Laura Jones

Manuscript Evaluation

(Includes an editorial letter)

A manuscript evaluation is an assessment of your manuscript as a whole. For a manuscript evaluation, I will read your manuscript thoroughly several times and then write an editorial letter (10–15 pages) outlining what is working well and what could be improved, along with potential solutions.

A manuscript evaluation looks at the big picture and is best suited for completed manuscripts that may not yet be ready for a developmental edit. The evaluation assesses the overall structure of the manuscript, looking at whether it is most effective for the story and the intended audience. Examples of other elements that a manuscript evaluation may address are characterization, plot, setting, and sensitivity.

As part of the evaluation, I am happy to answer follow-up questions through an email.

Developmental Edit

(Includes an editorial letter and a marked-up Word document)

A developmental edit is best suited for a completed manuscript that already has an effective structure. A developmental edit is similar to a manuscript assessment, but the difference is that it also involves manuscript markup in Microsoft Word to demonstrate how to strengthen the manuscript. 

Using the “track changes” function of Word and comments within the document, I will provide potential solutions to problems within the manuscript. This might involve asking you to add material, showing where material could be cut, or rearranging some of the manuscript’s content. Developmental edits also include some stylistic edits (also called line edits) to make your prose as strong as possible.

As part of the developmental edit, I can answer any follow-up questions through an email.

Copy Edit

(Includes a marked-up Word document using “track changes” and comments, as well as a style sheet)

A copy edit works to clean up a text to give the reader the best possible experience. This level of editing looks at grammar, punctuation, and spelling, as well as stylistic consistency. I am very familiar with Chicago style and both American and Canadian spellings. Let me know if you would like me to follow a particular style guide for your copy edit.

Copy editing also ensures logic and internal consistency. I keep track of the details to ensure they are consistent throughout the manuscript (for example, if your character breaks her right arm in chapter 2, I’ll make sure it doesn’t become her left arm later in the book).

I maintain a style sheet (a record of all stylistic decisions) while doing a copy edit, which I will send along with the final, marked-up Microsoft Word document.  

Proofreading

(Includes a marked-up PDF)

Proofreading is done in a PDF of the typeset manuscript. Proofreading is meant to catch any last errors in spelling, consistency, grammar, etc. It also checks for errors in visual elements.

Proofreading is best for a manuscript that is already fairly clean; it is intended to catch anything that the copy editor might have missed. 

Formatting

(Includes an .epub file)

I can code your ebook to make a clean and accessible epub file. 

Writing

As a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, I am used to adapting to different genres and audiences. Contact me about the needs of your project, and we can see if I’d be the right fit.