Don’t trust someone inexperienced with your words. What you have to say is too important, and cutting corners now after you’ve put in so much hard work is unacceptable. Invest your resources into choosing an experienced editor to help you refine your writing. It’s okay to be picky about who you’ll work with, too! Once your work has been written and reviewed by a developmental editor, you should have it reviewed by an experienced copy editor like me. I’ll make sure your copy is grammatically correct and follows style. Punctuation, grammar, word choice, and missed egregious errors are mostly what I find and fix. People are usually surprised at the number of mistakes I spot and excited to see how my word choice suggestions tighten their sentences. If your work has already been copyedited, resist the urge to proofread your own work. (Proofreading is the final stage in the editorial process. I’d be happy to explain the entire process to you, if you’d like!) It will be nearly impossible for you to catch every mistake you’ve made. It’s because when you read what you write, you often read what you intended to write rather than what is actually on the paper. I’m here to help you spot any remaining errors. Let’s work together to craft your best words!
Check this out: Malcolm Gladwell said it takes 10,000 hours to truly master anything. Seth Godin said becoming a superstar takes about 10,000 hours of hard work.
I’ve been a professional copy editor and proofreader for 23 years and counting. Did I work every hour of those 23 years? No, but I’ve worked a lot of hours on a lot of different types of content. Fiction and nonfiction books, guides and resources, literature reviews, textbooks, standardized tests, newspaper and journal articles, manuals, courses, and marketing collateral. I even read style guides, grammar rules, and dictionaries in my spare time. So trust me when I say, I’m really, really, really good at editing. (And, apparently, I’m also a superstar! Thanks, Seth!)
Authors hire me because they want to put out their best work. They know mistakes may change storylines, confuse readers, and affect credibility. Reputable corporations hire me because they want what they share about their research, products, services, and values to be engaging, easy to understand, and error free. Perhaps you’ve heard of some of them? American Heart Association, The University of Texas at Austin, Pearson, American Medical Association, Children’s Research Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center, IPG, Project Management Institute, Educational Testing Services.
My thoroughness, curiosity, knowledge, and skills are why I’m great at what I do. I’m proud that people consistently recognize me as an experienced, competent, and qualified editor.
Children's
Drama
Historical
Romance
Urban
Autobiography and memoir
Biography
Business
Children
Cookbooks
Creative nonfiction
Essay
DIY/how-to
History
Reference
Religious/Spiritual
Self-help
Textbooks
Travel
American Psychological Association (APA)
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)
Gregg Reference Manual
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe InDesign
Google Docs
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
PerfectIt
