Taking Bookings for 2025

My calendar is now open for bookings in early 2025. If you've developed your WIP to a stage where it will be ready for its professional edit, drop me a line and we can chat about your options. You can also avail of a free sample edit.

A sample edit allows the writer see if a particular editor’s approach suits their specific requirements. On the other hand, it gives the editor a chance to determine the writer’s level, how far the manuscript has been developed, and how much work needs to be done to bring it forward.

It’s important to understand that a sample edit is just a partial view of the editor’s service, with mine being a three-phase operation entailing a substantive line-edit, followed by a deep-focus copy-edit, and finished off with a comprehensive run-through that sees the work ready for its final rewrite and pre-release/submission prepping.

What the writer receives in the sample edit is a step inside the first phase, where undeveloped material is shaped and cleansed of all first-fix issues. The recommendation, of course, and one I always make, is for the writer to connect with at least half-a-dozen editors so they can build a fairly solid comparison between several professionals’ work methods and approaches.

If the writer likes my sample and wishes to commission me, we then have a chat about what lies ahead. I am always booked into the near-distant future, but time flies and it’s usually only a short hop before work begins. I expect half-payment up front, with the remainder due before the completed first edit is returned. What happens after that is up to the client. If they have the time to focus on the rewrite, I’ll suggest a soft deadline to work towards. If life means work is stretched out, it’s not a problem – I know how things are in that department and will always work within the client’s timetable. If it takes a few weeks, months, or even a year or more, I’m good with that. My priority is to develop the work-in-progress to its full potential, and having the writer fully on board ensures that will happen.

What do you have to do? Email two chapters, from different parts of your WIP, as a Word document to clearviewediting@gmail.com and I’ll provide a sample edit from one.

Client reviews: Clear-View Fiction Editing (writingfromtheoutsidein.blogspot.com) 

My website: Clearview Fiction Editing

First Chapter Three-Phase Edit

Have you doubts about your opening chapter to your novel? Are you unsure about your writing, your characters, your story? Send me your first chapter and I will edit it through three phases - a process which will leave it highly developed, allowing you to see how your writing can benefit from such a comprehensive approach. When I return your edited submission, you rewrite it, applying my suggestions as you see fit, before sending it back to me for its second round of edits, a phase which is as thorough as the first. You then repeat the process with my second edit before returning it to me for its final round, and when you've rewritten that, you'll be able to fully appreciate just how far your piece has come from the initial submission.

I charge by the word. All you need to do is submit a Word document of your first chapter, along with a synopsis of your novel, to clearviewediting@gmail.com and I will read through the submission, give you a quote, and if you agree, we're good to go.

I have worked as a fulltime substantive editor for well over a decade, collaborating with dozens of writers from across the globe, and my reputation as a professional who cares for his clients speaks for itself. My client reviews below will confirm that.

Client reviews: Clear-View Fiction Editing (writingfromtheoutsidein.blogspot.com)

My website: Clearview Fiction Editing

It's Worth the Wait

I always make room in my schedule to provide sample edits for writers interested in seeing if my editing approach meets their requirements. And I’m a fan of writers approaching several editors in their search for one that suits them. It’s a healthy practice, and no editor will hold it against you for contacting as many as you like. It’s part of the wonderful process that is script development, and all part of bringing a top-quality product to the reader.

When a writer likes my editing approach and decides to commission me, some come in hard and fast, expecting me to begin more or less there and then. It goes without saying many are disappointed to learn that their editing slot may not become active for several months because the simple reality is that my work calendar is usually booked out into the relatively near future, with ‘relatively’ being the important term. For me, the months fly in because I’m always busy with first edits and rewrites, but the writer’s focus is honed on their work-in-progress they’ve probably been developing over the last year or so, maybe longer. In that regard, they feel the time more than I do, and the prospect of waiting ‘so long’ for the first edit can prove daunting.

That’s why I encourage writers, through my Twitter and Fb pages, to look ahead while they’re developing their early draft, so when they book an editor they have the potential wait of several months to bring their wip as far as they can before submitting. That way the wait is progressively filled, often with the writer applying tips from my sample edit to the rest of their wip.

So, dear writer, if you’re currently working on your early draft, now is the time to connect, sending me one or two chapters from your wip. Then, if we decide to work together, you won’t feel frustrated at the inevitable wait before your editing slot becomes active. Drop me a line at clearviewediting@gmail.com and we’ll take it from there.

One-Page Synopsis

 

Apart from my proven and popular three-phase editing service, I also offer a separate, affordable service to tighten and polish your synopsis down to one page. Why? Because, in my experience, many writers find it relatively easy to create a multi-point synopsis, except it often fills three or more pages, and we all know agents/publishers prefer the synopsis to be on the one page – nice and tight – with all superfluous elements taken out so pertinent plot-progression and character-arc details gain enhanced impact.

If you’re interested, send me your synopsis in a Word file, which I will read to see how much work is required. Then I’ll furnish you with my proposed fee and you can decide if you want to commission me. If we agree to work together, I’ll pull your synopsis into shape and return it to you, and you get to return it to me for another pass after reviewing it.

My details are below:

My email: clearviewediting@gmail.com

My website: https://clearviewfictionediting.com

Catch my reviews on my Fb page: https://www.facebook.com/clearviewfictionediting

A Little Green Therapy Goes A Long Way

I took a well-deserved break from work today and drove out to the wonderful Hazelwood demesne in Yeats' Country, just outside Sligo Town. It has to be one of my favourite places in the world, a rustic walking trail around a woodland peninsula on Lough Gill. It doesn't matter what time of year I visit, when the forest is skeletal in winter, flushed with green life in summer, or in the height of autumn's ochre-rich decay, it still infuses me with its magic, soothing all the hard edges developed from hours of intense focus as I edit through my working day. 

The photo above is a view from the bench at Sector 13, a peaceful spot I've come to love over the twenty years I've walked the loop. Just sitting there, breathing it in, savouring all aspects of the moment: the birdsong; the rustling leaves; glinting ripples across the water; the ever-changing shadow vista of the hill opposite; and the otherworld held within reflections, it leaves me...connected, content, and relieved of the weighty stresses of real life.

All creative souls know the benefits of taking time away from the work station, and there's no better way to do that than by losing yourself in the arms of a green therapist. Breathe deep and allow the softness of the moment hug you, for as long as it takes. Believe me, it's worth it. After my visit, I'm ready once again for the world, and hungry to get back to work.

Visit my website, or read through my blog to get a better idea of my editing approach. If you want to chat about your work in progress and having it professionally edited, drop me a line at clearviewediting@gmail.com - I'm always happy to correspond about writing and editing.

 

Taking Time to Step Away

Today, I took the morning off. Why? Simple, really, all work and no play makes one's brain shrink and one's nerves singe from the heat generated by the constant intense focus required to do my job. To make a novel, short story, or memoir the best it can be, I need to go deep and wide to ensure that nothing is missed, and sometimes an unscheduled stepping away from the workstation is necessary to keep the standard high, and to retain the enjoyment I get from my work. Seriously, if I didn't enjoy what I do, I'd close shop and start looking for a job in a... No, that wouldn't happen, mainly because I've traveled a long road to this point and know where my strengths lie - in righting the written word.

I phoned a friend and we drove to a nearby village for a late breakfast in the Nook, a small but wonderful restaurant in Collooney that takes pride in looking after lovers of good food. Believe me, we were well cared for. Then, accompanied by Cú, my trusty canine assistant, we made our way to the sublime Rosses Point, a curved beach that guarantees no cobwebs are left after a forty-minute walk, with lots of ball-throwing to keep Cú happy. Overlooked by the all-seeing Ben Bulben mountain, we were blasted out of it by fresh Atlantic winds, along with hail, rain, and sun showers, confirming what all Irish people know: that it's common to experience all the seasons in one outing.

So, my friends, by all means work hard, but look after your stress levels and mental health. Step away from the furnace of the job when needs be, and take yourself back to nature, whether that's watching ducks in the park, climbing a hill, or getting blasted out of it on a windy beach in the northwest of Ireland. It works. I'm ready to return to the grindstone to do what I'm good at, bringing manuscripts through the developmental process to a point where they're ready to be prepped for submission or release. I'm at clearviewediting@gmail.com if you need me.

Taking Bookings Now

I'm currently taking bookings for my late-summer/autumn schedule, so if your wip will be prepped for its professional edit by August, or after, and you wish to avail of my services, send a sample chapter (up to 3000 words) to clearviewediting@gmail.com and I'll return a free sample edit so you can decide if my editing approach suits your requirements. If you're already a client, you know what to do.

My editing package is three-phase. The first is a deep-focused developmental line-edit where everything is open to review, and I mean everything. This first fix digs into the very foundation of the story, ensuring you receive a solid framework back to build your rewrite from.

The second phase goes as deep as the first, making sure your rewrite works, continuing to develop character arcs, and generally bringing the holistic project forward.

My third phase, while not an official proofread (you'll need one before you submit or self-publish), is as comprehensive as the previous edits, this time with a sharp eye on surface elements. By the end of this, your wip will be highly developed, with your final rewrite all that's required to bring it forward to pre-release prepping.

See what my clients think of my services...
https://writingfromtheoutsidein.blogspot.com/2017/11/take-my-clients-word-for-it.html

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