Services

Black Cat Editorial Services is pleased to be able to provide comprehensive editing solutions. The services will be tailored to you, and to your project, but this page should give you an idea of the support I can offer.

Line- and copy-editing

This is editing at the sentence level. It will generally include the following:

Assessing the wording of the text to make sure it is clear, coherent and appropriate
Providing suggested edits to improve readability, characterisation and style
Advising on publishing-industry standards and conventions
Correcting errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and style
Ensuring the consistency of spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, punctuation and other elements of style (e.g. italics)
Querying plot holes, changes in the timeline or inconsistent characterisation
Reviewing the text for errors of fact, misspelled names, misused words and misquotations (please note: I will not routinely check all factual information).

Proofreading

The last check and tidy-up before publication, proofreading is focused on picking up small errors (usually typos) and consistency issues that remain after previous rounds of editing.

Manuscript critique

A critique will look at the novel as a whole. I’ll read the full manuscript and then provide a multi-page report on the big-picture elements. The report will be broken down into the following parts: presentation; plot development; characterisation; marketability and target audience; and writing. If I think something works, I’ll tell you. If I think something could be improved, I’ll let you know. And, most importantly, I’ll provide suggestions and ideas on how you could do it.

Developmental editing

This is a more in-depth and hands-on service than a manuscript critique, but it will cover the same big-picture elements. You’ll receive a multi-page report along with detailed notes, explanations and suggestions on the manuscript itself (using Word’s Comments and Track Changes tools).

Supplementary services

Mini-edit

This service is ideal for clients who are primarily interested in a critique or a development edit – I’ll edit a section of your manuscript so you can see the sentence-level improvements that could be made and the techniques a fiction editor could use to help you bring out the best in your prose.

“Thank you for making the copy editing process painless. From the first point of contact, your communication was great and I really appreciated the update midway through.”

'CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS' on yellow tape and surrounded by blue and red lights

Jody Derby
First-time author

“I requested two services from Hannah. After she critiqued, I knew I wanted her to edit my manuscript. Hannah did an amazing job. The critique and editorial reports were so professionally laid out, it was a pleasure to read. I found Hannah’s ability to pick up on inconsistencies amazing and so helpful. I learned a lot through the process.”