Home Services Rates Testimonials Let Duke help you!   What kind of help do you need? Line Editing – This includes correction of grammar, spelling, proofreading, wrong word usage (such as your vs. you're vs. yore and their vs. they're vs. there) and typographical errors. Why is any of this important? Let's look at an example. I've heard some folks say, "What difference does a comma make?" "Let's eat, Grandma!" Here you can see laughing children, sitting at the dinner table, looking forward to the meal Grandma has prepared. That's a pretty picture, isn't it? – or – "Let's eat Grandma!" I see laughing children at the dinner table, but I don't like the expressions on their faces. Their little pointy teeth bother me, too. In this picture, Grandma hasn't prepared the meal, Grandma is the meal! I hope we can all agree that a comma can make a world of difference – to Grandma, anyway! Copy Editing – Clarity, continuity, consistency, tone, and fact checking are prime areas of concern to the copy editor. Have you ever read a story that where the hero's name changed for no good reason? He starts out as Matthew on page one but he becomes Michael on page seventeen? It's disconcerting, isn't it? How about a story set in the Civil War era? The dashing Rut Bettler rolls a cigarette and lights it with his Bic. What? We know Rut Bettler was a man ahead of his time, but Bic lighters won't exist for a hundred years! The crash you hear is the reader throwing the book across the room in disgust. Developmental Editing – Story structure, style, pace, logic, point of view, polishing, refinement. The difference between a story and a good story, a good story and a great story. We've all read works that just didn't quite do it for us. The story was okay, nothing you could really point to and say "Aha! There's the culprit! If only he hadn't misspelled that word, this novel would have been a masterpiece." In Developmental Editing, we'll shore up the weak places, straighten out the convolutions, make it clear whose story is being told, and polish it until it glows! Manuscript formatting – You know your manuscript is supposed to be in some "special" style, but keeping track of what the standard is today can be a genuine pain. And modifying an older story's format can be nothing short of a nightmare. Let me worry about all that so you don't have to. Kindle formatting – Anybody can format his own ebook. It's easy, just throw your word document into the universal converter and – presto! – you've got your book. But does it look like it was professionally produced? Not a chance. If you want a professional-quality product, give it to a professional. Contact me for rates. Not sure which category your needs fall in? Don't worry. Before we begin working together, I'll need an email with ten percent of your work – beginning on page 1 – or the first ten pages, whichever is less. I'll go through it, return it with all edits marked, and give you a FREE estimate. Once we both know what will be involved, we can decide whether we should work together. A professional manuscript is only a click away!