Prose Polish
SERVICES
Manuscript assessment
Getting a manuscript assessment can be a good way to gain an objective view of your story and an understanding of the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses.
The manuscript you submit for assessment doesn’t need to be polished and edited. It can be something you might like to do earlier on to help you develop a strong story.
It might also help you to decide if you would like to progress to an editing service.
As part of the assessment, I’ll send you feedback covering the following areas:
- Overall impression of the story
- Plot holes/flaws
- Plot development
- POV/tone/voice
- Relatability of the characters, whether they are engaging and have a clear story arc
- Pacing and structure
- An opinion on how close to submission or self-publication you might be.
Price: based on a sample edit
Copy Editing
Copy editing is also known as line editing. This process usually follows a structural edit but there is some overlap between the two. Likewise there is some overlap between copy editing and proofreading. Copy editing is like zooming in on your story, and focusses on the following:
- Grammar
- Spelling
- Tone and style deviations
- Wordiness and repetition
- Usage of numbers or numerals
- Dialogue tags
- Clunky transitions
- Confusing syntax
- Problematic or misused words
- Uneven flow
- POV/tense
- Descriptive inconsistencies (characters, locations, timelines)
- Language style consistency such as American English, Australian English etc.
Price: based on a sample edit
Structural Edit
This is the highest level of editing and takes place once you have completed your manuscript and already done some editing of your own. In a structural edit I cover the following areas:
Content
- Overall story arc – good plot with rewarding conclusion.
- Characters with individual voices and clear contribution to the story with clearly outlined intentions.
- Consistent tone and whether it’s persuasive throughout story.
- Has the protagonist learned anything from the experience? Have they changed their outlook or grown as a person? In rare instances this doesn’t have to happen, for example with James Bond, but in the vast majority of fiction the reader will expect the protagonist to have a strong story arc of growth/development.
- Which POV works best and is present or past tense more suitable for the story?
- Identification of ‘lazy’ writing – watching out for those adverbs!
Organisation
- Do you have a beginning, a middle and an end?
- Identifying plot holes.
- Repositioning or culling of chapters as needed.
- Is the formatting consistent throughout the text?
- Have you written a blurb, and does the story deliver?
- Are your scenes balanced in terms of time given to the protagonist in that scene versus the secondary characters?
- Ensuring the POV matches the purpose of the scene – would it be better for this scene to be written in a different POV?
Pacing
- Pacing that avoids rushing the story, especially towards the end but also looking out for slow or protracted scenes/chapters. Watching for extended sections of exposition (the dreaded info dump!) and how to distribute the information in a more engaging manner.
- Do the characters add value to each scene they’re in?
- Does each scene or chapter move the story along?
- Is the climax in the right position in the story?
Price: based on a sample edit
Proofreading
Proofreading is the last major stage of the editing process. Proofreaders are like private investigators seeking out any remaining problems in your finished and, hopefully, now polished text. Proofreading covers the following:
- Inconsistencies in spelling and style
- Inconsistencies in layout and typography
- Confusing or awkward page and word breaks
- Incorrect captioning on any illustrations and page numbers in the contents
- Some fact-checking might be included but the onus is on the author to ensure accuracy
For the above it is helpful if you can add a style guide so that deliberate misuse of language or creative use of grammar etc, can be identified by the editor and taken into account.
Price: based on a sample edit