• Tell them what you want: Be sure your editor understands what you are looking for, your timing for completing the project, and any other expectations you have about working together.
• Meet deadlines: Your editor likely has a full schedule, and if you are late sending your manuscript files at any stage in the process, it will throw things off track and your own deadlines for releasing your book could be missed.
• Respect the editor’s expertise: Though you’re an expert in your field, so is your editor in hers. If she suggests certain changes to improve your work that you disagree with or don’t feel quite right to you at first, remember that she’s also working on behalf of your readers, and consider whether her suggestions will improve the reading experience.

I occasionally talk with prospective clients on the phone so we can both ask questions and see if it’s a good fit, but with many clients we successfully collaborate via email throughout the entire project. Once we’ve established the parameters of the project, I’ll send you a contract (which you can sign digitally and return) and an invoice to pay the deposit (typically 30–50% of the total fee) to hold the space on my calendar and get started.

During the editing process, most of my communication with clients is via email, though sometimes a phone call is more effective for hashing out whatever they’re stuck on, especially if they’re still in the early stages.

I prefer to edit in Microsoft Word using tracked changes, and I also proofread PDFs using Adobe Acrobat. To accommodate some projects, I’ve worked in Pages, OpenOffice, or Google Docs, and have even made changes to websites directly via WordPress. For most projects, I provide feedback via email.

My work incorporates a lot of different techniques, but they’re all focused on achieving just two goals: for your writing to sound like you, only better, and for your message to be easy for readers to understand.

Sure, I can fix your dangling modifiers, explain when to use an en dash, and clean up your spelling. But that’s not all. I see myself as a champion of ideas, here to support the work you do that’s going to change the world—and your own life and business. And I want to work with you to ensure that the ideas you’re presenting to the world are as clear, concise, and powerful as possible.

I get it: when you’re passionate about something, sometimes you just gotta break the rules. But I also tell clients, let’s not break all the rules. Sometimes they exist for good reason. Rules can make your message more understandable to those who need to hear it most, and they can help clear up confusing language that distracts from your brilliance. I’ll help you figure out when to follow the rules and when breaking them will make your writing stronger.

An extra set of eyes is always helpful, but there are some downsides to relying on people who are not professional editors:

• They may not be committed to sticking to a deadline, which can throw off your schedule or leave you in limbo.
• They may not be the target audience for your content or they might not be able to put themselves in your readers’ shoes, making their feedback less helpful.
• They may not know, or care about, the finer points of grammar and punctuation.
• If it’s someone you rely on to do other work in your business, like a VA, asking them to take on an editing project leaves them less time to complete other tasks.

As you may have guessed, working with a professional editor like me ensures none of this will happen. I take deadlines seriously, I’m adept at putting myself in your readers’ shoes (or I may even be part of your target audience), and for years I’ve been studying and applying the nitty-gritty aspects of grammar and punctuation that will set your work apart.

Hiring a professional editor is an investment that pays off by making you look more professional and giving you real confidence in the quality of the product you’re putting out there. When you hire me, you benefit from my concentrated attention on your own writing as well as all my years of experience working in the publishing industry, collaborating with writers, and editing a wide variety of content.