Services
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Editing
We’ve all been there– just trying to enjoy a good book or news article when BAM, a gnarly typo leaps at us out of nowhere and smashes us right in the face. It’s unpleasant, it’s discombobulating, and worst of all, it yanks us right out of our reading groove as we’re forced to acknowledge the elepant in the room.
(You saw what I did there, right? Right?)
In any case, those problems need to be rectified. Even the best of writers have trouble editing their own work because their mind knows what is supposed to be on the page and lets their eyes slide right over the errors that actually exist. Having a second pair of eyes on the case means you’ll end up with a much better result and fewer readers shaking their fists at you from around the world.
That said, not all editing is created equal. I provide four different types of editing, all of which are listed here:
Developmental Editing
This is generally the first step in the editing process. The focus of a developmental edit is to provide directed advice and detailed critique so that you are aware of possible issues with your project and have the chance to sort them out before jumping into a more detailed edit. I would not be personally changing the issues, but pointing them out so that you are able to address them yourself. The main things I will be looking at will be overall clarity and general syntax, structure, plot holes, characterization, pacing, dialogue, character motivation, and presentation.
I look at the project from three different perspectives (if applicable): an overall manuscript critique, a chapter-by-chapter summary, and a more detailed chapter commentary.
Line Editing
This is generally completed between a developmental edit and a copy edit. The purpose is to improve your writing style without losing your personal voice. A line edit is an extensive review of the text where I look at things like spelling, grammar, syntax, flow, general readability, word choice, point of view, style, wordiness, redundancy, consistent tense, presentation, clarity, and awkward phrasing. That means you’ll be looking at a lot of potential changes in a process that is more aggressive than a copy edit, but ones that should greatly improve your overall content as well.
Most of the changes will be recommended for good reason, but others may be more subjective, so it is normal to reject a few of the changes that you don’t agree with.
Copy Editing
This is generally completed after a developmental edit and a line edit. A copy edit is a sentence by sentence edit, where things like the plot, characters, overall writing style, and pacing are ignored in favor of focusing solely on syntax and grammar. When done after a line edit, it acts as a check of the adjustments you made after receiving and acting upon that feedback. If you have no other editing done on your project, this is the edit that I would suggest, because then at least the wording of your final project will flow and you will avoid sentences being riddled with misspellings and/or misused words.
Obviously, any edits that I recommend would have been made with a reason, but some writers prefer their own stylistic choices in some situations, and that is ultimately your choice to make.
Proofreading
This is generally completed after a project has already been professionally edited at least once. Think of it as that last layer of spit and polish on a project that you think is ready to publish! I go over your project for errors that may have been missed in things like spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, consistency, syntax, hyphenation, and number formatting.
After proofreading has been completed, hands off of the text. Any changes you make afterward can introduce new errors into your project!
Video Game Scripts
These days, indie game studios and solo developers are releasing some incredibly fun, imaginative games to the market. The problem is, even the best graphics and sound design won’t mean much if the script or subtitles are a mess! Players will notice your mistakes, and they will call you out on it on places like Youtube, Twitch, and Steam, which in turn can negatively affect your sales. Why subject yourself to that embarrassment and reduce your credibility as a developer by not getting your script edited before your game goes live?
I’m proud to admit to being an avid gamer, and I am committed to helping indie developers make the best content possible. Whether you need help with the writing or simply the editing, drop me a message and let me know how I can help you level up.
And if you’re looking to have your game both translated from Swedish, Ukrainian, or Russian and edited in English, let me know! I know folks who are more than happy to help out with that!
Blog & Article Writing
Quality content doesn’t appear out of thin air by slapping your fingers on the keyboard for a few minutes and calling it done. Plugging some keywords into your keyboard smash or being an SEO expert does not automatically bless you with superior material either, though those things are helpful.
So what does it take?
It starts out with a headline phrased to lure readers in with an enticing topic, quickly followed by an introduction that grabs them and reels them in before they’re tempted to click away. The body of the text teases their mind’s eye with seductive words, coaxing them to read even further thanks to information that’s both easy to digest and engaging. Finally, the reader reaches the end, and if the writer has done their job right, they’ll crave even more.
If this is what you’re looking for, guess what? I know a guy.