Comprehensive Edit of a Fiction, Novel Manuscript

This author came to me with the type of project I receive most often--a fiction novel that needed a general run through for line editing, copy editing, as well as review and critique in a few small areas. The author had already developed the plot and characters quite well, but needed help with consistency, line editing, and grammar, and wanted an expert eye on the book before self-publishing on Amazon.

Click to download and open the document itself in Microsoft Word! There, you will see all of my edits and suggestions in the track changes and commenting features. The author's name has been removed for anonymity.

I read through the book once without making changes to understand the plot, characters and message as a whole and took notes while I did this. I then began reading a second time with the full context of the book in mind, and began making edits and suggestions in a number of ways.

COPY EDITS: I provided small copy edits for grammar, spelling, formatting, and the like. This book in particular needed help with formatting and grammar around dialogue and dialogue tags.

PROOFREADING: I ensured that names, locations, and other details were consistent throughout. This author occasionally referred to characters and objects/locations by slightly different names.

LINE EDITING: I rewrote sentences and changed their tone, order of words, syntax, etc. to make sure they flowed well and got the idea across in an interesting and concise way.

REVIEW & CRITIQUE: In moments where I had questions for the author, needed clarification, I left detailed comments in the right margin to guide further thinking and writing. The author acted on all of these comments and I reviewed those sections a second time.

The author chose to work with me for a number of reasons:

I am personally a published, award-winning writer in the literary world, so he trusted me with his fiction manuscript.

I have experience as an editor and editorial assistant for publishing houses and literary journals, so I know what editors are looking for.

I am extremely detail oriented and able to catch the tiny little mistakes with my sharp eye.

I am organized and can track details throughout a manuscript to make sure everything is consistent.

I am familiar with the appropriate style guides to ensure everything is aligned with industry standards.

The author was extremely happy with the result and I was proud of how far the book had come. I am confident that with my edits, this wonderful author is now able to convey their powerful message to the world. Here is a message and a review from the author: