Services

Editing

Editing isn't one job. It can be four, five, even six separate jobs. You may not need them all, but they still need to happen in order. There's no sense polishing sentences in a chapter that's going to be cut. Here's the ladder, roughly from the earliest stage to the latest. It works the same way whether you've written a novel, a memoir or a thesis.

• Professional beta reading — you've finished your first draft but you've no idea if it works. I read it and give you a summary report of good and less-good aspects. From an editor's eye I can tell you where to focus on your next draft, whether it's the story, the characters, or the prose.
• Manuscript assessment — you've finished a draft and you want to know, honestly, whether it works. I read the whole thing and write you a detailed report on structure, plot, characters, pacing and prose: what's strong, what isn't, and what to do about it. Few notes on the manuscript itself; the thinking goes into the report.
• Developmental edit — the big structural work. Plot holes, sagging middles, character arcs that don't land, scenes doing no job, a point of view that wanders. You get a full report, usually with chapter-level notes and worked examples showing what a revision could look like.
• Line edit — the prose itself, sentence by sentence. Rhythm and pacing, word choice, repetition, dialogue that doesn't ring true, telling where you should be showing. Heavy markup on the manuscript, plus a report explaining the patterns so you can catch them yourself next time.
• Copyedit — for fiction, the line edit is usually favoured over a single, mechanical copyedit; you often won't need two separate services, as many editors like me wind these up into a single edit. Regardless, if you get nothing else before your writing goes out, it's this! It covers grammar and punctuation (those mechanical aspects of English writing) as well as consistency and continuity: the eye colour that changes in chapter nine, the statistic that contradicts itself, the person whose name is spelled two different ways.
• Proofread — the final pass. If you've had a line edit (and/or copyedit), the proofread catches any mistakes or typos missed or added inadvertently during your last round of revisions.

Fiction

Novels, novellas and short fiction, across genres. Structure and plot, character arcs, point of view, pacing, dialogue and prose. This is where most of my work sits, and it's the part I'd happily do all day.

Non-fiction

Memoir, self-help, professional and practical books. The questions are different from fiction — is the structure carrying the argument, is each chapter earning its place, and has the reader been given a reason to trust you and keep going? I'll map out what you've actually written chapter by chapter, which is often the fastest way to see where the shape has drifted from what you intended.

The same ladder applies: assessment, developmental edit (aka content editing), copyediting, and proofreading — depending on what stage you're at.

Academic

Theses and dissertations, journal articles, monographs, chapters, and leaflets or flyers for research dissemination. I edit for argument and structure as well as for clarity and correctness — whether the claim is actually supported, whether the literature is doing work or just sitting there, whether a reader outside your sub-field could follow you. I work with many writers for whom English is an additional language, and anyone whose prose has quietly turned into something only their examiner could love.

For anyone who wants to know what sits behind that: I hold a doctorate from the University of Toronto and two master's degrees from UK institutions, I still research and publish academically, and I work on the acquisitions side at an academic publisher — so I've seen a good number of manuscripts through assessment, revision and into print. There's more on the about page.

Writing

I write it, you own it, and your name goes on it. Nothing I ghostwrite or copywrite is ever credited to me or used in my portfolio without your say-so.

• Ghostwriting — when the book should exist but you don't have the time, or writing simply isn't the thing you do. I'll interview you, work from your notes, recordings and drafts, and write it in your voice, then keep revising until it sounds like you rather than like me. Books, memoir, articles and thought-leadership pieces. It's a bigger commitment on both sides than editing, so it starts with a conversation about scope, timeline, and what you want the book to do.
• Copywriting — web and site copy, marketing and business writing, company and personal profiles, reports and presentations. Shorter-form work where the writing has a specific job to do and still needs to sound like you rather than like a brochure.

Tutoring

Sessions over video call, at whatever pace suits you. Essays and article writing, academic skills, book writing and composition, English language and prose, creative writing craft... and more. We can work through a piece of your writing in the session rather than using set exercises — in my experience people learn fastest on the thing they actually care about.

I work with students, postgraduates, adults returning to study, and those just starting their foray into fiction who want to learn or improve their craft.

Coaching

Editing means fixing the manuscript in front of me. Coaching is for when you'd rather get better at doing it yourself — ongoing, over weeks or months, with someone in your corner.

• Writing coaching — for authors mid-project. Accountability, structure, and a plan for actually finishing. Craft teaching as we go, working on your own pages.
• Academic coaching — for researchers and postgraduates. Getting unstuck; planning a thesis/dissertation, journal article, book chapter or full manuscript; navigating grad supervision and peer review without losing heart.
• Editing coaching — for editors, especially newer ones. How to run a developmental edit, how to copyedit, how to write a report an author can act on, how to pitch, price, and scope work, and a second pair of eyes on your own editing when you want to check your thinking. Copyediting is its own discipline and can be taken on its own: the mechanics, building and keeping a style sheet, consistency and continuity, and knowing when to leave a sentence alone.

Consultation

A single conversation about your project — no manuscript-length commitment. Useful if you want a second opinion on a plan, a decision about self- or traditional publishing, a read of your opening pages, or simply an honest answer to "is this any good, and what should I do next?"

It's also the sensible starting point if you've read everything above and still aren't sure which one applies to you.

Ask about a consultation