You’ve done it.

You’ve written the book you’ve always dreamed of.

You’ve conquered your fears, slayed your writing dragons and spilled your heart, stories and idea brilliance on paper. You’ve stayed up for countless nights and compelled yourself, come hell or high water, to get it done. You’ve researched, dug deep within, taken long deep breaths ripe with frustration and overwhelm.

High Fives, my wild creative friend. You’ve done the hard stuff, and now you’re ready to start a new chapter—edits.  

You know that editing is a different beast altogether. It can be ruthless, yet absolutely necessary. Because the words aren’t for you anymore – they’re for your reader and they need to shine. All that pressure has brought you here, and you’re in good hands. We’ve helped hundreds of writers just like you to refine, shape and potentiate their books through the editorial process.

Here’s what makes our book editing unique:

• We get the world of personal growth, spirituality, psychology, and transformational non-fiction (including memoir). We understand the world of ideas and stories you are seeking to share. Our edits reflect that. Your book + your ideas are safe with us and understood by us.

• We pride ourselves in our spidey-sense ability to see how the parts of a project need to come together. Some people see dead people, we see book structure. We will help you shape your work so it shines. (No exorcisms required.)

• We know how to talk to you about your project and provide feedback in a way that feels empowering and doable to act on. Heck, Jaime, our founder, has a master’s degree in teaching writing and has helped hundreds of authors shape their manuscripts into polished professional books.

• We offer comprehensive coaching support after our editorial work, as needed, to ensure you’re able to implement all the changes your book needs. We’ve got you.

How book editing works

We offer THREE levels of book editing, as separate services or inside a single package, usually in this order:

• Developmental or structural editing: This is most writers’ first stop in the editing phase. It focuses on your content, flow, structure/organization, voice, clarity, and composition.

• Copy or line editing: This level of editing focuses on your writing at the paragraph and sentence level to polish up your work, making it clear, succinct, and powerful.

• Proofreading: This level of book editing focuses on the word level to clean up any errors in grammar, punctuation, and formatting.

We also offer BOOK PROPOSAL EDITING, QUERY LETTER EDITING and MANUSCRIPT REVIEWS.

Read on to get more details about each type of editing service we offer.

FIRST STOP: Developmental editing

What the heck is developmental editing?  

I’m so glad you asked. Developmental editing (also known as substantive editing or structural editing) is every word-weaver’s best friend. This is the first step on every first draft’s journey to becoming the final masterpiece it is destined to become. This is a style of editing that far surpasses merely double-checking for grammatical errors.

As a developmental editor, we help you refine:

• Your writing structure so that everything flows with the reader in mind.

• The content and clarity of your writing so that overlap and repetition meet the chopping block and your message is as potent as possible.

• The focus of your work. Who is this for? How can you connect with them more effectively?

• The sequencing and order of your content, so your reader never feels lost.

• Your style and tone, because consistency is always key.

What developmental editing is not:

• Developmental editing does not focus on the sentence or word-level issues of grammar, spelling and punctuation. Some of these issues may be pointed out (especially if they impede comprehension) but they will not be the focus.

• Developmental editing is not a chance for someone else to rewrite or rearrange your book (if that is what you seek, might I suggest a ghostwriter). Concrete suggestions for revision and re-ordering will be made, but ultimately revisions are implemented by the writer.

Second Stop: Line Editing

After you’ve received a developmental edit of your draft and implemented your desired changes, the next step is to have your manuscript line edited.

What is line editing?

A line edit focuses on paragraph- and sentence-level issues to:

• cut repetitive or unnecessary words to make your writing concise, clear and powerful

• ensure each sentence in a paragraph serves the main idea and is expressed as potently as possible

• create or enhance strong transitions between ideas, paragraphs, and sections of your writing so it reads as a cohesive whole

• ensure tense and point of view are consistent throughout the draft

• ensure your voice, style, and word use serve your message and your audience

What line editing does not:

• focus on the structure, order, or content of your work. (that is developmental editing domain, see above)

• change your writing for you, suggestions are offered and you only make the changes you love

• clean up all the spelling, grammar and punctuation issues in a document (that is proofreading domain, see below)

Third Stop: Proofreading

Once you’ve completed the developmental and line editing processes, the third and final act of Manuscript Magic Making is a final proofread. This is a fine-toothed comb, careful editing for any outstanding grammar, spelling, or punctuation issues.

We make your manuscript virtually error-free (the Book Gods always like to sneak in at least one misspelling into any book: to be funny, I suspect). We get your manuscript ready to send to your publisher or book production team.

Note that this process does not include formatting your manuscript into book form. We are still in Microsoft Word territory here, friends. Book production is what will take you from computer document to eBook or print book form.

Together we’ll create a master work that is compelling, consistent, articulate, and effective in its aim.