It all depends on what you want me to do – assess, edit or proof-read.
Assessment involves reading the work and providing a report. It’s similar to structural editing (see below) only without actually doing any editing. The report will detail any areas that need work, eg character development, language, grammar and plot, while also outlining the work’s strengths.
There are two kinds of editing I can do: Copy or Structural.
Copy editing involves going through the document line by line looking for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, consistent styles for headings, captions etc. A basic copy edit will cover spell-checking, punctuation and grammar. A substantive copy edit is the basic plus checking the formatting.
Structural editing involves getting into the nitty gritty of the manuscript or document. In non-fiction - does the content flow sensibly? Is step B the logical successor to step A or should they be the other way around? In fiction - is the hero travelling a thousand miles across the land in a day on horseback? Is the heroine wearing a blue dress at the beginning of a conversation and a red dress by the end? Do London Underground trains come to a screaming halt when a passenger pulls the emergency brake? (In case you are wondering, the answer is no.)
Then there is proof-reading.
The last person to see the document before final printing is the proof-reader. They receive a “proof” copy of the document, in other words exactly as it’s going to look when printed (including the fancy fonts), and check that all corrections have been made and that no other errors have slipped in during the typesetting process.
I will not rewrite. I will not do your research for you. That is not my job. (Be aware though that I do spot-check facts if the setting is contemporary.)
My job is to guide you in the right direction to make your story stand out on the slush pile.
I will be using Microsoft Word’s “Track Changes” feature which will highlight the changes in red. You can accept or reject these changes as you wish.
On hard copy I will mark changes in red pen. I will include a list of the proof-reading marks used when I return the document to you.
I will also include a list of notes explaining any changes I have suggested that are not simple spelling or punctuation errors.
Please be aware that any changes other than spelling, grammar or punctuation that I suggest you may ignore at your wish. They are only suggestions.