Published books don’t “just happen.” There is a great deal of work that goes into getting a book published. Of course, the author must write the book, and then the “back” stages begin, primarily the editing cycles.

I offer four levels of editing. First is an Editing Assessment, in which I read the book and make notes on what further editing is required. This is a fixed-price service. The assessment then determines what further editing is necessary to prepare the book for submission for publication: Mechanical editing (fixing the Ps and Qs of an otherwise-polish manuscript), structural editing (fixing the organizational and continuity problems, along with mechanical errors), and finally, comprehensive editing (in which I work on character development, story and plot, structure, and mechanical problems).

Because so few publishers today will spend time “nurturing” a new author as they did in days of old, any manuscript sent for consideration for publishing must already be edited and polished, ready to go. That’s not to say a publisher won’t have suggestions on editing the manuscript, but an error-free, ready-to-roll manuscript has a much better chance of making it through the gateway than does a document filled with errors and story gaps.

Most independent publishers suggest that new, and proven, authors run their manuscripts past an editor before submitting them, to save time and effort on everyone’s part.

This is where I come in. Whether fiction or non-fiction, I thoroughly enjoy reading a manuscript and figuring out how to improve it. My services cost money but that is part of the process if a writer wishes to find publishing success. No guarantees, of course, but certainly improved potential!