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Jennifer Kay Davies - Fiction Editor and Proofreader
Professional Member| Location | Southampton, England, but I work for clients worldwide |
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Line editing, copyediting and proofreading for fiction writers
I am a fiction editor and proofreader working with both publishers and self-publishing independent authors, offering line editing, copyediting and proofreading services. I specialise in thriller, crime, mystery, fantasy, romance and women's fiction. I also edit some narrative nonfiction including memoirs.
So, you've finished writing your novel (congratulations!) and you're wondering whether your sentences could be a little tighter, if you're showing, rather than telling, and if the story is compelling enough. Perhaps grammar and punctuation aren't your strong points, and you prefer to focus on storytelling. Well, you've come to the right place!
I'm friendly and approachable, and I offer personalised and individual editorial services to my clients. I understand that some authors are happy to leave me to work on their manuscripts, while others like a more collaborative approach. I can tailor-make a service that is best suited to you. Contact me via my website or email me at jenni[email protected] for a free 1000-word sample and quote.
I work for publishers as well as independent, self-publishing authors. View my portfolio here.
Services
I offer the following editorial services to publishers and independent, self-publishing fiction authors:
Line editing and copyediting
After you've had a developmental edit carried out, your next task will be to have a line or copyedit carried out by a professional book editor. This looks at the technical side of your fiction writing and focuses on clarity and consistency.
As your book editor I will:
- Collaborate with you - I am not here to tell you what you've "done wrong", but rather to help you address any issues which allows you to focus on what you do best: storytelling
- Assess the effectiveness and necessity of each word and sentence
- Highlight any inconsistencies or issues with point of view
- Adopt the old adage of 'show don't tell' to make your writing more engaging
- Trim off any unnecessary 'fat' to keep your writing as lean as possible
- Highlight any issues with passive voice
- Ensure dialogue and narrative are consistent with character voice
- Ensure tone is consistent throughout
- Check your manuscript for any inconsistencies with spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation
- Correct grammar and punctuation
- Identify any inconsistencies with characterisation or timelines
- Address anything else you specifically want to work on
- Provide you with a full and comprehensive report and style guide
Proofreading
The necessity of a final proofread should never be underestimated. There will always be mistakes which will be missed in an edit and so, before you self-publish or submit to agents, you will want to make sure you are submitting as polished a manuscript as possible in order to get those sales and good reviews or the possibility of a contract with a publisher.
In order to carry out a successful proofread, I will need:
- The manuscript fully formatted to the agent's request if you are querying
- The final PDF of the manuscript before you upload it to self-publish
This will catch out any nasty errors caused by the formatting that wouldn't have been noticed before.
As your proofreader I will:
- Correct any errors in punctuation, grammar and spelling
- Highlight any issues with the formatting
- Check sentence structure
- Provide you with a style guide, if one wasn't already provided
Contact me via my website or email me at jenni[email protected] for a free 1000-word sample and quote.
Genres
I specialise in fiction, specifically thriller, romance, fantasy, mystery, crime, family saga, and women's fiction, but I also edit and proofread some narrative nonfiction including memoir.
Experience
I set up my editorial business in July of 2020, after undertaking professional training and development. I worked for free for six months in order to gain some experience and testimonials that I could build upon, and I've been working consistently ever since.
I work for publishers of fiction, in both copyediting and proofreading, and I also have several repeat self-publishing clients.
Training
1. Essential Proofreading (Publishing Training Centre) 2022
2. Copyediting 2: Headway (CIEP) 2022
3. Switching to Fiction (Louise Harnby) 2022
4. Essential Grammar (Publishing Training Centre) 2022
5. Getting to Grips with Grammar and Punctuation (CIEP) 2022
6. An Editor's Guide to Editing Fiction (Publishing Training Centre) Year: 2022
7. Introduction to Fiction Editing (CIEP) Year: 2021
8. Copyediting 1: Introduction (CIEP) Year: 2020
9. Proofreading 1: Introduction (CIEP) Year: 2020
Clients
James Easton
Jessica Huntley
Independent self-publishing authors from all around the world
Media
Books
Testimonials
"I'm so thankful I found Jennifer. From the first appointment to discuss what I needed, to where we are right now, it's been 100% professional. I can't express how working with Jennifer doesn't feel like work at all.
Jennifer kept to her timescales and committed to all we agreed. Her documents and following emails were clear and professional but personal. I really felt like she had my back from the off.
Not only did Jennifer provide a fantastic line and copyedit, but she also offered developmental offerings as she went along and I can't express how useful that was for me.
Jennifer's work on my manuscript has shaped it, but not only that -- her wise, thoughtful and regular feedback in between pass-backs was such a boost to my confidence and this was something I needed after an awful experience.
I would thoroughly recommend Jennifer and would use her fantastic work again in a heartbeat. What a gem!"
Sarah Whitton
"I appreciated the following qualities I found in your work (in no particular order): efficiency, thoroughness, approachability, skill, knowledgeability, competency and empathy."
Margaret Hulson
Jennifer was very quick at getting back to me with a quote. Her prices are very reasonable. She kept me up to date with her progress and she returned my manuscript within the time stated. Her work was very thorough and precise. She looked at every single detail! Would highly recommend! Thank you!
Jessica Huntley
Last year I wrote my first novel and Jennifer was such a massive help. It can be quite a daunting move for newbie writers to find the best editor. But I needn't have worried as Jennifer was such a pro. She made it so easy to start a process that I had no clue about. Not only was she nice, pleasant and professional throughout but Jennifer was very precise on the actual editing. I had a good story, Jennifer made it a good novel. She picked up on what must have been close to a thousand mistakes and helped to improve my writing no end. I would definitely recommend Jennifer to any other aspiring authors and after the success of my first book I'm sure I'll be calling on Jennifer's help for my next project.
Liam O'Neill
Jenny Davies played a vital role in helping my book reach its full potential. As my copy editor, she caught hundreds of mistakes I had missed even after I edited my novel countless times. Her detailed notes and suggestions improved the readability of my writing. She not only corrected my errors but explained why they were mistakes, so I don't make them again in the future.
She completed the edits for my book quickly without sacrificing accuracy. I sent her a copy of my seventy-thousand-word manuscript on a Thursday without a deadline. She returned the copy-edited version to me four days later. I assumed it would take her at least a month since she was honest about working on several other manuscripts, but she still finished rapidly. I'm confident that Jenny can deliver anyone a solid copy-edit even with the protracted deadline, depending on her schedule, of course. If you are looking for a skilled editor and proof-reader, then I'm confident that Jenny Davies can deliver for you. She was a terrific resource and a pleasure to work with. I can't wait to send her my next book to edit.
Oscar K. Reyes