“You know what it’s like to come back to a hotel room in the afternoon and find that housekeeping has been there and everything is all fresh and put to rights? That’s how a copy editor would like you to feel when you see the editing. If you can view extra-duty editing as a mint on the pillow, all the better. What we don’t want is for you to feel insulted by the need for cleaning.”
– Carol Fisher Saler, The Subversive Copy Editor
With sentence by sentence and page by page feedback, I help you communicate clearly and powerfully with your readers.
This edit corrects grammar, ensures consistency and continuity throughout the manuscript, and prevents repetition, but my stylistic feedback goes far beyond addressing mistakes. I’ll also help you strengthen your voice and meet your specific goals for the story. Is it funny? Suspenseful? Tragic? Escapist? Informative? Together we’ll make it even more so.
Let’s shape this manuscript into the book you want it to be.
(For even more detail about what I offer in my line edits, check out this blog post.)
A free sample edit shows how my line-by-line feedback style applies to your writing.
I work in partnership with writers, respecting individual voice and perspective. My edits are made as suggestions with Microsoft Word’s comments and Tracked Changes features. (We can also use Google Docs or other file formats if you prefer.) The author decides whether to accept my proposed change, to reject it, or to use it as guidance in rewriting the text a different way.
To hire me for line editing, get in touch at tarkenberg199(at)yahoo.com with the details of your book. If “Edit” is in the subject line, the email will automatically go to my high-priority work folder.
Client Testimonials
“Working with Therese has been one of the highlights of the year. She is a gem! It takes a special kind of editor to handle a literary novel like mine, in that there’s as much going on below the page surface as on the page. Therese impressed me, not only with her meticulousness, her sharp mind, and her efficiency, but above all, she understood every single unspoken element I was attempting to convey and enhanced its execution. In addition to that, her fees are very reasonable, and she works fast. I couldn’t be happier with my editor!” – Anette N
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“Therese copy edited my novel and did a great job. She offered many helpful suggestions and continues to respond to questions in a timely manner. I highly recommend Therese Arkenberg if you need fast and accurate editing.“ – Michael E. Kmiotek
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“Therese was one of the beta readers for my new novel Spheria. The depth of her analysis and feedback were invaluable. She caught some very subtle continuity issues that I had not even thought of. Her love of sci-fi and technology also helped me in particular since this book was heavy on science. Last, the detail of her notes was amazing, nearly a paragraph by paragraph analysis of what worked and what didn’t. I already asked her if we could working together again on my future projects (and if you use her as a result of this recommendation, I get first dibs!).” – Jeff Jorczak (writing as Cody Leet)