Do I really need an editor?

I strongly believe that every writer benefits from having a second, fresh set of eyes, looking over their work before it gets published. It’s far too easy for an author who has read over their own work countless times to miss something. The brain gets bored. I have a friend who calls it “creative blindness.”

Whether the extra set of eyes is a professional editor, a friend or colleague or relative, is up to the author and the needs of the project. Who is your intended audience? How many people will you be trying to reach? Can your friend or relative be objective in their assessment of your work? Objectiveness is key - although flattery is lovely, it won’t help you improve.

Can’t I just use Spell Check and Grammarly, or ChatGPT?

You could. Those are all very useful tools. Please bear in mind though that AIs and programs can’t appreciate the subtleties of writing that humans can. A good editor will take into account your unique voice better than a computer is able to, recognizing when rules of grammar or style need to be followed, maybe bent a little, or ignored. The more tools a writer has at their disposal, the better!

What kind of editing do I need?

This is a very broad question. The scope of work for each type of editing is described in the Services Offered section. If you read through there and are still stuck on what you need, drop me a line and we can discuss your project.

You can fill out my project questionnaire telling me the details of your project and send me a sample of your work, and I can make some recommendations. Please see the Contact section of this website.

So, how will it work when I send you my manuscript?

My usual process is described in the Terms of Service section. If you need a different method to what I’ve described, you can contact me to discuss your requirements. If I can accommodate you, I will.

I use Google Docs to write. Can you just edit it in the shared folder?

Honestly, it’s better if I download a .docx copy and edit it in Word. Not only does Word have a better interface for reviewing and commenting, but if the document is in a shared folder, authors can be changing things while I’m working. This gets to be very confusing for all concerned about what’s original, what’s been edited, and what’s a new addition. In order to make the best use of my time and your fees, the manuscript needs to be in a complete and stable format. If the edits initiate changes, that’s fine, but those should be looked at in a separate round.

Do you work in French?

I’m afraid not. I understand French very well, and can help you in translating French into English, getting the rhythm and sentence structure rearranged, but if your manuscript is intended for French publication, you would be better served by a native-speaking francophone editor. I recommend looking at the Réviseurs Canada site.

How much will editing cost me?

To give you a firm quote I will need to have you answer the project questionnaire and send me a sample of your work. General pricing guidelines can be found in the pricing section of this site.

How is a manuscript evaluation different than beta reading or developmental editing?

I’m glad you asked! I wrote an explanation of it in my blog, here.