There are many different terms used for different stages of editing, as I explain in Tips and Tricks to Save on Editing Costs. Line edits is often also called copyediting, stylistic editing, second edits, or for lazy editors “editing”. Understanding the differences is the first thing you want to look for when determining who you want to hire for line editing services. 

What to Expect from Line Editing Services with Angell Enterprises

I like to be very clear on what services you get when. Every edit (including samples) will get the following:

A Style Guide

When I provide line editing, I do a comprehensive review of your story and determine your “style guide”. Something you may not even know you have. I then evaluate your genre and determine if this is a good fit for your genre.

While I prefer CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style), I have had projects that required APA, MLA, and Elements of Style. I pick the best tool for your project and let you know what I recommend and why. Finding the one that closest matches the rules you follow, so long as it is a good fit for your genre, saves me a lot of time and saves you a lot of money. 

I am all about helping authors save money without sacrificing quality. 

Refining Your Voice

This is your story. My job is not to change your story. It is simply to help you improve it. I will not make any changes to your document. Instead, I will either use Track changes for Word or google suggest mode for google docs. I am a firm believer in the ABLE philosophy (Always Be Learning Everything) and whenever possible, I will cite a rule for why I recommend a change. In order for you to decide whether or not to break a rule, you have to know what the rule is first.

You do not need to argue with me about any recommendations. It is your story. You decide how best to tell it. But I will be available for any follow up questions you have on the editing notes I provided. 

More than A Grammar Checker

While a lot of what I provide in copy edits will feel like a glorified grammar checker, I go above and beyond with suggesting word choices, analyzing flow, sentence structure, and yes a lot of grammar. As amazing as ProWritingaid is (the tool I most recommend to those on a tight budget who need to save money on editing and the tool I use for my own edits before I send off to a final pass with my own editor) this can only take you so far. While it can point out possible word usage issues in the form of homophones (to, two, too) it cannot see when you completely misuse a word or when the word you use may be technically correct but is contextually incorrect. It will show when you’ve overused words and provide synonyms, but it cannot understand the context of the genre/ location/ time period which could impact the best suggestions. 

For example, I had a client who described a prostitute as swarthy in reference to her dark skin.

according to Miriam Webster, “of a dark color, complexion, or cast” is technically not wrong. Most readers see the word in association with pirates or farmers. People whose skin is darkened by exposure to the sun also have changes to the texture in a way that is generally not considered attractive. But he describes her as being a rare beauty. I made recommendations of replacing the word with ebony, sable, dusky. ProWritingAid can’t do that.

I also fact-check/ belief-check elements. Just because you’re writing fiction, doesn’t mean that there doesn’t need to be a certain level of grounding. The level is dependent on your genre, reader preference, and what works for your story. This is an aspect that most fiction editors will leave to content editors on the first pass. But I come from nonfiction and final fact-checking at this stage is just in my blood. While my main focus is not on the typical items a developmental editor will cover, if I see something I will say something. 

And if I get into it and find some major plot or character development issues, I may refer it back to you and advise a dev edit before completing the copy edit. My goal is to help you produce the best quality book you can. Only doing the minimum required by my contract to get paid does not do that. 

Get a Free Sample Edit

I hope you’ve stuck through to here because you like what I’m telling you. But let the rubber meet the road.

You deserve to see what you will get from my services before you commit to spending hundreds of dollars.

So I offer a free sample edit.

To get a free sample edit, simply fill out this google form with the following:

  • the first 5 pages of your manuscript
  • the genre(s) you’re targeting
  • word count
  • The timeframe you would like edits completed by

I will get the sample edit and a quote for the project back to you within the week.

Until next time, 

Keep Writing!