A creative writing editor does so much more than check your grammar and sentence structure.

We look at all the building blocks of your novel including story arc, character development, subplots, voice, rhythm and pace.

As you know, writing a novel is a long, slow process with many moments of joy and pain along the way. You can work with an editor at various stages in the journey to get the feedback, reassurance and support you need to finish your book.

Here’s how.

Manuscript appraisal – the big picture

A manuscript appraisal is a big picture look at your novel. It gives you feedback on all the elements of your story, including plot, character development and voice. An appraisal can be helpful with either a finished draft or work in progress.

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.

I offer appraisals by video workshop rather than a written report.

• mini manuscript appraisal (appraisal of first 10K words)
• maxi manuscript appraisal (full manuscript).

You can read more details and some FAQs here or a couple of case studies here if you would like to know more. Or get in touch and I’ll talk you through it.

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

Once you’ve had an appraisal there will most likely be some things for you to work on, such as reworking a plot line or a character arc. If you need support with this, we can set up coaching to workshop your new writing.

It 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 workshops are online via Zoom (you get to keep the recording). You can read more detail and some FAQs here.

Get in touch if this sounds right for you or if you would like to know more.

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Copy editing – the detail

Copy editing is the final polish. It 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.

This is the last phase of editing before proofreading.

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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Let’s chat about the next step for your novel.