Services

A manuscript assessment is for when you've got a draft manuscript but you're not sure whether it has legs or you don't know where to take it next.

 

I'll read the whole thing and write up a report outlining what's working well and what needs improvement, as well as some general suggestions for solutions. Depending on the genre of your manuscript, this could involve looking at plot, characterisation, world-building, genre expectations, chapter structure, order and balance of content, as well as any potential legal issues such as copyright infringement or defamation.

 

I'll also give you advice on whether your manuscript is ready to submit to a publisher or prize, and which ones might be suitable.​

Structural editing is for when you know what your story is, but there are some areas you need help with to get it ready for publication. You might know what the manuscript needs, in which case I'll focus my edits, or you might just know it needs a bit more shaping.

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I'll write up a detailed report summarising the manuscript's strengths and weaknesses and suggesting general solutions for anything that's not working. The report content varies depending on the genre and state of the manuscript but could involve anything from questions to help you focus characters' motivations to a table mapping out the timeline, or even a spreadsheet suggesting a reordering of the chapters. 

 

I'll also mark up the manuscript itself with comments to give you more specific feedback on what is or isn't working and where solutions could be implemented.

A copyedit is a line-level edit that may include changes for:

• clarity and conciseness of expression

• consistency

• continuity

• factual accuracy

• applying house style

• correcting errors of grammar and syntax

• correcting errors of spelling and punctuation

• styling paragraphs

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I will mark up your manuscript in Microsoft Word using Track Changes and provide you with a style sheet, in which I record style rules and spellings.

Proofreading is for when the text has been laid out in the final book design and should only be used for catching errors.

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I will mark up your pages on PDF using Adobe Acrobat's commenting tools or on hard copy using proofreading marks if you prefer.