Book Editing
Celebrate! The hard part is over. You’ve defeated the blank page, put countless hours into your draft, and ended up with a completed manuscript. But what will your readers think of it? Our book-editing services take the guesswork out of winning your reader and will set your book up for success.
Editing can make or break a book, which is why our experienced editors use the same editing process as the one used by big publishing houses. With our editing packages, we’ll guide you through multiple rounds of feedback and edits to make sure each word is the perfect fit. Whether you need deep feedback on structure or professional eyes to polish your book, our team is here to help you craft a book you can be proud of.
Editing Packages
Story Guide
manuscript critique plus reader report
The Story Guide package offers a big-picture assessment of your manuscript. This crucial step can transform a decent book into a great book. With detailed and actionable feedback from one of our editors, you will be ready to revise your manuscript and make it truly come to life.
✔️ A developmental review to provide big-picture feedback on your manuscript
✔️ Debrief via Zoom or phone
Story Architect
our most popular
Our Story Architect package is an “everything” edit that is ideal if you plan to self-publish or pursue a literary agent. It is the most professional route that ensures a high-quality, bookstore-ready manuscript. Your readers will thank you for it!
✔️ A developmental review to provide big-picture feedback on your manuscript
✔️ Line editing to improve readability and flow
✔️ Copyediting to address issues with spelling, grammar, punctuation, and consistency
Wordsmith
meet your deadlines
The Wordsmith package is perfect for authors who don’t need multiple rounds of feedback. If your manuscript is conceptually solid and only needs some editorial polishing, this is the package for you!
✔️ Line editing to improve readability and flow
✔️ Copyediting to address issues with spelling, grammar, punctuation, and consistency
Types of Editing
Developmental Review
A developmental review focuses on the overall content and structure of the book, including consistency, flow, structure, readability, and clarity. Fiction reviews will also include narrative dynamics, plot structure, character arcs, theme questions, and other storytelling mechanics.
Suggestions might be made to move around entire paragraphs or add/delete sections of the book altogether. Comments will be added along the margins to suggest what needs to be reworked, expanded, deleted, or relocated. Our editors will also provide a thorough breakdown of our comments and suggestions in an editorial letter. No in-text editing is included. If you need editing as well, see our packages below.
Who It’s For
- First-time authors
- Authors who have not received feedback about whether their book “works”
- Authors who have concerns about whether their book is well organized and provides enough content for readers
Line Editing
A line edit is the most hands-on editing option and covers tone, tense, flow, consistency, and overall writing structure within the manuscript. Along with direct text edits using Microsoft Word’s Track Changes feature, the line editor will add comments and suggestions about changing or omitting certain portions of the manuscript. Line editing may also involve rewording sentences and possibly entire paragraphs to enhance readability.
Please note that line editing only covers the flow of what is already there; it does not cover overall story, chapter structure, or redirection of plotlines (see developmental review), nor does it focus extensively on correcting grammar, punctuation, or typos (see copyediting).
Who It’s For
- Authors who want their already-strong prose taken to the next level
- New authors who want tips and edits to improve readability
- Authors with complex content who need to reword jargon and connect with their audience
Copyediting
A copyedit is often one of the final passes on the manuscript after all developmental and line edits have already been made by an editor or the author themselves).
In a copyedit, the editor focuses on grammatical correctness, punctuation, consistency, vocabulary, word usage, and spelling. The goal of a copyedit is to catch and remove as many errors as possible; it does not add material or remove clunkiness and redundancy (see line edit).
Who It’s For
- Everyone! Don’t let a typo be the reason readers put down your beloved book!