Co-founder of Strong Finish Book Editing. Editing since 1988, for 28 trade publishers and imprints, including three of the Big Five. Margaret Atwood’s primary copy editor and proofreader for 31 years, across 22 titles. Proofreading is the last read before a book is published, and it happens on the typeset pages rather than on your
Proofreading: What It Catches, Why It Happens Last, and What It Costs Read More »
Co-founder of Strong Finish Book Editing. Editing since 1988, for 28 trade publishers and imprints, including three of the Big Five. Margaret Atwood’s primary copy editor and proofreader for 31 years, across 22 titles. Copy editing is the pass that makes a manuscript correct and consistent. It fixes grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage, and it
Copy Editing: What It Changes, What a Style Sheet Is, and What It Costs Read More »
Co-founder of Strong Finish Book Editing. Editing since 1988, for 28 trade publishers and imprints, including three of the Big Five. Margaret Atwood’s primary copy editor and proofreader for 31 years, across 22 titles. Line editing is the pass that fixes how your book sounds. It works on rhythm, word choice, clarity, and tone, one
Line Editing: What It Is, What It Costs, and How It Differs from Copy Editing Read More »
Co-founder of Strong Finish Book Editing. Editing since 1988, for 28 trade publishers and imprints, including three of the Big Five. Margaret Atwood’s primary copy editor and proofreader for 31 years, across 22 titles. A manuscript evaluation is a full read of your book, followed by a written report. You get an honest account of
Manuscript Evaluation: What You Get, What It Costs, and When It Saves You Money Read More »
Co-founder of Strong Finish Book Editing. Editing since 1988, for 28 trade publishers and imprints, including three of the Big Five. Margaret Atwood’s primary copy editor and proofreader for 31 years, across 22 titles. Developmental editing fixes what your book is, not how it reads. It works on structure, argument, plot, pacing, and character, and
Developmental Editing: What It Is, What It Costs, and When Your Manuscript Needs It Read More »
Today’s post offers 10 expert tips on how to improve your proofreading skills. The question of how to stay focused when proofing came up in a recent conversation with a client. We were both working on her Word manuscript for submission to a literary agent. After we’d completed about a hundred pages, we exchanged status
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Whether you’re a writer who is just starting out or you’re an author who has been publishing books for years, developing and maintaining a successful author-editor relationship is key. Why Is the Author-Editor Relationship So Important? Not only will a quality professional editor improve your manuscript and advance it toward being published, but their edits
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In this post, I’ll provide a Microsoft Word Track Changes tutorial to explain how to apply your editor’s markup. Reviewing your edit on screen for the first time can be alarming. (I used to describe it as “seizure-inducing,” but my editor suggested I cut back on the hyperbole. He’s right, of course.) Coloured insertions, underlines,
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In this post, I’ll cover how to number pages for a self-published book layout. The smallest element on your manuscript page—the page number—can often be the biggest headache when preparing for your self-published book layout. Page numbers can also make a big impact on whether your finished book looks amateurish or professional. Publishing types can
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In this post, I’ll review how to format your manuscript before you send it to your editor. Once you’ve hired an expert book editor, how do you format your manuscript to make sure it’s “editor-ready”? Likely you’ve already completed some of the formatting steps below. But it’s important to do another run-through before you hit
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