Literary Editing Services

Developmental Edit

A style of editing that looks at the story as a whole and addresses items in a big picture manner. Developmental editing addresses things such as plot holes and inconsistencies, character development, point of view, dialogue, and genre expectations.

Includes:

  • An editorial report outlining my suggestions
  • Common items of note are (organization, writing style, inconsistencies, dialogue tagging, pacing, showing vs. telling, dramatic tension and conflict)
  • Includes suggestions in-line of manuscript for consideration

Line Edit

If your writing needs a boost in word choice, a stronger voice, and complex sentence style, line editing is for you. A style of editing that addresses both stylistic and mechanical elements of your story on a sentence level.

Includes:

  • Clarity and effectiveness of phrasing and word choice, point out passages that are weighed down by bland language
  • Logic and continuity of story’s timeline, environment and characters
  • Checks consistency of tone, tense and point of view, uncovers scenes where meaning is unclear or could be misunderstood
  • Effectiveness of character’s dialogue and tagging, points out tonal shifts and unnatural phrasing
  • Checks on pace and flow of sentences
  • Checks for active vs passive voice
  • Uncovers showing vs telling

Comprehensive Edit

A comprehensive edit is a unique combination of line editing, editorial comments on your manuscript, and a written report. Not for the faint of heart, during this edit I will pick your manuscript apart and help you piece it back together again.

This is done after your developmental edit but before copy editing and proofreading.

Includes:

  • Two read throughs of your manuscript
  • Includes a report with an outline of what the average reader will take away from your story chapter by chapter, along with suggestions
  • Includes a general style sheet for your manuscript
  • Includes suggestions and comments in-line in the manuscript for consideration to show how to strengthen particular scenes, events, or actions. How to highlight a character’s speech or action, identify unbelievable or nonsensical parts of the narrative or even question the purpose of a scene, event, or character to ensure it fits into your story
  • Includes one round of line editing

Manuscript Assessment

A manuscript assessment is an excellent choice for authors who want a professional overview of what’s working in their story and what’s not, from a big-picture perspective. It’s also a great option for writers who can’t afford or aren’t sure if they need a developmental edit.

It addresses both structural and style-related issues but is not as comprehensive as a full developmental edit. It’s a great option if you’re a first-time author or if you’ve already gone through a few rounds of self-edits and need an outside opinion on the story.

Includes:

  • One read through of your manuscript
  • An editorial report of my suggestions and thoughts on your story as a whole. Unlike with the developmental edit, this report will focus on items such as, plot holes, character development, point of view and tense, dialogue and info dumping

Partial Assessment

Looking for an even more budget friendly alternative? Try a Partial Assessment.

Includes:

  • A read through of 10,000 words from (any part in) your manuscript that you think needs a little extra love
  • Suggestions and comments in-line on manuscript

Formatting Services

Includes:

  • Professional formatting for both ebook and paperback to ensure a polished, reader-friendly layout
  • Proper indentation, spacing, and font consistency for a clean and professional look
  • Chapter headers, page numbers, and section breaks formatted to industry standards
  • Conversion to print-ready PDF and EPUB files, compatible with major self-publishing platforms like KDP and IngramSpark
  • Optional: Scene break embellishments and custom font choices for chapter titles (upon request)