An overview of the services I can provide.
Please contact me for a free 30 minute consultation about your project and whether I’d be a good fit for what you need.
Manuscript Evaluation
A manuscript evaluation is a comprehensive appraisal of a text, including comments on both the content and the writing technique. It often includes recommendations to develop the manuscript further as well as recommendations to help the author develop their own skills generally.
A manuscript evaluation is a great choice when you’re not sure what your next steps should be, as it is generally less expensive than a full edit, and will provide a suggested path forward.
Developmental Editing
A deep collaboration between author and editor to shape the first draft of a work. This type of editing takes place before a first draft is even finished. It’s useful for figuring out the core questions: Who is the book for? What are the main arguments, or the primary storylines? What should be included, and what should be left out?
Developmental editing is, ultimately, the editor participating in the act of creation of a text.
Structural Editing
The evolution and iteration from an early draft to a settled text. Structural edits help ensure that not only is everything necessary present (no holes in a story, no missing supporting evidence in a report, etc.) but also that the text is in an order that will make sense to its audience.
Structural editing is the strengthening of the bones of a piece.
Stylistic & Copy Editing
Often combined, stylistic and copy editing are technically two different types of editing. Stylistic editing is concerned with subjectivity: clarifying meanings, making sure the author’s voice and tone are consistent, that sort of thing. Copy editing, by contrast, is more about standardizing the text to the established rules of grammar, both for internal consistency and reader accessibility.
Together, these types of editing are generally what most people think of when they think of the work editors do.
Proofreading
The last check before publication, proofreading is the last chance to fix any errors that may have been missed in earlier stages or been introduced at the last minute during layout. Every text that is meant to be read by an external audience (i.e., not the author and their immediate coworkers) should receive a proofread.
The goal of proofreading is to make sure that the text reads correctly and smoothly on the page.
Indexing
While the table of contents provides an overview of what you’ll find in a text from a high level, an index identifies clusters of information and shows the connective tissues that support the framework of the text. Not all types of writing need one, of course; fiction, poetry, shorter form reports and academic papers can generally do without. But for most nonfiction, a good index can make or break the success of a text.
Ultimately, an index is like a map, helping readers navigate the text.