is it lacking tension?

With a manuscript assessment (also known as an appraisal or structural report), you’ll receive a report on all of the above, but no marked-up manuscript.

With a structural edit, you’ll receive your manuscript marked up from start to finish to illustrate all of the above, as well as a short report explaining comments and expanding on certain issues.

I quote on a sample-basis, so please get in contact and I’ll let you know how much a structural edit or manuscript assessment will cost. I’ll need to read a sample and know the total word count for review.

Copyediting

Copyediting is for manuscripts that already have a sound structure and clearly communicate a decisive overall meaning to the relevant audience. It is designed to tidy up and polish the way your words express that meaning, and spot any glaring errors. As such, my copyediting involves marking up a manuscript line-by-line to review (as appropriate):

clarity and readability
use of language
meaning and tone
inaccuracies, contradictions, inconsistencies and errors
spelling and punctuation
preposition use, verb tenses, subject-verb agreement and pronoun use
correct cross-referencing
awkward or ambiguous phraseology
repositioning passages into more logical sequences, flow and pace
shortening drawn-out discussions
composition
industry and house styles
formatting and layout

Although it is not the focus of a copyedit, I will also let you know if I identify any major structural, stylistic or worldbuilding elements that need attention. As an author myself, I simply can’t let your manuscript go into the world if it has flaws!

I quote on a sample-basis, so please get in contact and I’ll let you know how much a copyedit will cost. I’ll need to read a sample and know the total word count for review.

Please note that proofreading is for manuscripts that have already been fully edited (ie. they have a sound structure, clearly communicate a decisive overall meaning to the relevant audience, and have been copyedited). There are full-time proofreaders out there, and I cannot copyedit and proofread the same manuscript (as proofreading requires reading with a completely fresh pair of eyes), but please get in contact if you’d like a quote. I’ll need to read a sample and know the total word count for review. Please note: proofreading does not guarantee zero typos, it reduces them to an acceptable standard.

Pitch / Submission Work

Yes, I know it’s hard to write a synopsis and blurb (your whole book reduced to a few hundred words!). it’s also hard to pitch the right tone in webpage content, promotional materials, cover and query letters. But I’ve done it so many times, so I can help you with any book proposal/submission (query letter, synopsis, sample pages), enticing sales pitches (blurbs for back covers and websites, or an elevator pitch), even copywriting for websites or marketing materials (flyers, brochures, postcards, posters, press/media releases). Simply send me a message and we’ll go from there. To give you an idea of prices, it generally takes me an hour to:

edit an author’s 1000-word synopsis down to 300 or 500 words
write a blurb (on provision of a synopsis)
draft a cover or query letter (on provision of a synopsis, market comparisons, blurb and bio)
copyedit sample pages (around 4000 words)

Free Help

If you’d like to self-edit your manuscript to save on paid editing costs, I offer FREE editing help on my blog under my ‘Writing Rockface’ posts:

Other Services:

Mentorship/Writing Coach – If you need help with story generation, manuscript or career development, please consider selecting my mentorship/writing coach option instead.

Publishing Assistance – Ready to send your work out into the world? I can help with publishing options, layout designs, as well as promotional items.

Editing/Manuscript Assessments