Editing ✧ Services ☾
Editing ✧ Services ☾
MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION
For This Stage, I Will Look at the Big Five Storytelling Elements:
✨ Plot
✨ Characters
✨ Pacing
✨ Worldbuilding
✨ Voice
As daunting as the name may seem, a manuscript evaluation is just a “big picture” review after you’ve finished your first draft. The evaluation is designed to identify both your writing strengths and the areas where you can make the manuscript more engaging by looking at the big five storytelling elements.
After reading through your manuscript, I’ll generate an editorial review letter, which uses specific examples from the manuscript to address the areas where the storytelling is solid and where you may need to do some sprucing. For example:
🐾 “The character arc for your female bard was great! I was really invested in her journey from being unsure of her dream to finding her voice.”
🐾 “The world you’ve created is very interesting, but there are some discrepancies in how the magic system works. Specifically, in chapter three…”
The review letter can be used either as a reference as you work through a series of self-edits, or you may prefer to use the evaluation to guide a full developmental edit.
It’s important to remember that the evaluation doesn’t focus on stylistic or content edits, nor does it address grammar, punctuation, or similar “nitpick” edits. Once you’ve completed a manuscript evaluation and you’re confident in the manuscript’s foundation, then you’re ready for a line edit.
LINE EDITING
If you’re confident in the foundation of your manuscript, then it’s time for a line edit! Also called stylistic or content editing, this is the stage where I read through your manuscript and suggest edits on specific elements such as:
✨ Voice (word choice)
✨ Style (phrasing)
✨ Refining characterizations
✨ Dialogue
✨ Hooks and prompts at the beginning and end of each chapter
✨ Overused dialogue prompts
✨ Consistency
✨ Writing habits (e.g., similar sentence structure, sentences starting with the same word, filler words like “just” or “really,” and so on)
I use the Track Changes function in Microsoft Word to provide comments, feedback, and suggested revisions. After I complete the first line edit, you’ll receive a copy of the manuscript with my edits. Because this type of editing will require you to make content-based revisions, you’ll work through the recommended changes and then send the manuscript back to me for review and further edits as needed. We’ll establish turnaround times for each round of edits, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions on the suggested revisions as we go along.
Once you feel comfortable with the line edit, we’ll move on to a copyedit.
COPYEDITING
Now that you’ve solidified the foundations and spruced up the stylistic elements of your manuscript, it’s time for a copyedit! This is the “nitpick” stage, where I look over your manuscript for:
✨ Grammar
✨ Punctuation
✨ Spelling
✨ Echo words (using the same word repeatedly)
✨ Double-checking consistency with actions
If you’ve previously completed a line edit with me, I’ll use the most recent version of your manuscript so all the hard work you did during the previous phase is reflected. If you’ve completed a line edit with another editor, please make sure to send me the most current manuscript for this stage.
Once again, I’ll use the Track Changes function to make suggested edits and then send it back to you. These revisions won’t necessarily be as intensive as the line edit phase, but some recommendations may require minor edits on your end. You can always reach out if you’re confused about or disagree with a specific edit.
As soon as you’re confident in the copyedit, it’s time to finish off with a final proof.
PROOFREADING
After all the blood, sweat, and tears shed over many rounds of revisions, you’ve reached the final leg of the journey: the final proof. Using a copy of your manuscript that reflects all previous revisions, I will review your work one last time for:
✨ Typos
✨ Double words
✨ Grammar
✨ Punctuation
✨ Spelling
✨ Formatting issues
As with before, I’ll use the Track Changes function to highlight any final items that need to be tidied up and send the manuscript back for your review. At this stage, most edits should be limited to accepting the suggestion rather than requiring additional revisions on your end. However, if you disagree with or would like clarification on any of the edits, you can check with me.