Editorial & Book Coaching Services
If you’d like to develop your voice, create unforgettable characters, craft page-turning tension, or polish your story to a shine, E A Carter is here to help!
“Having E A Carter as my developmental editor has been the best investment for my work and myself as an aspiring writer.”
Developmental Editing
A developmental edit looks at the overall structure and content of your book, the changes you can make to improve it and gives you helpful feedback so you can make the changes with confidence. It does not involve making corrections to spelling and grammar, reorganizing or cutting content, and rewriting awkward passages (that happens in the copyedit).
Every client has different areas to address depending on where they need to strengthen their craft and what they want to achieve with their story. I work with each client to focus on these areas and help them to develop the skills to break through what’s holding them back.
Snapshot of one of E A’s developmental edits. More than 25 pages long, this document came filled with information and guidance personalised to the client’s learning goals and story needs.
E A’s developmental edits provide authors with comprehensive professional feedback, complete with examples of issues extracted from the book, and ways to improve them with helpful pointers, guidance, a bird’s eye view of what’s working and what’s not. All structural issues are addressed, including pace, story and character arcs, plus how to get your story beats working for you.
Once you receive your developmental edit, you will be able to see where the story needs work and how to fix it. The feedback is especially designed to encourage you, give you clear direction, and inspire you to fully engage with your story and characters.
Not sure what to do?
Book a free 15 minute call with E A to discuss your book project, writing needs, and goals to find out if E A's services are right for you.
No obligation, no sales, just a chat. Like it should be.
Copyediting
Copyediting is the final step before production. It should be done after all other edits take place. Do not pay for this until you are ready to publish. This is the final stage!
In your copyedit, E A will read through your book, check for and correct:
Technical consistency in spelling, capitalization, font usage, numerals, hyphenation. For example, is it e-mail on page 26 and email on page 143? Or do you use both British and American English spelling variations interchangeably, such as favourite vs. favorite?
Continuity errors and make sure that all loose ends are tied
Inconsistency within the story. This includes character description, plot points, and setting. Does each character stay true to his own description throughout the story? Are there conflicting descriptions of the house? For example, have you described the setting as “a yellow brick home” on one page but “a weathered wooden home” on another page?
It is highly recommended that you run your manuscript through an online grammar checking tool such as Grammarly before submitting to your editor for its copyedit, otherwise there will be an additional fee for proofreading.
Book Coaching
“E A Carter did a fantastic job guiding me through writing and publishing my non-fiction book on how I healed my ulcerative colitis with the power of food. I not only achieved all the goals I hoped to achieve, but I felt understood and my needs were met. I 100% recommend working with Elizabeth. It was a very positive writing and publishing experience for me.”
E A’s book coaching service offers clients the opportunity to have an experienced author and self-publisher help them through every stage of writing and publishing their book. She works closely with them by first understanding their needs and goals, then tailors her support and guidance to exceed expectations.
For fiction writers, she helps with idea development, plot structure, character creation and arcs, dialogue, story arcs, themes, description, editing, cover design, interior print design, and much more.
In the case of non-fiction, she helps writers and coaches generate and create a framework for their content so that it moves from one point to the next in a streamlined, engaging fashion, plus how to write a compelling blurb and use their book as a powerful lead generator to attract clients to their business.
E A prides herself in giving writers powerful tools they can use and reuse in their writing career, which enable them to take control over their progress, and build on the skills they’ve gained working with her. Her clients gain the insight, motivation, and skills to transform their idea into a finished, polished book they can be proud of.
What does it cost?
You can work with E A choosing the services you want a la carte, or you can choose a premium package that offers a fantastic opportunity to get the support of your own personal professional editor for up to 9 months, and maximise the value for your money.
Remember investing in a professional editor not only helps to improve your story, but you gain new skills and develop as a writer!
E A Carter is a Partner Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors. Her self-publishing services are vetted by ALLi and follow their Code of Standards which aims to encourage the highest standards of ethics and excellence across the self-publishing community. You can read more about my committment to giving you my very best here.
Get a feel for what editors charge by genre.
Want to learn more about the costs of editing and what to expect? Reedsy has a great resource including a handy calculator you can use to give you a feel of what experienced editors charge for different genres of fiction and non-fiction.