Jennifer Kay Davies - Fiction Editor and Proofreader

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.

---

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 [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 [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

Hera Books

Rebellion Publishing

Reddoor Press

SRL Publishing

Polygon Books

James Easton

Jessica Huntley

Independent self-publishing authors from all around the world

Media

Books