How it works
- You send the manuscript.
- The manuscript is read once for the big picture.
- On the second pass, problems are marked in the manuscript using Track Changes and comments in Word, and an editorial letter explains the main changes and why.
- You revise, using the letter and the comments as a guide. Your questions are answered as you go.
What you get back
Your manuscript with comments in the margin, and an editorial letter. Larger cuts, moves and rewrites are suggested in comments, so you stay in control of your book.
Sample: a margin comment and a suggested move
Invented text written to show the service. It is not from a client's book.
Chapter 7, comment: This chapter repeats what we learned in Chapter 3 about the mine closing. Cut the first four paragraphs and start with Tom arriving at the union hall. The reader already knows why he is angry.
Suggested order: Move Chapter 11 (the letter from the bank) before Chapter 9. As it stands, Maria reacts to news she has not yet received.
Ask about your book
Send the word count, the genre and the type of editing the book needs. For a formal estimate, send the manuscript or at least a 4-page sample.
The other services
- Manuscript assessmentA read of the whole book and a written report on what works and what to fix.
- Copy editingSentence-level clarity, consistency and style, to Chicago Manual of Style.
- ProofreadingThe final check before publication.