Although I provide general editing services, I have specific book editing experience. Good editing can make the difference between a book that is average and one that is sensational. For example, I recently edited a non-fiction book that presented a great idea that was often obscured by non-specific wording and poor organizational flow. In addition, the writer kept switching back and forth between different tenses, topics and choice of voice. Her brilliant insights were lost in confusing text. Moreover, I received her work after several colleagues and friends had had the opportunity of reviewing her draft. So, the editing process often involves much more than correcting misplaced commas. I think it's essential that a writer gain familiarity with the type of service for which he or she is paying which is why I provide a detailed and thorough proposal outlining my qualifications.

In addition, though I work on an hourly basis, I realize that many writers are budget conscious and need to estimate the total project cost before work commences. It is not uncommon for writers to underestimate the amount of work needed to edit their work thoroughly and some prioritization may be needed before work commences. I can always make the work "better." It's just a matter of the range of improvement one can accomplish within particular time and budget constraints. For these reasons, I offer all writers the choice of a free editing sample before any work commences so that they can evaluate my contribution before any decision is made to procure my services. Just send me a page or more of your work and I will edit a paragraph or two, make comments, and promptly return your edited work for your consideration.

I have many years of experience editing and proofreading text under the most pressured time restraints. A recent project I undertook required editing an 80 page technical book in just two days. Every page took 15 to 25 minutes to revise. My services include review and correction of stylistic, grammatical and structural errors (e.g. passive voice, paragraphing, verb tenses, vocabulary choice). I also pay attention to the "flow" of your work to eliminate flat redundancies and make sure that your work appears complete. What distinguishes my service is that I "clean up" your work without rewriting it in my own style. It's important to preserve the integrity of your work and keep your voice intact. After all, it's your work and not mine. I also, as time permits, insert editorial comments so that you know the reason for a specific edit. This helps the writer make his or her own assessment of whether or not to accept an edit. More significantly, this helps a writer improve his or her writing.

A skilled editor also brings a new perspective to your work and can point out inconsistencies or assumptions that you've made in your work that may be lost on your reader. To this end, my editing will produce work with all the strengths one would expect to find in work that has received standard editing e.g. good punctuation and grammar, with the additional characteristics, as needed, that distinguish book editing:

• Recommended solutions to hidden assumptions your reader may not grasp.
• An assessment as to whether your writing is appropriate and marketable to your target audience.
• Indication of gaps in your information.
• Consideration of tone, theme, length, organization, knowledge of subject, originality of topic, logical argument and attributions.

  WEB CONTENT What makes good web content??

  • Strong writing skills.
  • Knowing how to adapt text to the Internet.
  My forte is writing. The most innovative engineering and technology will not sustain your business if "any old words" are used to fill in the blanks of a web page. The text of a web page forms the connection between you and your website user. If you are unable to communicate with your user, he or she will not come to know you, your product, or why your site merits a return visit beyond any other.

  Good writing: I provide the words for your site and that is my key area of expertise. I can write clearly and persuasively. I am not a programmer, so I do not upload my words onto your site or utilize software, but I can convey whatever message you want to send in a way that provides credibility and usability. However, good writing only gets you half way there. I am also familiar with the medium of the Internet and am able to create the kind of writing that works best in this setting.

  Web Specific Writing: While I do not specialize in "search engine optimization" and cannot guarantee specific search results, I understand the unique dynamic between the reader and the website interface and the role that language choice plays in search engine placement, marketing and the flow of Internet traffic. To this end, my writing has all the strengths one would expect to find in conventional writing, e.g. style and grammar, with the additional characteristics that characterize web content:
  

  • Capturing the "gist" of the site for the reader within a few seconds.
  • Sustaining reader interest and working within the space limitations of a website.
  • Ability to market the site product and/or services while utilizing keywords that enhance the attractiveness of the site to key search engines and placement directories, without obscuring the clarity of your message.
  • Maintaining integrity within the overall site design and its technology.
  • Basic use of HTML.

  Website writers need to be capable of the kind of extreme editing not required in other writing to produce text that appeals to the reader who skims online text and digests information in a way unique to the web. Internet Qualifications
  Over 7 years internet experience: · Preparing, reviewing and negotiating web-site development, strategic alliance, joint venture, non-disclosure, technology, consultant, referral, marketing, software licensing and co-branding agreements for company global online advertising and direct marketing networks, opt-in e-mail database for targeted online banner and e-mail campaigns and online ad serving and management systems. ·Have hands-on experience creating web content for a number of websites presented in my portfolio links. ·Aware of the basic principles used by the major search engines and placement directories for ranking websites. Have used this awareness in creation of web content that is not only appealing to the end consumer, but significant in the placement of websites in search results. RESUME AND COVER LETTER EDITING · Recruiting experience provides unique insight into resume and cover letter presentation that sells your ability and potential. · Operate online editing company that provides writing and editing services that assist job hunters in writing concise and well formatted resumes and cover letters. COLLEGE AND GRADUATE ADMISSIONS ESSAYS As a Phi Beta Kappa and Ivy League Graduate, I am uniquely qualified to assist students with study skills, in addition to proofchecking, editing and feedback for admissions essays. This is an area of writing that I find particularly rewarding.

  GRANT WRITING Foremost, I possess a certificate in grant writing from the Grantsmanship Training Center showing completion of training in all aspects of researching grants, writing grant proposals and negotiating with funding sources. In addition, I recognize that proposal writing requires very specific skills to enhance a proposal's success. The application must be credible, well organized and responsive to a specific grant. One may safely assume that the most competitive grants will receive applications that are equally polished in terms of grammatical content. What can I help you with? Well, I do not write the proposal from scratch. As you are no doubt aware, a proposal contains many different elements that often require several areas of expertise, e.g. financial. This is a tremendous task for the bid amount and often requires the work of more than one full time employee. Instead, I assist you with the overall package. Specifically, I help you (1) crosscheck all the bits and pieces you need for your grant (see questions below as an example of how I help with this), (2) suggest items that you may have excluded, (3) review, revise, proofread and edit your text for grammatical and stylistic errors, (4) recommend presentation for clarity and logical consistency, and (5) advise you on common mistakes in grant writing. The proposal format that I use to guide you is known as the Program Planning & Proposal Writing (PP&PW) format which has been adopted by many governmental agencies and private foundations. This is tremendously valuable where the funding source has provided no specific guidelines for proposal content or if you need a guide for your agency's overall planning. You will know how to write a clear and concise proposal in this format after my consultation. You can adapt this for any future proposal. To stand out among hundreds, and perhaps, thousands of applications, your proposal should be exceptional by:
  

  • Detailing a thorough understanding of your organization.
  • Presenting the relevant financial information.
  • Emphasizing the role of the organization in the community.
  • Outlining the company's history.
  • Answering these questions: (i) Why this organization, (ii) Why this project, and (iii) Why now?

  In addition to the usual editing functions, a writer with proposal experience should make sure that you do not lose sight of these goals.

  What I offer you after my consultation and hands-on editing:

  • improved record keeping system
  • enhanced credibility
  • clarity of goals
  • the development of tangible objectives
  • increased knowledge in the program area
  • better program evaluations

I will make sure your text is clear and will provide you with an outline before work commences of what the proposal in the PP&PW will look like. I don't provide you with funding sources for your project, but can make recommendations and suggest avenues for exploration.