I think I can make your work better.
That’s the idea behind editing. You have a vision of a story. By the time you have it written you have no doubt chewed it up and spit it out a dozen times or more. You have reached into its innards and rummaged around for the nuggets of truth you want to convey. You know the story and the characters better than you know yourself. That is why you need an editor.
This knowledge of your characters and your world enables you to fill in the gaps of what is on the page. Your reader won’t have the same knowledge. They will see the gaps and it will be a problem. I can help find those gaps and help you fix them.
I will do my utmost to make my suggestions fit with the tone of your story and the nature of your characters. My job is not to change the story but to help you convey the story to the readers in the most effective, impactful manner possible.
Here are some testimonials from folks who think I have helped them make their work better.
Gregory showed a profound knowledge of the mechanics of storytelling and knows how to turn a good piece of writing into a great one. Any writer looking for an
editor with the chops to make his words sing should seek his services. You won’t be disappointed.
I am delighted with your edit of my story Christmas Presence. You offer excellent suggestions for improvement without in any way detracting from or changing the tone of the original. I found it very thorough and the speed of service second to none.
Nothing gives an author more confidence than finding an editor who not only understands the mechanics of the language, but who also acts as a creative partner. Gregory Lynn’s editing services go way beyond grammar and typo checking, diving into the heart of the story to help writers more clearly communicate their vision. This kind of targeted, gut-level evaluation is vital, rare, and definitely worth every penny for any author who is serious about finding success and growing in their craft.
William G. Jones
I am still fairly new at this and I think my rates should reflect that. I also think I should be clear about what I can do and can’t do.
I am offering to edit for content and a line edit. I will tell you if your phrasing sounds awkward or if I think a certain word would work better in that spot. I will tell you if something in your plot seems off. I will tell you if your characters are doing something that it doesn’t feel like they should do. I will tell you if your characters are bland and tasteless. In short, I will edit your work for plot, character, tone, setting, and general coherence.
If you wish to partake of my services, please e-mail me using the form at right to tell me about the work you want edited including the approximate word count and genre. If you have a time frame in mind, please let me know.
I will request a sample to edit in order to provide a quote. The lowest this will be is $5 per thousand words ($500 for a 100,000 word novel) and it may be slightly higher if your MS needs a little extra TLC.
I will do things in the order in which payment is received and will be working around the other commitments in my life. This will likely mean that I am slower in the Summer than in the Winter and that typical American holidays will slow me down.
I will edit almost anything. The genres closest to my heart are fantasy and science fiction but I’ll also do mysteries, thrillers, and so forth. I’ll even do non fiction. In much of my previous office drone career, I edited business related non fiction and was, frankly, appalled at the quality of writing. I won’t do erotica, romance, or Christian fiction because I have precisely zero experience with those genres. The readers will have a baseline expectation that I do not possess and that would make my input less valuable. Also, one warning. If you have written a Sherlock Holmes story you should be advised that I have very precise standards in that regard. If you do not capture the somewhat conversational tone of the original stories I will call you on it and I will do it before the end of the first paragraph. If you send me something that has vampires in it they damn well better be badass.
Thank you for your interest and I hope to hear from you soon.
If you would prefer, you can contact me via e-mail and attach either a word or open office document containing the sample to be reviewed. Generally this is the first chapter or two or 3,000 to 5,000 words. The address is gregorylynn at gregorylynn dot net.