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WRITERS, AUTHORS:
Let’s take your fiction to the next level!
WRITERS, AUTHORS -
Congratulations! You’ve completed the first draft of your novel—or are well into it. Time for some professional input.
You can start with something as simple as a critique of the first 10, 20 or 30 pages, or a detailed edit of the first few chapters and analysis of your plotline. Professional feedback at this stage can save you many hours of work – and lots of money – later. I’ll point you in the right direction, with “big-picture” advice on effective fiction-writing techniques as advised by today’s writing gurus.
Or perhaps you’ve finished your first draft and done lots of self-editing and revisions already, and all you need is a final copyedit, with feedback and polishing from a professional editor.
Here’s what Andrew E. Kaufman, talented thriller novelist and fellow founder of Crime Fiction Collective, has to say about the importance of using the services of an editor:
This is an extremely important point and one I can’t stress enough. It doesn’t matter how good a writer you think you are. After numerous rewrites of a manuscript (which is just as important), you are too familiar with your work and have lost all objectivity.
An editor with a fresh and critical eye will bring things to your attention you never knew existed, both developmentally and in the line/copy editing. These are the people who will help bring a novel to the next level. I consider their work to be an invaluable part of the process.
And for those who say they can’t afford to hire one–I say you can’t afford not to. If you’re serious about selling your book, then this is a step you simply must take.
~ Andrew E. Kaufman, Sept. 30, 2011. www.AndrewEKaufman.com
My editorial services cover a full range of possibilities, from content editing with “big-picture” advice, through stylistic editing, to copy/line editing and final proofreading for typos and punctuation.
If you’re ready for some editing and your story interests me, I’ll provide you with a free sample edit of about 6-10 pages, no strings attached, so you can see how I’d handle your writing.
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WHAT I LOOK AT:
Here are a few of the many issues I look at and advise on in all my fiction editing:
Opening:
Is the first page compelling? Does it hook the reader in quickly? Does it situate the reader as to Who, What, Where and When, so they can quickly get into your story world and start enjoying your story?
Characterization:
Is your protagonist likeable, smart, resourceful, and strong enough to appeal to your readers, but with vulnerabilities and inner conflict? Are your main characters complex and three-dimensional, or flat and predictable, cardboard cutouts? Do your characters develop through the course of the novel? (Character arc) Are their motivations clear and plausible?
Point of view:
Is most of your story anchored in the viewpoint of your protagonist? Is each scene in one character’s point of view? Or is the viewpoint hovering above or ping-ponging among your characters, all in one scene (“head-hopping”)?
Plot and Scene Structure:
Do you have an inciting incident and a main story problem/question? Is there enough conflict? Do you have tension on every page, with rising stakes and ongoing complications? Are the scenes well-written and well-structured? Is the climax nail-biting? Is the ending satisfying?
Style and Pacing:
Does your prose meander along, trying to find its way? Is it awkward, too wordy, or overly erudite? Or is it clear, tight and compelling? Do you vary the pace, depending on the scene?
Dialogue:
Does it sound natural, like people in that milieu really talk? Does each character speak a little differently? Or do your characters all sound like university professors?
Logic and continuity:
Do you have sudden unexplained changes or discrepancies in characters, time sequences, and other circumstances? Do all the plot details make sense? Are your characters’ actions and reactions believable?
Grammar, syntax, phrasing, punctuation, spelling, and typos.
I’ll help you smooth out awkward phrasing to create a better flow of ideas. I’ll add the final polish to make your story publish-ready. I’ve been called “a precise grammar queen.” I know my stuff, but won’t let correct English trump your style or voice – this is fiction, after all, not a doctoral dissertation!
I specialize in editing thrillers, romantic suspense, mysteries, and other crime fiction, as well as action, mainstream, YA, and historical fiction.
Please click here to read testimonials from authors on my editing and critiques.
For information on how I work, please visit the Process page.
For a detailed description of each editorial option, please visit the Services page.
To read some of my craft-of-fiction articles, published on various writing blogs, please go to Writing Tips.
For tips on taking your fiction to the next level, as well as useful links, see my Resources page.
See down for info on writers’ conferences I’ve attended and some of my articles.
For the answers to a number of questions you may have, please read the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and answers on the Contact page, below the Contact Form.
For more information about Jodie, visit the About Jodie page.
Let’s work together to enhance and empower your writing — and get your book published!
Besides Crime Fiction Collective and my own blog, I’m also a regular guest blogger at Blood-Red Pencil blogspot, The Thrill Begins blogspot, and The Writer’s Forensics Blog; and my craft articles appear on Suspense Magazine’s blog, www.Publetariat.com and on various other blogs from time to time.
Facebook: Jodie Renner Editing
Twitter: JodieRennerEd
Visit my blogs: Crime Fiction Collective (with 9 others) and Jodie Renner Editing.
Contact me at j.renner.editing@hotmail.com.
Here are a few of my many “craft of fiction” articles:
20 Essential Elements of a Bestselling Thriller; Creating a Worthy Antagonist; Style Blunders in Fiction ; Writing a Killer Thriller, Part I; Show, Don’t Tell; Creating Compelling Characters; Act First, Explain Later; Those Crucial First Five Pages; Writing Effective Dialogue; Revising and Polishing Your Novel; Heightening the Suspense, Part I.
I’m a member of:
International Thriller Writers organization 
Sisters in Crime (SinC)