Editing
There are three phases to editing for any piece of writing. I refer to these as:
Big Fixes, Small Fixes, and Detail Fixes.
Each writing project needs a customized version of all three.
Together we will build a process that works for you.
“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.”
― Stephen King
Big Fixes
Here we focus on structure and look to resolve major craft issues. This Big Fixes work-through will be focused on characterization and description, subtext and pretext, themes and motifs, plot, continuity, and the like. Our goal will be to use these notes and comments to develop a focused and structured schedule of revision and further writing in order to arrive at a complete and polished manuscript.
“Nothing is ever so good that it can’t stand a little revision, and nothing is ever so impossible and broken down that a try at fixing it is out of the question.”
― Rebecca Solnit
Small Fixes
Here we focus on language and sentence style. On this newly-revised version, based on the Big Fixes, I will do a line-by-line read for graceful prose and smaller craft issues such as sentence continuity and clarity. This is where I will note and comment upon dialogue mechanics, potentially overused words, awkward sentences, consistent diction, and other such sentence-level edits and suggestions.
You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page.
You can’t edit a blank page. –Jodi Picoult
Detail Fixes
Here is where we focus on a line edit to create a clean, final copy. There will be no further changes suggested, other than assuring an error-free, publication-ready product. I am not a professional proofreader, but I will scan for typographical errors, spelling errors, and the like. This may be especially useful if you are planning to self-publish.
Interested?
If you’ve got a project front and center in your heart or languishing in a drawer somewhere that needs this sort of attention, let’s connect.