With an eye for both big-picture structure and line-by-line detail, I specialise in editing and guidance to ensure your book is print-ready.
Writing a book is an impressive feat. When that book is about your business – your vocation – then you stand out as an authority. Your book tells people you have something to say and were so dedicated to saying it that you spent hundreds of hours hunched over a hot keyboard (or voice-to-text software).
Once you’ve finished the writing, the next step is getting your manuscript ready for publishing. Whether it’s an electronic or printed edition, this is when you need a fresh pair of knowledgeable eyes – an editor. But what kind of editing do you need?
- Developmental editing – What about the big picture? Are your ideas consistent? Do they hang together, make sense?
- Content editing – Paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter, does the text flow? Does the tone of voice a) fit your audience, and b) sound like you?
- Line editing – What about the detail? Sentence by sentence, does your text work? Does it communicate effectively, efficiently? Does it have the impact you want and need?
- Copy editing – Spelling, punctuation, grammar… For the reader, this is the difference between a professionally written book and amateur hour.
(A quick word on artificial intelligence… It can be a great tool when used as part of a process but it won’t do the whole job. AI and editing software apply a set of rules and inevitably produce a somewhat standardised result. Your book should sound like you, should be you, and that’s where a human editor is – so far – irreplaceable.)
Who are you?
You’re a small business or sole practitioner, maybe a consultant or coach, and you want to encapsulate all your best ideas in book form.
- You have a completed draft manuscript and you need a neutral professional to help get it print-ready.
- You want your book to be comprehensively edited, from big picture structural issues right down to checking the final layout before publishing.
- You want a fast turnaround so you can have the results in your hands while you’re still excited about having written it.
Your book will support your regular services, be an extra for existing clients, an addition to your product range (passive income!), and help you reach a wider audience.
I have 15 years and counting as a freelance professional editor (and proofreader and writer). I work with clients in HR, organisational development, self-help and other forms of coaching and consultancy to ensure that not only does your book represent you and your business, but it’s also an achievement you’re proud of.
PROCESS:
My standard service is a complete, three-stage editing package:
- Big picture – Developmental & content editing focused on flow and logic, highlighting any gaps, unsupported statements or ‘waffle’. The result is a series of detailed comments in the margins and suggestions for you to consider.
Once that feedback is actioned (or not, up to you!)…
- Into the detail – Line & copy editing, diving into the fine details; looking at wording, the best way to express your ideas, ensuring a consistent tone of voice and – of course – picking up spellings, typos, and any inconsistencies in terminology and formatting. The result is a lot of small-scale, essential changes (tracked so you can see exactly what is being suggested and make your own authorial decisions).
Once the feedback from stage #2 is actioned, you need to put the manuscript into a print/ebook-ready format. (For that, I recommend you use a professional with that specific skill set.) Then…
- Final check – The post-layout check is focused on details such as whether the contents list matches the chapter titles, the paragraph breaks are consistent, the apostrophes are in the same format (seriously!), the blank pages are in the right places (so that chapters always begin on a right-hand page), and so on. It’s also a final chance to edit/proof any changes or additions you’ve made as a result of the previous two read-throughs.
For a manuscript of up to 40,000 words, I typically need two days for stage 1, three days for stage 2, and a further day for stage 3. How long you spend on the feedback between each stage is up to you.
If you’re a consultant or coach looking to reach new clients with your book and have a completed manuscript, let’s talk about how I can support you to get it publication-ready.
