Fiction editing
There are so many crossovers between editing content for businesses and fiction editing – from conciseness and clarity to problem solving and attention to detail. And most of all, magic and humanity.
Writing and editing stories since 2002
Tim the copyeditor
I love helping people to create stories, elevating your voice and the parts you want to focus on. I’ve recently edited a spy novel, a horror folktale, an autobiographical novel and the first in a fantasy series. My own first story followed two witches floating their house down a river. Currently writing a social commentary set in Hell (much cheerier than it sounds).
“Tim provided in-depth developmental and structural feedback on my piece, providing a sharp eye for detail which ultimately bettered my piece and allowed me to realise its potential. His feedback was constructive, helpful and considerate, and his ability to identify subtle areas of improvement made an impactful difference.”
– Alexander Moore, development review of The Parasite: An Irish Folktale
Development review
Get recommendations and observations from a high-level read-through. I’ll check your plot, characters, suspense and structure are working well.
Line-by-line edit
Get a full set of tracked changes and comments – of anything and everything I’d recommend. From dialogue pacing and continuity to accuracy and sentence flow.
Focused edit
Just want a hand with one or a few things in particular? Maybe dialogue, plot, pacing, chapter order, character development? A great value-for-money option.
Query and synopsis
I know there’s a lot to say in very little space when you submit to publishers. After reviewing your story I can help you finesse your query letter and synopsis.
Flexible ways to work together
Reviewing and editing fiction is a wonderful part of my working life. I want to offer a value-for-money option where you get the best of my marketing, creative and publishing backgrounds. Here are some indicative prices – though I can also tailor a level of service that suits your needs.
For a novel
A typical development edit for a novel starts at £400. It’s £600+ for a line-by-line edit or £200 for an area of focus. And a query letter and synopsis review is free!
For a short story
A typical development edit for a short story starts at £150. It’s £250 for a line-by-line edit or £100 for an area of focus.
For some sample chapters
It’s £100 to edit a few chapters or review your story idea. You can then decide to continue if you’d like, or you can take those away and replicate the changes that work for you through the rest of your story.
“If you need a thoughtful, well-communicated and thorough fiction edit, Tim is the master of understanding characters and picking up on the subtle nuances of communication between them.
Tim caught issues in dialogue to improve the overall flow of my high fantasy novel and suggested changes and improvements to prose that have made all the difference to the overall quality. He found elements of the plot that needed clarification from a reader’s perspective and provided suggestions that perfectly fitted the vibe of the book. Tim will provide your fiction novel with the ultimate clear up, in a way that bolsters your confidence as an author.
Tim was able to get right to the heart of my novel and suggest thoughtful and authentic improvements to my short synopsis: a task that is notoriously difficult for any writer. He was also able to provide guidance around the content and structure of my query letter, should I decide to pursue literary agents or traditional publishers. This was hugely helpful in targeting the unique selling points of my book, organising the key components in a way that was impactful and, above all, keeping it snappy and within word count. Tim’s background in editing and marketing provided the perfect skill set for this.
– Genevieve Garrett, line-by-line, query letter and synopsis edit for a high fantasy novelFriendly, honest and most importantly, a lover of books and story-telling – Tim is born for this role.”