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.

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.​