You’ve finished your book.
Your mom loved it, your best friend cried at that one part. Or maybe your boss or partner thinks the article or blog post you’ve written will be just the thing to bring in tons of business. Now your finger is hovering over the SEND button—maybe to an agent, a publisher, a magazine, a contest.
But wait…
Is it perfect?
Did you say everything you meant to say in just the right way? Did you not explain something well enough? Or maybe you overexplained when you could have (should have) trusted your reader and trimmed a bit? Was your word choice spot on for the tone you’ve taken? And was that tone consistent? For that matter, did you stick to the right tense throughout?
As important, does your manuscript have the kinds of errors that are so easy to miss when you’re fully focused on content and not on that pesky stuff like where the quote marks go, or whether MSWord—without asking—has changed a few words into their homonyms? You know, the stuff that gets cranky reviews at Amazon. “I liked the characters, but the book needed editing. Lots of mistakes and typos that distracted from the story.” Augh.
That’s where an editor can be a big help.
There are different kinds of basic editing: line, copy, and straight proofing. Developmental editing is also a thing, but different. I do that too, and we can discuss, but mostly what I do is line editing (which automatically includes copy editing and proofing).
From me, line editing means I will offer suggestions for smoothing sentences to improve the flow and clarity of your narrative. I’ll fix awkward or clunky phrasing, suggest words that might better reflect what you want to say, and generally tighten things up. In fiction I can help punch up dialog, ensure continuity with details, and make sure you’ve shown more than you’ve told. In nonfiction, it’s a lot more about making sure you have complete and grammatical sentences (not always a hard and fast rule for fiction), that the tone you’ve taken suits your subject matter, and that your points are easily understood by your intended audience.
Or, here’s the shorter explanation:
My job is to make sure your book, short story, article, or blog post is well-written and free of errors while staying true to your voice.
Fees
I bill by the hour or can offer a fixed price based on the project (and the number of hours I estimate it will take)—something I can only calculate after I’ve seen a sample of your work and know what kind of editing help you’d like. To that end, I always offer to do a free sample edit of a few pages. You’ll get a feel for what I do; I’ll get a sense of your writing style. We’ll both know whether we’d work well together. Want to try that?
Contact me with your questions.
I’ll have some questions for you, too. For example, how long is your manuscript? (In words, not pages.) Fiction or nonfiction? What’s your timeline? Is this your first book? Have you worked with an editor before? Are you planning to query agents, submit directly to publishers, or go the very popular indie route?
Lesley Dahl
Here’s a little about me
Besides editing, I sometimes write. My stories have appeared in various lit mags and my middle grade novel was published by Random House. I am also the fiction editor for Zizzle Literary, which publishes flash fiction for young readers. There was a time I taught high school English and loved it. But for the past sixteen years I have been very happy working with writers of all kinds, helping get their manuscripts into pitch perfect shape. And because I have such affection for writers, I also spend a lot of time coaching and offering honest feedback meant to help you become an even better writer.
Lesley does an excellent job with the line editing and proofreading. But it’s the more intuitive work where she really shines. She knows what works and what doesn’t. She really “gets” my voice and is passionate about my writing. I feel she’s been indispensable to my writing career.
I’ve worked with Lesley for over five years, and I can confidently tell you this: she’s the most diligent, genuinely caring, and proficient editor that I’ve ever worked with. Not only does she flawlessly edit, she always goes the extra mile to explain the thought process behind her revisions—which has brought my English skills, as well as my writing style, to the next level.
Oh, and her sense of humor is sensational. I can’t count the number of times her margin comments cracked me up.