Editing
I provide three levels of editing for manuscripts at different stages of completion:
- Structural editing, also known as developmental or content editing, is a big-picture review of your manuscript. I’ll read your manuscript for character and plot development, consistency, tone, flow, and overall quality. You’ll receive a summary of my general impressions of the book’s strengths and weaknesses as well as comments within your document flagging specific places where you need to revise. Upon request, or sometimes just because I feel compelled from within, I will copy edit a chapter or two to show the level of additional editing needed to polish the manuscript.
- Copy editing digs into the nitty-gritty. I’ll read your manuscript slowly and carefully (maybe more than once) and track my changes as I correct style and grammar errors and improve your sentence flow. If I spot structural issues, I’ll flag those in comments. You will be able to review and approve (or reject) my changes. After you’ve revised accordingly, I’ll review another draft to make sure any changes you’ve made are stylistically and grammatically sound.
- Proofreading is the final polish before your book goes to press. Once your manuscript has gone through layout and design, I’ll review your PDF proof to ensure no errors made their way through prior rounds of editing or the layout process.
Every manuscript should receive at least one round of each of these editing levels from fresh eyes. Sometimes I will combine structural and copy editing in my services if the author has a tight timeline or budget. But I cannot be both editor and proofreader, as I’ll be too familiar with the material after a few rounds of reviews.
Design
Primarily, I lay out and design long-form publications, such as books and related marketing materials for authors and publishers, and booklets, lead-generation articles, and annual reports for small businesses. Some illustration and photo editing is required as part of those publications, but I’m not your girl for logos, brand packages, photo retouching, or similar graphic design projects.
Book Covers, Interiors, and Related Marketing
Everyone judges books by their covers and rightly so. Your cover should appeal to your intended audience and give them a sense of what to expect inside. These expectations come not only from the text on the cover but also from colors, font choices, and imagery. The cover text speaks to them on a conscious level, while the rest speaks to their subconscious.
Once the cover is complete, I’ll pull elements from the final design into the interior layout for a cohesive presentation. That could include font choices as well as graphics. Print and e-book layouts may differ slightly, especially if your book is full of charts and figures, but I’ll make sure it looks good in multiple formats.
Optionally, once the book has gone to press, I can create related marketing materials, such cover teaser and reveal images for social media, social media templates, book fact sheets, and promotional items such as bookmarks or stickers from your cover art.
Small Business Publications
If you have content that is more than a page long that needs to be presented in both print and digital applications, I’ll make it look pretty for you and proofread the copy along the way. My previous work includes annual reports, training booklets, and turning blog posts and video transcripts into magazine-style articles for lead-generation downloads and sales kits.
Ghostwriting & Collaborative Writing
This is the hardest of my services to describe as it can look different for each author. Sometimes it’s a series of interviews with increasingly probing questions to draw out your story and then transcribing and editing the interviews to get a first draft. Sometimes it’s background research and fact checking to help you fill in details and context in your story. Sometimes it’s coaching you through rough spots or, as part of the structural editing process, writing out what I’m seeing between the lines to help you expand your story.
Publishing Consulting
If you have questions about the self-publishing process or just want to discuss ideas, I’m available on an hourly basis to chat via phone, Zoom, or (for Charlotte-area locals) in person.