Congratulations, you’ve written your first draft! Now what?
Not all editors use the same terminology, but here’s a rough outline of what you’ll need to do to get your book to the publishing stage.

Developmental/Structural Editing

Developmental editors work with you to make sure your plot is strong, your characters and dialogue are well-developed, and your pacing, style, and voice are clear and consistent throughout your story.

Critique partners will read your story from the viewpoint of another writer and offer suggestions and comments on all aspects of your story.

Beta readers will read your draft from a reader viewpoint and offer feedback on things like the beginning and ending of your story, whether they liked and connected with your characters, and if they found any inconsistencies or plot holes.

Copy/Line Editing

A light copyedit will focus on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and coherency. Heavier copyediting, sometimes called line editing, will delve more deeply into sentence structure and can include things like fact checking and suggestions for reworking or reorganizing sections of your story.

The copy/line editor will typically provide a style sheet with things like spelling preferences, character names, how numbers or other typographical characters are handled, and miscellaneous facts. The style sheet is used to maintain consistency between the various editors and designers working on your book.

Book Design

Once your story has been polished through feedback from critique partners, beta readers, and editors, you’re ready for a book designer. Their job is to lay out your book in the format you’ll need for publishing, whether electronic or hard copy, and make decisions on things such as font, margins, chapter head design, page numbers, and front and back matter, and they search for widows and orphans in text. A book designer may also do cover design.

Proofreading

Once you’ve thoroughly polished your book and the layout and formatting have been completed, it’s time for a final proofread to check for typos that have been missed along the way or may have been introduced through one of the previous stages and to be sure that everything looks the way it should.

That’s it! You’re now ready for publication.

What can I help you with?

I provide copy/line editing, beta reading, transcription, and typing services.

Copy/Line Editing

So, who needs a copyeditor anyway? What exactly does a copyeditor do? Yes, we check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but what about correct usage? Should the word be accept or except? What’s the difference between peak, peek, and pique? Did you use that idiom correctly?

We also help to ensure consistency throughout your document. Did your blond-haired, blue-eyed main character suddenly have warm brown eyes later in the novel? We help eliminate redundancies in your writing (close proximity = proximity, final outcome = outcome) and tighten up your phrasing (provide a description of = describe), all while maintaining your voice as the author.

Each manuscript I copy edit is read word by word, sentence by sentence, carefully examining each element. I correct any mechanical errors and offer comments and suggestions if I find something that needs clarification. I also fact check to make sure no embarrassing typos make it into the final manuscript.

I love to work with new authors and self-publishers, focusing mainly on the paranormal, fantasy, romance, cozy mystery, and young adult genres. If you have a particular budget in mind, I will work with you to ensure you get the most out of your investment. I offer a free sample edit, so send me a few pages of your work and I can get you a quote. My rates generally range from $0.01 to $0.03 per word, depending on the level of editing your manuscript requires.

Beta Reading

image of a hands holding a book to be read

Do you need someone to provide an impartial review of your novel? I'm an avid reader in genres including romance, paranormal, young adult, science fiction, fantasy, thriller, and cozy mystery, so I have a great feel for what works and what doesn't. I can answer a specific set of questions you may have, or I can provide feedback using a format that I've developed that includes comments on the beginning and ending of your story as well as the characters, dialogue, plot, and any strengths or weaknesses I notice in your manuscript. My standard fee for a beta read is $100-$150, depending on length of manuscript.

Transcription

I've been transcribing documents for over 20 years. I take great pride in my accuracy, and my excellent research skills help ensure correct wording and spelling throughout your document. I am also familiar with a variety of accents for speakers whose first language is not English. My fee for standard transcription is $1.25 per audio minute, and I can add time stamps and adjust formatting to meet your specific needs.

Typing

Do you prefer writing in long hand and having someone else type everything? Or maybe you have a written document that needs to be transferred to an editable electronic format. Send me a .pdf sample of what you need typed, and I'll get you a quote.