Affordable Content Editing - writing / editing / translation

You carefully researched your topic and wrote your first draft. Then you ran it through spelling and grammar check. It’s all there but you’ve been told it’s “hard to follow,” or “disorganized,” or something similar. What do you do?

Hire me (Melanie) as your content (aka “substantive”) editor!

When clients hire me for a substantive edit, I begin on a macro level, assessing the basic structure and development of the entire document or manuscript. I also fact-check to ensure accuracy. Using tract changes, I may add, delete, or rearrange material. (If clients prefer, I’ll write comments in track changes suggesting ways to edit.) Once the structure, sequence, and focus are established, I move to the micro level, correcting errors, adding transitions, and ensuring clarity throughout.

An Experienced Editor

My training as an editor began in graduate school, where I worked as an assistant editor for three journals. Later, I taught writing and literature to university students. The skills I’d acquired as a grad student and writing instructor inspired me to start my freelance editing business, Seattle Editing, in 2006. Since then I’ve worked with hundreds of writers on various writing projects.

Over the years, I’ve taken many editing courses, including a developmental editing workshop with Barbara Sjoholm through Hugo House in Seattle. Two years ago, I earned an editing certificate through ACES and recently completed an online certificate in substantive (content) editing. When I’m not editing, I’m honing my skills or writing stories and articles. But I love editing best of all!

For a free sample edit/estimate, simply reply to this message and provide your contact details. I will get back to you shortly.

A Few Testimonials (with names withheld):

“Without your magic touch, I would undoubtedly still be floundering around in the muck. Not only did you follow through on everything, you proved to be an excellent editor and team player whose suggestions should make it a marketing success.”

“Melanie, you came to my rescue when I needed my young adult manuscript edited. You provided helpful comments along the way regarding awkward phrasing and structure. Your suggestions helped make my writing more powerful by deleting unnecessary narration and, at times, adding more text for clarity. You not only understand the editing process but also appreciate the give-and-take between writer and editor. You helped me polish my novel and supported my growth as a writer.”

“Your attentive reading and astute comments have opened new insights and made every page better.”

“Melanie did an outstanding job editing Effortless Savings. Her attention to detail was remarkable and her thoughtful suggestions helped shape this book. In addition, it was an absolute pleasure working with her. I am tremendously grateful to Melanie and cannot thank her enough for all of her contributions.”

“As a first-time author and self-publisher, I found Melanie’s expert editing and ongoing encouragement to be invaluable.”

“Melanie—you are really a great editor. You [gave] me a whole lot of notes in places that could use fixing. GREAT job!”

“Thanks for all your hard work and patience. This was truly a process & one I couldn’t have done without you.”

“I’m so thankful I was able to connect with Melanie when searching for a professional editor to fine-tune the manuscript for my legal thriller. I was under a deadline and knew I had taken it as far as I could on my own. Melanie jumped in and worked closely with me in all the ways I needed. Thanks to her, we made our deadline with a manuscript that was vastly improved in every aspect. Since publication, several reviewers have commented on the novel’s polished, finely edited writing. Kudos to Melanie!”

“This book would not have been possible without you. You took a mess of a manuscript and shaped it into something that I’d be proud to show to my son.”

“Your feedback was great, and exactly what I needed to hear. I really appreciated the questions you brought up and [your pointing out] the loose ends. I did lose a lot of details as I flew through to make the story as coherent as possible, and I’m glad to have a second set of eyes to spot them. It’s also good to get your feedback on the characters and things that don’t seem in line with their personalities. It’s really important to me to have each character feel real, so I’ll definitely be analyzing them and putting your notes to good use there.”

“Melanie, I really appreciate your hard work and feedback. The manuscript is greatly improved thanks to you. . . . I was so impressed by your edits. And it was a great learning experience for me to see what you did and why. I appreciate your opinion and suggestions very much.”

“I’m really happy with Melanie as an editor. She made numerous suggestions in a positive, professional way that improved the structure and characters in my fantasy trilogy. I hope to work with her again soon.”

Note: All of these satisfied clients published their books! Find out more about my services when you visit Seattle Editing online.