#Line editing

[bl-mitchum]

I’m doing this internship where I’m reviewing manuscripts and, while unpaid, my mentor sent me a whole box of like 30 books to thank me for my work and I couldn’t be more stoked.

[illusionremember]

I don't know who needs to hear this but if you're working on line editing or copy editing a piece of your writing, and you're on your 10,000th pass and the sentences are all glossed over and you feel like you're missing all the things that need fixed? That's your brain hitting fast forward because you know what comes next and it's trying to skim.

Here's what you can do about it:

Stop reading from the beginning. Go to the end of your piece. Read the last sentence. Then the sentence before that. Work your way backwards, one sentence at a time.

Doing this helps trick your brain into looking at the sentence, by itself, for itself. You'll catch so many more errors and weird phrasing that's not working.

[slayingfiction]

Line Editing

What is a line editor (LE): A LE works line by line through your writing to ensure every word, phrase and paragraph are meaningful to your novel and work together to create a great reading experience by clarifying meaning, working on flow and smoothing out any awkward or incomprehensible language.

When to get a LE: LE work specifically from line to line, which means you want all big changes in your manuscript to happen first. That means you want this step done only after completing a developmental editing process to organize your manuscript and have a complete layout that works for your story instead of against it. However, you want to complete this step before tackling spelling and grammar, because otherwise changing words you’ve already grammatically corrected is a waste of your time.

Benefits of having a LE: LE work very specifically with your story to improve overall readability of your story. Ever read a novel and wish your writing could be similar to their, because yours sounds less professional? That is what LE do.

What they do for you:

Work line by line to clarify meaning

delete and add sentences to improve readability

improve the flow of your writing to keep the reader enticed and not have to reread in order to understand or stay engaged

change general words to make your writing more specific and detailed with fewer words

cut words and sentences that are not working or are unnecessary. If your words aren’t working for your story, they’re working against them.

eliminate jargon and cliches

What they won’t do for you:

Work on plot, characters, settings, themes, pacing, premise, point of view,

grammar, spelling, punctuation,

formatting and typesetting the manuscript

When choosing an editor, be sure to be clear as to what you want from them, and what services they can offer you. No two editors are the same. Some may offer more services while others may specialize in more specific ways. Typically, you can ask for a sample of their work to determine if you will match with your editor, or if they’re not the right fit for you.

If you found this helpful, like, comment, share, and follow for more!

Happy Writing!

[amoebaforce]

Since the world is full of nonsense and everyone is pushing to support queer creatives, now would be an amazing time to send a tip or commission an editing project from this here queer.

Any contribution would help me pay the bills or maybe even save for my wedding ❤️

https://ko-fi.com/elizamares

[projecttreehouse]

Limited offer -- free editing!

Hey, Nat here! I have been working to set up an Upwork profile to hopefully attract more freelance clients.

Breaking into a new freelance site is... not the easiest endeavor in the world. If you don't have testimonials and reviews, people pass you over. It's understandable, but still frustrating!

To help me break in, I have a special offer that will hopefully be mutually beneficial.

I will edit up to 10k of work, any genre, for free!

OR

I will provide story mapping support, any genre, for free!

This can be fanfiction (probably needs to be a fandom I'm familiar with just to... you know... make it actually possible for me to provide feedback), or original fiction of any genre, at any skill level, at any stage of the writing/editing process. We will start with a brief emailed or DM'd consultation to go over your goals, your perceived strengths, and your frustrations. Then, I will read your work and provide actionable editing notes, or if it's a story mapping situation, we will have a back and forth conversation about your characters, your plot, etc to help set you up for success as you begin writing your novel.

It will have to be through Upwork, meaning the job will have to be "paid". Upwork's minimum is $5. I do have to charge this, BUT there are two ways we can go about it: the $5 can be a down payment toward a bigger editing project and go toward your total fee for that, OR I can refund it to you via venmo. You'd have to share the last 4 digits of your phone number with me if you want a venmo refund.

I will edit for up to 5 writers and story map for up to 20! Email me at nat.ries.editing@gmail.com and we can go from there. I am working with one writer, so I have 4 spots left for editing up to 10k.

NOTE: my Upwork name is Natalie Tucker because this is my legal name. My Gmail name is Natalie Ries because this is what I go by. It is what it is. They're both me. Getting married and taking your husband's last name is a whole thing. Someday it'll all be Natalie Ries but unfortunately Natalie Tucker still lingers.

Click here to view my testimonials from past clients and a sample of my editing notes.

[writingbycatsgrave]

CALLING ALL WRITERS!

I'm a freelance editor looking to edit your stories, fan fictions, poems, resumes, essays–anything! I provide proofreading, line editing, structural editing, copy editing, and revision and suggestion services all in several convenient bundles!

I'm an experienced editor having freelanced for almost a year now and served as Editor-in-Chief of the publication West 10th. I've edited poetry, prose, novels, fan fiction, scientific writing, resumes, and more. Please reach out via email if you'd like to see samples of my work.

RATE

(Each bundle includes one consultation) Under 1k words – $25 with a 3 day turnaround 1k-5k words – $50 with a 5 day turnaround 5k-10k words – $100 with up to 2 weeks turnaround Additional words exceeding 10k – $0.20/word Additional consultations – $10/ea Faster turnaround – $10/ea day

[b-a-pigeon]

My freelance editing website is up!! I'm still tweaking it, but it should be navigable and coherent by now, at least.

Author friends, check it out! I'm offering copy editing, line editing, proofreading, sensitivity reading, and beta reading services. I want to prioritize accessibility & affordability, so I'm experimenting with sliding scales and payment plans.

Get in touch if you have any questions (or feedback on the website) or want to request a free sample edit. I hope I can work with some of you soon!! 🖤

[left-to-write-edits]

Not to be weird

[amaiguri]

Writing Zalathiel's Character Voice

So, the Seeress wanted me to question the depths of my loyalty and to imagine devotion motivated the surmontation of these artificial obstacles. I would not dance on that puppet string; my loyalty could not be bound with parlor tricks — though perhaps hers could.

-- Zalathiel

I love writing Zalathiel because his prose is soooo overwrought on purpose -- he is young and still feels like he has to prove how smart he is by using big words. And this means, he uses words like "surmontation" that don't actually exist :P

But this also means Zalathiel is where I get to stretch all my fancy new vocab from sources like @a-word-a-day-for-writers (thank you for your service🫡🫡🫡) like "acatharsy" which is an Oxford English Dictionary word (that possibly is one of those mountweazels cuz I can't find it in others) and I love it:

At the ointment’s touch, the little black creatures oozed forth and melted in the water. I scraped the acatharsy in oily streaks down her arms until her skin at was a mere sickly gray — a marked improvement over the abyssal black.

Many of the other character voices come to me naturally. Zalathiel's voice HAS to be crafted. And you know what? I love that for him 🥰

<Literally, my notes>

Words to include: accismus, acatharsy, eccendentesiat, unctuous, discommode, sublimate

[msrheyrhey]

*Edited*Do any writers in here need an Editor?!

If you can help a starting editor pay some of their bills before going red, I offer 3 types of editing services!

I offer Developmental editing when you've just finished a story and want someone to guide you to parts of your story that are inconsistent or off.

Then I offer Line editing when you're story is fine but you want someone to go through and check on the spelling and sentences.

And lastly, I can do beta readings. When you just want to know what readers will think of your story before you go public.

I have a good system to have all my thoughts written down about your writing or stories if you don't have specific things you want thoughts or advice on.

My ko-fi commission page is below. You would be doing me a real solid if you checked it out or reblogged to spread it.

[bl-mitchum]

Editing is a labor of love. When I leave a paper bleeding with edits, it is not because I thought the piece was bad. I didn’t mark your manuscript up because I hated it, I marked because I loved enough to make it shine!!

[owlbearwrites]

What proofreading / copy editing / line editing looks like (when I do it)

Disclaimer: you may have different idea of what each of the three entails. But in my editing services, this is what you can expect from each tier.

Below is a snippet of my own writing (with errors introduced for the sake of this experiment), subjected to proofreading, copy editing, and line editing, respectively. This way, you can decide what level of involvement your manuscript needs.

Original:

Proofreading:

As you can see, I fixed punctuation, grammar and formatting errors, pointed out an erroneous word choice, and flagged a possible continuity error. Beyond that, the text remains untouched. If you don't want any (and I mean ANY) interference with your writing style, this one's for you.

Copy editing:

This time around, in addition to the proofreading pass, I tightened a few sentences, suggested a more evocative word choice, and pointed out where the scene's flow could be made clearer. If you're looking for a light-touch edit, that's the one.

Line editing:

This is the most involved level of editing I offer. In addition to everything in the previous tiers, I flagged a detail that didn't 100% make sense to me and could benefit from a brief explanation; made suggestions on tightening the prose further; and included several style suggestions to give a high-stakes moment more emotional punch. If you want me to really sink my teeth into your manuscript, and shine every diamond that's still in the rough, then the line edit option is for you.

[shelvesuponshelves]

Offering Editing Services for Original Work!

Hello! Are you looking for help with your original work? I offer a variety of services to fit every budget and need. I have plenty of experience and would love to help you with your piece. If interested, you can DM me here or send an email to jamesilver.ff@gmail.com

Looking forward to working with you!

[projecttreehouse]

Reminder-- I am offering free editing right now! I have some time tomorrow and I would really love to take on an editing project.

Learn more!

[moxiefuriousediting]

Editing Available

Writers! Alas, my house has been hit with a multitude of car troubles beyond the comfortable capacity of my bank account. Please hire me. I have an MFA in Creative Writing and have been editing for 13 years now. I especially love working with science fiction and fantasy, but I am comfortable with a very wide range of genres.

Here's what I can do for the current low low rate of let me know what you need and what you can afford and we'll see what we can work out, because right now I am a little desperate:

Developmental Editing - I look at the big picture plot and character and story stuff. I read your manuscript through twice. The first time to just react and see where it's all going, and the second time to look for ways to fix any issues. ("This bit in Chapter 10 solves an issue I had in Chapter 1. Let's move some things around.") I will leave comments as I go, but also give you a write up fully explaining my thought process and suggestions. Once you've had time to read it over and think about it, I'm more than happy to talk you through it all and answer any questions via email or Discord voice or text chat. (I like text because then you've got everything written down.

Line Editing - All of your plot holes have been closed. All of your characters are acting in character. Now my favorite part, taking a closer look. At this level I will be going over word choices, dialogue, descriptions, and grammar. I use Chicago Manual of Style for my style guide and Merriam-Webster for my dictionary, but we can also work out anything specific to your work. The most important things, to me, about grammar are clarity and internal consistency. Again, I do two read throughs. On the first one I will catch all the standard stuff and make suggestions. But I will also make note of anything that may need to go in a style guide specific to your work. This is usually especially important in science fiction and fantasy works as you do worldbuilding. I will reach out about any decisions you need to make and then do a second read. You'll get back the edited manuscript as well as a style guide. Again, I will be available for a chat to answer any questions.

Proofreading - This is it. This is the last step of the writing and editing process. One last read through to catch any grammar* that might have slipped through the cracks, or new problems that may have been introduced. (Did you use find and replace all? You definitely need one more read through.)

I prefer to edit in Word, but can work in Google Docs if needed. You can contact me here on Tumblr, or through MoxieFurious at Gmail.

*One note on grammar. It can be subjective. Often the rules for English are more malleable than people think. This is where I fall back to clarity and internal consistency. It's also where having someone with a degree in writing comes in handy. I can recognize the difference between a sentence fragment for effect and a sentence fragment because you accidentally dropped a word. In fiction we play with the building blocks of writing, and that does not always directly adhere to the standards of academic English.