A copy edit is ideal if you are happy with your story but want help with your grammar. It is a perfect starting point when you’re breaking rules and want to do it well, if you’re using non-standard English but want to be consistent, when your reader finds your story implausible, or if publishers are rejecting your story based on things like verb tense inconsistency, passive voice, or overly simple/complex sentence structure.

I assess the story for continuity, accuracy, sentence mechanics, spelling, usage, and punctuation with the goal of filling in gaps in understanding and helping you develop your technical confidence as a writer.

• Continuity. If your hero is a ginger in the first paragraph, let’s make sure they’re a ginger in the last. If you say it takes ten weeks to cross the asteroid belt, let’s check that holds up in the timeline.
• Fact-Checking: Is crossing the asteroid belt in ten weeks even possible? I’ll fact-check that for you. (It took Voyager 1 about 154 days.)
• Sentence Mechanics: I outline the grammar rules as they apply to your story and help you feel confident in your choice to follow them or not.
• Spelling & Usage. I ensure that your spelling, linguistic register (level of formality), and word choice are correct and consistent with your story and publishing market.
• Punctuation: I help you make meaningful punctuation choices that support your story and style.