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 looks at the building blocks of your story including:

• structure and story arc
• character development
• scene and setting
• language (voice, rhythm, pace).

There are two options for a manuscript appraisal:

Written appraisal – a detailed report with the option of a follow-up phone call to talk through any questions or ideas you may have.

Verbal appraisal – a one-hour video call, which I record and send to you.

(You can read a couple of case studies here if you would like to know more about how a verbal appraisal works.)

Lu gave me some terrific ideas to develop the story.
Her insight made a significantly positive impact on the direction I’ve taken it in.

Sarah Nicholson

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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.

Coaching can be a one-off session to get you back on track or a series of workshops and targets to keep you on track.

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.

It’s precious for a writer to see the editor engage with your manuscript
in such depth, and in such a supportive way. It builds a relationship of trust.
I like how your comments range from word choice and syntax to
narrative technique and character development.

Gilbert Van Hoeydonck

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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 book.