Institute of Professional Editors

International Fiction editor based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia

 

 

Are you looking for quality editing for your project? The Script Doctor is at your service! Liz will read and suggest edits for literary fiction, thrillers, historical fiction, SF, speculative, dystopian, fantasy, horror, young adult, and crime. She also advises on non-fiction projects, such as lifestyle, historical and memoirBased in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, Liz works with clients worldwide.

 

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I work on the premise that story functions the same way across any number of genres, so whatever you write, I can offer the same level of help. I can advise on the mechanics of detailed historical research and equally, on the challenges of creating a unique futuristic landscape.  See my clients' publications here. 

 

Before booking, please note: I recommend setting aside your newly-finished manuscript for a minimum of three months. This will help you to return to it with fresh eyes, to give it a final edit. Problems you didn't previously notice with characters, plot and sentence structure should be easier to spot after a 'rest' from the script. Ideally, you should’ve had your work critiqued (perhaps in a writing group), or at the very least read by a friend or relative who has offered honest feedback. Edit your manuscript as many times as it takes to ensure it is the best it can possibly be. Then, when you can go no further on your own, you're ready to book The Script Doctor. I can help you to take your work to the next level.

 

How I can help you:

I provide two services: Reader's Report, and Developmental Edit. 

 

The Reader's Report

Reader's Reports (sometimes called structural edits) comment on the structure, characters, pace, plot and language of your work. A Reader's Report is a structural overview which assesses the strengths and weaknesses of your project. Areas for improvement are suggested in a detailed report, often with worked examples where appropriate, but the manuscript itself is not altered. 

 

The Developmental Edit

 

A Developmental Edit is a more detailed version of the Reader's Report. It includes at least one comment on almost every page of your manuscript, as well as a reader's report. Anywhere the tension picks up or lessens, anywhere the dialogue is great or perhaps needs to be reduced, or indeed anything else which comes to mind as the story unfolds, is noted on the manuscript in margin comments. This allows for a very specific (rather than a more generalised) focus as to things which are working well, and things which might need some attention. 

 

If you require alterations to your manuscript to be done on your behalf, then you need a Line Edit. I include a sample line edit in almost every report I produce, because it's so helpful to illustrate how to amend grammar and punctuation, and how to stay focussed and increase tension. But, I only currently offer a full line edit service for established writers who are already working with a publisher. 

 

Contact me:

Fill in the Contact Form HERE, then I'll be in touch to discuss the best approach for editing your novel or non-fiction, and to tell you how much it will cost to evaluate or edit. All projects are of different length and require different amounts of input, so every quote is individual.

 

If you're a writer-in-progress and your work isn't yet finished, but you'd like some editorial input or advice, take a look at The Writing Coach page. The Writing Coach is designed to help with work-in-progress, or to advise on short chunks of your novel or memoir. Read my testimonials here.