A Quick Guide to Editing
What Kind of Editing Do I Need?
Is this the first book you’ve written? How confident do you feel in your writing ability? Do you regularly share your work with others (like a writing group…rather than friends and family who will love your work regardless)? Do you have a sense of your strengths and weaknesses as a writer?
If you are unsure about the quality of your book, we suggest beginning with a manuscript consultation. In a consultation, an expert assesses your book’s strengths and weaknesses, suggesting what you can do to improve your book for the marketplace.
If you need help with the overall structure of your book, and may need whole sections rewritten or reorganized, we suggest working with a developmental editor. Think of this person as your own writing coach, helping you to put your book together.
If you need help restructuring your sentences, making sure that your writing is clear and unified in style and tone, you’ll need to work with an editor who does heavy editing.
If you need help with grammar, sentence style, punctuation, you’ll work with an editor who does light or medium editing, which is often referred to as copy editing.
If you’ve been working on your writing for years, have made changes suggested by colleagues and writing friends, it’s quite likely that you need a proofreader to catch minor grammatical and punctuation errors, as well as consistency in your formatting and between your table of contents and text.
With all of Bluebird’s editing services, you’ll be charged on a scale based on the extensiveness of the editing work completed.