Author Services
Author Services
I offer a bespoke proofreading and editing service for authors, fiction writers, technical book writers, short story writers, non-fiction and poetry writers. I work with both self published and traditionally published authors. As someone who has written creatively all my life, and deeply loves the written word and the English language, both in creative and academic styles, I am well placed to give you a hand to make your sentences flow. Be sure to send your order today. Contact me for more details.
Read more on my book editor services. Go here for an explanation of proofreading versus editing.
Want to know more about academic proofreading? Find out more about proofreading services for students or academics.
In brief, if you want your grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary errors corrected, you have come to the right place. If you want a little more, such as making your work read and flow better, that is all part of the service.
I don’t only help authors
Here is a non exhaustive list of some of the things I can proofread and edit
So what do I offer?
- Highlighted errors with suggestions but no actual corrections made
- Corrections made only to grammar, spelling and vocabulary
- Corrections made as in 2 and document edited for flow, accuracy and sense (this is known as copyediting)
- Any of the above with explanations of changes made as well
- A more in depth edit, possibly involving rewriting or “reworking” parts of your document.
Generally most people ask for me to correct and edit their document. If you require it, I will use track changes* which keeps a record of all the changes I’ve made, so you can see. I can also provide detailed explanations of the changes I made and why. Obviously this takes longer and so costs a bit more.
You will get the document with all the changes recorded in it if required (you will need to have your own copy of Word or other compatible word processing software in order to see this – please state clearly when ordering that you want track changes enabled). I am sure you will be happy with my recommendations (corrections) but having the changes recorded and your original document allows you to choose to revert to part or all of the original if you wish to.
Why Bother with Proofreading?
In these days of spelling and grammar checkers, some people wonder what the point is of paying a professional to correct their work or copy for them. Unfortunately there is a world of difference between correct spelling and grammar and what these checkers can achieve. Look for example at the amount of spell checked documents that retain American English. That’s not really giving a great impression if you are a UK site, author, service or student. Grammar checkers are frequently wrong and do not account for sense and flow of documents. Nor do they account for a writer’s personal voice. For example, look at this possible extract from a novel.
John stopped. Dead in his tracks, breathed OUT. And then . . . Nothing. But silence.
This would be flagged up as bad grammar by an automatic checker, when in fact it’s using language to create suspense. Also a checker will probably tell you to make your sentences more concise by cutting out descriptive words and passive voice, even where these are necessary for your story. i.e. John was yanked violently into a long, dark tunnel. You need to be in control of your own writing, and use language as a craft. Although pointers are helpful, with a grammar checker there’s no discussion and it doesn’t understand the picture you’re trying to paint with your words. A human editor can liase with you and get to know what you are trying to say. And checking your spelling with a machine isn’t going to weed out mistakes like mixing up there, their and there.
I will proofread and edit your work, with respect your own writing voice. If in doubt, I’ll consult with you. If you are an author, bad grammar and spelling makes your work less attractive to agents and publishers. Why let your brilliant story be ruined or even immediately passed over when it could so easily be put right? If you have any doubts about the correctness of your written work, in order to maximise your impact on your readers, you cannot go wrong by getting your work checked over by a professional.
*this is a feature in Word etc. that allows you to record edits to a document as you make them.