Now that you have finished your manuscript, it’s time to concentrate on its readability. We need to ensure that your readers have a great experience, and are able to immerse themselves in your story with no difficulty.

I want to help you polish your story, whatever your publishing goals, into a book that your readers will love.

How I will do this

I will perform a line by line, word by word edit of your manuscript.

I will check your:

• Grammar, spelling, punctuation
• Word choice, tone, flow, awkward phrasing and readability
• Possible plot holes
• Consistency of character traits
• Dialogue style, tagging and punctuation
• Authenticity of phrasing and word choices in relation to each character voice, to ensure they are original and fully developed
• Consistent use of:
  • words
  • tense
  • terms used
  • spelling
  • capitalisation
  • hyphenation
  • abbreviations
  • use of language, spelling (Australian/British or American English) and style
• The structure of your sentences and paragraphs
• Development of scenes and topics
• Believability, conflict, suspense, tension or action etc.

Alternatively, I can follow a house style if one is supplied.

A copy edit should correct and smooth, always retaining the integrity of your style and ‘voice’. I will ensure your writing flows well and that any distractions within the writing are corrected.

Included in this service, I will supply you with an editorial report and style sheet (if one is not supplied).

• The editorial report details my observations while editing your book.
• The style sheet records decisions about language, hyphenation, numbering, capitalisation, spelling variations, punctuation style and idiom usage, so that we can bring some consistency to your writing.