BUSINESSES
The Writing Consultancy offers affordable, quality editing to businesses seeking copy-edits or proofreading of advertisements and web content. We are also able to assist with content creation, articles and blogs. Please use the following contact form to receive a quote.
AUTHORS
Many authors submit their manuscripts to a professional editor in order to receive line edits and structural changes to pitch their manuscript to agents, publishers or prepare to self-publish. We offer the following types of editing services to authors: Editorial Assessment, Structural Edit, Copy-Edit and Proof-reading. Below are details on what each type of edit involves.
- Editorial Assessment-the editor reads the entire work and compiles an editorial report outlining what is working, next steps, but will not have in-line comments. Usually an editorial report consists of 5-10 typed pages of notes on the overall story’s development, voice, prose, characterization, point of view and ideas of revision. For non-fiction it will focus on how well the author is able to sustain the reader for the specialized focus of the book and whether or not each section holds up to the claim of the focus of the subject in addition to the voice, prose, tone and diction.
- Structural/Developmental Edit –The editor looks at the “big picture” story structure: what’s working well in addition to changes that will improve the existing story. We will focus on the story’s development, voice, prose, characterization, world-building and the developing genre. There are comments in the margins throughout the manuscript regarding suggestions for revision as well as some line edits. This is best for a new manuscript that has had a few revisions.
- Copy-edit—This stage is always after significant revision (we recommend that you’ve been through at least six or more full drafts and at least one editoral assessment or one round of beta reading). The big-picture issues with your book are mostly done. The editor will use track changes to address all errors they find, highlight what is working well, and what still needs further clarification with in-text comments. The following are main focuses of a copy edit: descriptive inconsistencies (character, locations, blocking, etc.), POV/tense (to fix any unintentional shifts), word usage and repetition, dialogue tags, sentence structure, consistency of voice, spelling, grammar, capitalization, usage of numerals, any lingering “big picture” issues, and any other lingering errors.
- Proof-reading–This is the last stop before publication. Manuscripts are extremely polished before they reach this stage. The editor will ONLY look at:
- Inconsistencies in spelling and style
- Inconsistencies in layout and typography
- Confusing or awkward page and word breaks
- Punctuation/grammar/syntax mistakes
- Dialogue or reference tags that are misplaced
- Incorrect captioning on any illustrations and page numbers in the contents
- All changes will be tracked, along with places where larger edits will need to be completed by the author (related to layout/typography) if there isn’t a clear way forward for the editor to make a stylistic determination.
Authors will need to submit a sample ahead of time in order to receive a quote. The final price is determined by word-count and the revisional state of the manuscript.
Please use our contact link to e-mail us regarding any questions you may have about our editing services.
We look forward to reading your writing and the possibility of working with you!