Developmental Edit of a Nonfiction, self-help book

This author came to me with a nonfiction, self-help book that needed significant developmental editing and line editing to bring the message to life and ensure that it sounded like native English. He was a first-time author that had a great message to share but was unsure how to make his message shine.

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 message and concepts that the author was trying to convey 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 & PROOFREADING: I provided small copy edits and proofing edits for grammar, spelling, formatting, and the like.

LINE EDITING: I rewrote sentences and changed their tone, order of words, syntax, etc. to make sure that everything sounded like native English. English is the author's second language but they hoped to publish for English-speaking markets, so this was very important.

DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING & REWRITING: I added in my own writing in some areas where I felt clarification, further explanation, summary, or some transitional statements would help bring the. message to life. This required a deep understanding of the author's general message, so that I could view each part of the book in the context of its message as a whole.

REVIEW & CRITIQUE: In moments where I had questions for the author, needed clarification, or wanted to push him further, 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 experienced in working with ESL authors and am extremely capable at editing syntax and tone to sound like native English. I am personally multilingual, multicultural, and used to teach essay writing to international students. Every ESL author I have worked with has been extremely happy with the tone and syntax of their book when I'm done editing it, knowing that their message will shine to the best of its ability with an English-speaking audience. Grammar should not be a barrier that holds an author's incredibly ideas back!

I made the experience extremely personal and individual to a first-time author. They told me they were a first-time author, unsure what to ask for. So, I stayed in touch with them throughout the entire process and made sure they were getting exactly the type of help they needed. Even after the project was submitted back to the author, I remained available for questions and further review!

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: