A book editor is like your personal writing coach – here to bring out the best in your writing.
You don’t have to wait until final draft before you enlist help from an editor. In fact, getting feedback early will give you focus and confidence for your next draft.
Where ever you are on your writing journey, we can work together to take your writing to the next level. Here’s how.
Manuscript appraisal – the big picture
You are so close to your book that it can be hard to see it as a whole. This is where a manuscript appraisal come in.
A manuscript appraisal will:
- show you where the strengths are and where it’s not hitting the mark
- give you confidence that you are going in the right direction
- help you work out what to focus on next.
It is a detailed report that looks at:
- structure and story arc
- character development
- scene and setting
- language (voice, rhythm, pace).
It comes with a follow-up phone call or video call to talk through any questions or ideas you may have.
Lu delved deep and the report helped immensely in writing the next draft, which was a massive improvement from where it had started.
Tommy Cotton
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Writing coaching and manuscript development – the work in progress
Want to finesse your scenes, sharpen your dialogue, sort out your story arc?
One-on-one manuscript development workshops help you develop your writing technique and find your story. This can be especially useful for new writers.
I’d particularly recommend her workshops to fiction writers,
as you’ll be able to work on and talk about sections of your novel
you may be struggling with.
Nichola Scurry
Coaching can be face-to-face or video call.
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Copy editing – the detail
You probably know every line of your book inside out. You probably know it so well you can’t really feel its power anymore. Copy editing focuses on your writing line by line, making sure the language, rhythm and flow are serving the story and the characters as best they can.
If you are wondering if your novel is ready for copy editing, this handy flowchart may help.
Lu didn’t just pick up grammatical errors and turns of phrase, she made a few clever suggestions for heightening the drama and comedy without losing my protagonist’s voice.
Anna Spoke
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Proofreading – the final check
If you are you self publishing, proofreading is an essential step. Even if you’ve had your book copy edited, you will need to get it proofread. The copy editor has their eyes on so many things it’s highly likely that a few typos will slip past them, or you might inadvertently introduce a mistake as you are working through their edits.
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Let’s chat about the next step for your manuscript.
