Welcome to the Service Spotlight, where we’ll be exploring the editing services that will help you transform your manuscript into a masterpiece. Today, we’ll be discussing Line Editing.
What Is Line Editing?
In Line Editing, you receive feedback on the sentences and paragraphs of your prose. This type of editing covers pacing, character voice, dialogue, showing vs. telling, clarity, consistency, word choice, and other aspects of your writing style.
Line Editing can help you tighten sentences, remove unnecessary words, ensure that actions happen in the correct order, and prevent your characters from disappearing at random (always important).
Roughly four to six weeks after you submit your manuscript, you’ll receive in-text comments through Microsoft Word Track Changes. You’ll also get a three- to five-page memo that summarizes the strengths, areas of improvement, and recommended next steps for your writing style.
Although I will provide basic grammar corrections, I won’t change the actual text of your story. Instead, the Comments pane will contain thoughtful suggestions for smoothing and clarifying your writing style. As the author, you will have the final say on which changes to apply to your manuscript.
Why Is Line Editing Important?
Your prose is the window through which readers view your story. Your novel might contain gripping conflict, realistic characters, and memorable themes, but unpolished prose will distract your audience from the story you’ve worked so hard to tell.
By contrast, a smooth writing style will carry your readers through your novel on a steady, uninterrupted journey. Whether you pursue traditional or independent publishing, skillful prose helps you present a professional image to industry experts and readers.
Line Editing can help you refine your authorial voice. A good line editor will make suggestions that polish and tighten your prose while also remaining true to your personal writing style.
Each book requires a different type of narration. A YA high fantasy will sound different than a middle grade comedy, and a hard science fiction will contain a different atmosphere than a historical romance. When you work with me, you work with a dedicated editor who preserves your voice while making suggestions that fit your chosen genre.
Who Should Invest in Line Editing?
Line Editing should be performed after Developmental Editing, which strengthens your plot, characters, theme, and other big-picture components. If you’re confident in your storytelling but seek to refine your writing style, Line Editing can help you shape your novel into a work of art that your audience will remember forever.
If you’re ready to give your manuscript the polish it deserves, contact me to request a sample edit today. I would be honored to help you develop a story that resonates with readers!
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