If it is written, an editor and proofreader can help, “books and newsletters, brochures and educational materials, advertisements and academic articles, government and annual reports, websites and poetry – an editor’s deft touch can improve their effectiveness in reaching their target audience” – IPed:

An editor can do the following:

• Act as an impartial first reader before you launch your words on the world
• Structure your documents logically
• Choose the right style and language
• Remove ambiguity and clarify your meaning
• Correct grammar and spelling
• Simplify obscure language, colloquialisms and bureaucratic, technical or specialist jargon
• Help you get straight to the point
• Ensure consistency in style and language
• Make your novel more appealing to an agent or a publisher.

As an editor and proofreader, I can offer four levels of service. (In the majority of cases, an editing project will entail more than one aspect, or level, to ensure that your written work receives the attention it requires.)

Depending on the stage your written work is at, and what level is required:

• Substantive or structural editing – where I, the editor, am involved from early in the process
• Line editing
• Copyedit for grammar, spelling and consistency
• Proofread for errors as a final check before publishing.

Many writers are confused about the different types of book editing. Even editors can’t agree on exactly what’s involved in each type, and that’s because it’s difficult to draw definite lines between them. The definition can change with each editing job, and it is only finally decided in the author or publisher’s brief to the editor – the outline of exactly what the author or publisher requires from the editor – which can range from correcting only the obvious typos to suggesting word count cuts or changes to story structure, plot, and characters.

For more information on the services I offer, please see My Services page.