--sfwa.org/beware/bookdoctors.html

All publishers worthy of the name provide free in-house editing. But when you submit your manuscript to a publisher, you want it to be the best you can possibly make it. When the publisher reads your submission, he'll be looking at how much work is involved in getting it "ready to read." You want him to decide it isn't much.

Clarity. Plots and subplots. Pace and story flow. Natural speech. Description. Language. Readability. Organization. Spelling. Grammar. Word usage. Typos. Punctuation. Formatting. Multi-dimensional characters and a well-defined narrative arc. You want to look at all these things while you read your manuscript.

Here are a few things you can do to improve how well you self-edit.

• After you finish writing your masterpiece, put it away for a while. This could be weeks or even months. You want to look at it with "fresh eyes." Instead of seeing what you meant to write, you want to see what you actually did write.
   
• Print your manuscript and proofread it on paper. Away from the computer. I can do this on a bus or in a noodle shop, but I'm not sane. Maybe you can do it sprawled out on the bed. But on paper and away from the computer, you'll see more. I mark the printout with a pen, then go back to the computer to tinker, then print and repeat as needed. Different font sizes, too, for the change of perspective.
   
• Use the spelling and grammar features in your word processor. They aren't perfect -- ask anybody -- but if you know the rules, you can decide which suggestions to accept and which to ignore.
   
• If there are certain mistakes you know you make often, your word processor can search for them. Too many dialogue tags, perhaps, or overuse of certain words.
   
• Common Writing Mistakes has a list of mistakes I've seen in my years as an editor. Perhaps you'll find some things you weren't aware of.
   
• Print it again. You missed something. Ink cartridges are a racket, aren't they?

Maybe you're lucky enough to have a good second reader. I am. My wife taught English for over 20 years, we're both lifelong reading junkies, and she's honest enough to say more than "this is wonderful." She knows that's not what I need, and it's also not what I want to hear. I want her to point out where I need to improve. There is no writer, myself included, who can't benefit from a skilled editor and a good solid manuscript evaluation. Or two. Or ten.

Any decent English professor (or student) can proofread your manuscript for poor grammar, spelling and punctuation errors, incomplete sentences, etc. I also provide a thorough assessment of your manuscript that involves "reading between the lines" to evaluate your focus, cohesiveness, structure, characterization, etc. English professors aren't qualified to address a manuscript through the eyes of the publishing industry. Few English professors have commercial editing experience.

You don't have to agree with everything an editor says. I've disagreed with all my editors, even my wife. But you should consider what your editor says. Other readers might have a similar reaction. Your editor will allow you to address those issues, so you can say what you want to say in the best way possible.

But maybe you don't know enough about "the rules" to self-edit yet. Maybe you're new at this, or you slept through English class, or you don't have the benefit of a skilled second reader. If you find that your manuscripts are rejected because of these problems, and you can't get free editing from a publisher, how can you learn to self-edit?

Well, I guess this is where I remind you that you can hire me.

sfwa.org/Beware/bookdoctors.html (mentioned earlier) clearly explains what you should look for in any editor.

Also, if you decide to self-publish, I'll help you make sure your book is the best it can be. It's embarrassing to open your newly printed book and see typos, misspellings, and grammar errors.

What Else Have I Edited?

You can view my Elance feedback any time. You can also look at my resume.

I've been editing novels since December 2000, and you can see some of over 300 published titles here.

I began working at Twilight Times Books in May 2007 after previous stints at Books Unbound, Hard Shell Word Factory, NovelBooks Inc, Zumaya Publications, and CrossroadsPub. I also edited an English textbook for Zhejiang University (China) which was designated a Key Learning Resource. I spent almost five years teaching Advanced English Writing at several universities in China.

I've also written several published books of my own. Learn more here. Or not.

I'm American, but you don't have to be. I've worked with authors from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Dubai, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the UK, the US, and Uzbekistan. Yes, I'm fluent in "British English" as well. I married an Australian in October 2000, and I was a legal transcriptionist for Merrill Legal Solutions in Hong Kong and in Singapore for over 6 years.

Oh yeah, and I've got testimonials too.

Contact Information

My "standard price" is 2 cents (US) per word. Send me your book and I'll tell you my actual price, which depends on how much work I think is involved.

(Since Thai authors prefer a price per page and I prefer Thai baht, my "standard Thai price" is 250 baht per A4 page.)

If you want to talk about editing your manuscript, send me an email. If you'd rather learn more about my manuscript evaluation service, read Manuscript Evaluation Service.

Yeah, I could think of clever titles for these things, but that might confuse Google.