“It is said that a picture can say a thousand words. Well, so can a thousand words. They are the keys by which we can unlock new and amazing worlds, some of which ascend beyond the imagination, and it all begins on the first page.” – BookNerd
Greetings Fellow BookNerds,
For those of you who haven’t noticed yet, I recently added a new page to my blog, which features information about some of the editing and proofreading services I have to offer anyone in need of them. The reason I decided to start doing this professionally – and by professionally, I mean offering to give my services to more than just people I know – is because I have come to realize that there are probably so many more people out there who need someone to go over their writing, but may be having trouble finding someone who isn’t outrageously expensive or hard to get a hold of.
Now, I am located in Ottawa – that’s in Canada, for any of my international followers who aren’t familiar with Canadian geography – so this limits how much I can do face to face. Of course, between e-mail and Skype, this could prove to be less of an issue, depending on what it is you actually need. Most of what I have done thus far has been done via e-mail, follower by a face-to-face meeting to answer any follow up questions or clarify the reasons why certain changes should be made. It really depends on the person and their need, but I’m pretty flexible so location and proximity shouldn’t be an issue.
Mostly, I have done proofreading for university students who don’t speak English as a first language, but are required to write English essays for their profs. This can prove to be a challenge when you don’t have a strong grasp of English grammar and verb tense, which is where I would come in. I identified what their main ideas and arguments were, and then made it so that the language conveyed them in a clear manner, leaving plenty of notes in the margins along the way explaining why certain changes were made, and pointing out any writing habits they may have picked up that detract from the academic nature of essay writing. I am by no means a teacher, and I don’t pretend to be, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any lessons to teach throughout my editing process.
I have also gone over academic journal articles for things like overall flow, or to make sure that those of us who don’t have a PhD can still grasp the finer points of their research without feeling like it’s all going over their head. My absolute favourite project was helping a friend of mine with her very first book she had ever wrote. It was a murder mystery novel, and she had incredible ideas, but again, English was not her native tongue, both spoken and written. This one took quite a bit more time, because not only was I fixing spelling and grammar errors, but I was also making sure that readers would be able to see the connections between events, and that the story remained consistent from beginning to end. This is tricky for even experienced writers to accomplish, but between the two of us I believe we were successful in bringing her ideas together in a very exciting and well thought out tail of murder, mystery and intrigue. It has yet to be published, but I was able to help her overcome the biggest hurtle for a writer, and that is to feel satisfied with your work.
So feel free to visit my new page, which you will find in the menu above entitled My Editing and Proofreading Services. My prices are based on the size of the document, the services that you require for it, and when you need it by – in other words, on a case by case basis – so feel free to contact me via e-mail for more information: emily.manns@outlook.com.
Before I start feeling like a salesman, I’ll end it here for today. Check back here soon, though, for my next book review posting, which will hopefully be by tomorrow at the latest. Until then, keep on reading!
Cheers,
BookNerd
The World in Writing 