The Annotated Copy Edit is one of our most popular services and has evolved over our thirteen years of working closely with authors.

The Annotated Copy Edit can be referred back to time and time again to address the skills needed to craft and enhance the creative content of an author’s manuscript. The edits focus on clarity of language, fluidity of writing style to keep up pace and atmosphere, emotion, tone and tension.

Notes and comments are inserted in the appropriate places on the manuscript to capture the essence and reasoning behind the editors thinking and refer to some or all of the following:

Repetition of words or phrases

Pace and fluency

Lengthy, clunky or overwritten sentences and paragraphs

Emotion, tone, tension and atmosphere

Repetition of concepts

Natural and punchy dialogue

Awkward transitions

Clarity in direction and exposition

Consistency of voice and tone

Suitability of language for target reader

Structure of speech including breaks in thought and action

Introduction of new ideas and overall readability

Chapter titles, their impact and suitability/relevance

Passive voice, use of first person or third person and consistency

Lengthy narrative, exposition or backstory

We usually recommend this service before moving on to the Technical Copy Edit. The Annotated Copy Edit is particularly aimed at authors who have revised their own work and feel they have gone beyond the appraisal stage. More about Translation Agency UK

COPY-EDITING (TECHNICAL)

Our experienced book editors are trained in the technical aspects of copy editing to help you through those final stages of adding the finishing touches to your novel.

A professional copy edit will ensure your manuscript meets the exacting standards required by any publisher or literary agent. This service is also ideal for anyone planning to self-publish their novel via Amazon Kindle or other online e-book self-publishing platforms.

The technical copy edit will focus on the grammatical aspects of your work and address sentence construction and punctuation. Technical copy editing will not touch on the creative development of the novel. The copy edit will cover:

Correction of syntax and grammatical sentence structure

Consistency of language including the use of British and American spelling

Consistency in spelling, hyphenation, numerals, chapter headings and capitalisation, punctuation, forms of address, use of italics and other relevancies

Internal consistencies throughout plot, setting and character traits

Internal timeline consistencies

We recommend that copy editing is one of the final stages in perfecting your work before sending it to an agent.