Editing
As an editor, I can help you with this. I look for clarity, correct mechanics, complete concise wording, consistent voice and proper documentation. I offer different levels of service and once I have completed a scan of your manuscript, I can advise you as to which level of service will be most beneficial to you.
Light Weight Editing:
Fact checking for accuracy and referencing helps keep you legitimate by avoiding ownership or copyright issues. It is also tedious. This service is billed separately from the other services.
To help you understand the process, this is what I look for:
Analysis Guideline Sheet
Word Usage:
Couldn’t ***** be …..
Couldn’t you add more……
Perhaps another way to say it …..
Intention - Non-fiction
Paragraphs have support, facts, information that is relevant to the topic.
Transitions between characters, thoughts, places, events.
Language
Additional Check sheet for Fiction Pieces
Intention What is the author trying to do here?
- Are you finding that your writing skills are keeping people from taking you as a serious competitive business?
- Do you struggle to get the right words in the right place?
- Are you concerned that your punctuation, especially commas, might not be as correct as you hope they are?
- Is your writing organized in a way to make it easy to read and understand?
- Do you feel a rewrite is called for and you just don't know where to start?
- Are your facts correct? Are they properly referenced?
- Do you have redundant words and phrases and don't know which ones to delete?
As an editor, I can help you with this. I look for clarity, correct mechanics, complete concise wording, consistent voice and proper documentation. I offer different levels of service and once I have completed a scan of your manuscript, I can advise you as to which level of service will be most beneficial to you.
Light Weight Editing:
- checking for mechanical errors: verb-tense, punctuation, grammar, spelling, spacing, formatting
- includes Light Weight Editing and structure of sentences and paragraphs; replacing repetitive or redundant words and phrases; checking to make sure sequence of information makes sense to the reader.
- Rewriting - With your permission, those portions of your document that need clarity or to be worded differently are rewritten; the position of paragraphs and concepts may be changed to make for easier reading; formatting changes might be required. Once this is accomplished, voice and consistency are re-checked along with checking for mechanical errors and possible structural errors and changes in voice. This level of editing may require several revisions.
Fact checking for accuracy and referencing helps keep you legitimate by avoiding ownership or copyright issues. It is also tedious. This service is billed separately from the other services.
To help you understand the process, this is what I look for:
Analysis Guideline Sheet
Word Usage:
Couldn’t ***** be …..
Couldn’t you add more……
Perhaps another way to say it …..
Intention - Non-fiction
- What is the author trying to do here?
- How is the manuscript put together – organized?
- If places sag: uninteresting material? Fat sentences? Redundancies?
- How does this interfere or support the rhythm and tension of the story line?
- Is the tone coherent?
- Is the voice consistent?
Paragraphs have support, facts, information that is relevant to the topic.
Transitions between characters, thoughts, places, events.
Language
- Is the language fresh?
- Does it sound lofty and say very little?
- How much is verbal filler?
- Over use of adverbs and adjectives?
- Tiny words – do they bog the sentences down?
- Is the language real?
- Are words, phrases, expressions repeated a lot?
- Do the same ideas keep coming up and do they interfere with the story itself?
- Is the idea muddy?
- What are the vague paragraphs?
- Too many ideas in one sentence?
- Do the images feel and sound “true?”
- Does the dialogue ring true to the characters?
- Do people really “say that?”
- How much summary is there or does the piece just push on without pause to reflect?
- Is it necessary?
- Do the beginnings of sentences, paragraphs, sections, chapters have purpose?
- Do you feel abandoned by the author at any time?
- Are punctuation, grammar, spelling, phrasing,sentence and paragraph structure helping or detracting?
Additional Check sheet for Fiction Pieces
Intention What is the author trying to do here?
- Where is the author going with this story?
- Where does the story veer off?
- Is the veering necessary information?
- Can it be incorporated in another way?
- How does the character’s past infuse into their behavior, gait, color of clothes, rhythm of speech, facial tic, posture (upright or slumped), voice, their visual presentation?
- Is the character palpability?
- Is the character credible? Believable?
- At what point are they not credible or believable?
- What does each character want?
- Does is show up in their emotions? Reactions? Responses?
- What moves each character?
- What is the reach for each character for getting up each day? Or the reason to stay in bed?
- What is the recurrent idea or image?
- Is there use of thematic symbols?
- Are all aspects and actions of each character believable?
- Are the environment details consistent?
- What are the signals of what’s to come?
- Is the tone – atmosphere, characters coherent?
- How much summary is there of the plot?
- Is it necessary?
- Do the characters “show” what is happening so there is no need to explain?