NESSA’S LAIR
EDITING SERVICES
MEET THE GRAMMAR NERD
I’ve always been an avid reader—I would be the kid who borrowed eighty books at a time from the library. After getting a Bachelor of History from the University of Calgary, I took a marketing and public relations certificate course from U of C in order to expand my skill set. I took all the editing classes available for this course and I was hooked. I wanted to build a career in the publishing world. I also had the opportunity to learn more about publishing through my internship with Parliament House Press. I am now a member of ACES: The Society for Editing, I freelance edit for Podium Entertainment, and I’m a contractor for Tessera Editorial.
TYPES OF EDITS OFFERED
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This is an evaluation of your manuscript as a whole. I will look at the big picture of what’s working and what elements we can strengthen. I will look at your hook, the plot, setting, characters, writing style, etc. I do not look at grammar or stylistic elements, unless I notice something is repeated throughout the manuscript.
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This is similar to the manuscript critique except I take a more in-depth look at plot holes, pacing, character development, tone, the hook, world-building, etc. I do not look at grammar or stylistic elements.
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I will look at word choice, sentence structure, paragraph transitions and flow, and readability for your audience. I will also make sure the language is appropriate for your audience and eliminate wordiness.
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I will look at spelling, grammar, punctuation, and the consistency of your manuscript. I also fact-check to make sure things like names and dates are accurate. I copyedit according to The Chicago Manual of Style guidelines.
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I will read through the manuscript and looks for instances of cultural misrepresentation, offensive content, bias, and stereotypes that affect the identity group I’m reading for. I provide authenticity reads for the following topics: biracial identity (Filipino and Polish), bisexuality, Catholic upbringing, interracial relationships, women’s issues, children of immigrants, and anxiety.
TESTIMONIALS
“Nessa did an absolutely FANTASTIC job copy editing Black Sheep. She was extremely thorough and delivered on time. Nessa provided rationale for her changes where appropriate, which was incredibly helpful for understanding why certain changes were suggested. She also picked up inconsistencies that I never would have noticed without her exacting attention to detail. I greatly appreciated her encouraging comments throughout the manuscript, which kept me motivated and totally entertained. It was so great to edit while also receiving her reactions to the story itself. Her communication was clear and she reached out immediately with any questions, and I was completely comfortable working with her, which is particularly important in this dark romance genre.
I 100% recommend Nessa for any editing job and will absolutely use her services again for my future works. To any authors considering hiring Nessa, I can say with absolute certainty that she will provide professional, thorough, detailed editing services for your manuscript.”
- Brynne Weaver, bestselling author of Butcher & Blackbird, The Diviner, A Shadow in the Reaping series, and Black Sheep
“Working with Nessa was been an absolute dream. She provides honest and constructive feedback in a way that makes it easy to implement, while still staying true to my author voice and goals. At the same time, she didn’t hold back on saying all the things she enjoyed, and she quickly became one of my biggest cheerleaders. I highly recommend Nessa to anyone in need of editing services.”
- Avina St. Graves, author of Fiery Little Thing, Death’s Obsession, and Skin of a Sinner
“I was incredibly impressed with Vanessa’s editing services. She did a Line Edit and Copyedit for a Middle-Grade book I’m working on. Her notes helped simplify and clarify my writing while keeping my target audience in mind the whole time. She was especially attuned to any language that could be considered offensive. Since I am writing for kids, I wanted to be as inclusive as possible. She met every deadline and kept me updated on her progress. I would highly recommend Vanessa’s services and would absolutely use her again.”
- Scott Weinstein, Co-Producer for Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update and author of the Team of Steves series
