Sample line edit – who it’s for

You're looking for an editor who has sentence-level expertise but you want to make sure we're a good fit before you commit to a full service. 

A sample edit shows you how I work. I'll correct and smooth 1,000 words of your prose, ensuring your narrative and dialogue drive your novel forward and flow well on the page.

Costs and format

Price: Flat fee of £100
Word count: For 1,000 words
Format: Microsoft Word
Payment: Required up front

What’​s included in this editing service

A sample line-by-line edit

I'll edit your 1,000-word sample line by line, word by word. Here's what I'll be looking out for:
  • ​​​​Chapter sequencing
  • ​Cliché and awkward metaphor
  • Dialogue expression: particularly authenticity of phrasing and word choice in relation to character voice, mood and intention
  • Effectiveness of sentence-level narration, including an assessment of word choice, repetition and overwriting, especially in action and suspense scenes
  • Effectiveness of suspense and thrill points
  • Layout guidance
  • Letter, word, line and paragraph spacing​
  • Problematic representation, stereotyping and othering
  • Sentence pace, rhythm and flow, and whether it reflects the setting and mood of a scene 
  • Speech tagging and punctuation
  • Spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, hyphenation and capitalization
  • Standard document formatting using Word’s styles palette: indentation, paragraph style, section breaks
  • Told versus shown prose
  • Use of tenses
  • Verb use, especially to create tension and suspense
Where appropriate, I'll write comments in your Word file to explain my decisions.
Want to know what happens after you book? See how my editing process works.

What authors say about my editing ...​

I’m just now looking at your edits and, as always, they are so very good.
​Once again, you’ve retained the essence and helped me deliver the prose sharply.
David Unger, mystery author
Louise is a delight to work with and has an incredible eye for detail.
​Andrew Langley, supernatural thriller​ author
Thanks so much for the fantastic work! Delighted with it.
​Rob Aspinall, thriller author

Guidance on inclusive and respectful writing
​

This service includes a free booklet featuring resources that help writers work to actively consider whether the words in a novel are driving story forward and enriching readers, or causing unintended harm. 

​The tools linked to in this booklet aim to help you apply good judgement to your fiction from a conscious language perspective.

Fancy working with me?

If you'd like to discuss a line editing, copyediting or proofreading project, get in touch so we can have a chat.​