October was another busy month here at The Polished Page, with four books completed, several initial manuscript reviews carried out and further progress on a memoir I’ve been working on. I also found time to give my website a bit of a refresh.
Books
First up for the month was a novel from a first-time writer, Joyce Walker. Joyce had turned to writing as a way of coping with the grief of losing someone close to her. Her story, tentatively titled The Living Stones of the Harbour Wall, is set in her beloved Lynton and Lynmouth and explores themes of family, loss, love and personal growth. I worked with Joyce to smooth some of the phrasing, develop the characters and add more depth to the storytelling. As a first-time author, Joyce was also keen to learn from the editing process, so I included explanatory notes on grammar and other aspects of the writing that she could put to use in future stories. She was delighted with the edit and is now working on the revisions with a view to self-publishing in the near future.
One of the things I enjoyed most about this uplifting story was the way Joyce brought Lynton and Lynmouth to life – the people, the places and the events were described with great care and attention to detail and certainly made me want to visit!
Another book with a strong emphasis on family was Carol Hellier’s The Ward Brothers: Dynasty. This is the sixth book in Carol’s self-published series, and the time she’d spent developing the characters and their world really showed. Everything felt established and lived in, with characters whose histories extended well beyond this particular story. There were also some lovely links to her 1960s-set novels The Enforcer and The Governor, both of which I copyedited.
The Ward Brothers books are set in the 1990s, so I paid particular attention to period details to make sure no anachronisms slipped through. Carol was also kind enough to share the previous books with me so that I could check for continuity issues – something vital for a series featuring the same characters.
After that it was a return to the world of psychological thrillers with Danielle Ramsay’s latest novel. It was a taut thriller about a 111 health adviser who has to deal with a stalker. Danielle skilfully takes us inside the protagonist’s mind, exploring the effects of isolation and paranoia as she tries to rebuild her life after fleeing an abusive relationship. The story also highlights the abuse that call centre workers can face, particularly those working in emergency and healthcare services.
I had to keep a close eye on continuity to ensure all the breadcrumbs Danielle had laid paid off at the end (they did). With twisty-turny thrillers, keeping track of everything can be challenging, but I love getting stuck in and keeping copious notes on who did what, when and why.
My final book of the month was a psychological thriller, this time for million-copy bestselling author Keri Beevis. I’ve worked with Keri on six books now, and it’s always a joy. This latest novel is probably her most emotional yet, dealing with the trauma and guilt felt by a young woman who lost her family and shut herself off from the world.
A key part of this edit involved ensuring that the first-person sections didn’t accidentally reveal information the narrator couldn’t know – something that’s particularly important when maintaining suspense and keeping readers guessing.
In October, I also continued work on Samosa’s memoir (see September’s review for more details). We are still covering his childhood in India and some of the challenges he faced in the academic system. We’re now a few chapters into our collaboration, and it’s proving to be an emotional journey. I’m taking particular care to preserve Samosa’s voice and the cultural nuances of his storytelling while improving the clarity and flow of the prose. I’m also learning a great deal about Indian culture along the way.
Website updates
Some of my website pages hadn’t been updated in a while, so I decided it was time to make a few changes. The Books gallery in particular was getting a bit unwieldy. Having worked on over 200 books, I’d accumulated rather a lot of cover art, and the page had become something of an endless scroll! I’ve now reorganised it into genres, making it much easier to browse the books I’ve worked on. You can check out the new page here.
I created some new pages dedicated to my main editorial specialisms, including historical fiction and crime & thrillers. I wanted to do a bit more than simply list the genres I work with, so these pages explore some of the particular challenges involved in editing different types of fiction. For historical novels, that might mean checking period details, language and historical accuracy, while crime and thrillers often require a particularly close eye on timelines, clues and continuity. I’ve also included examples of books I’ve worked on, along with feedback from authors, to give visitors a better idea of my experience and approach. Hopefully, this will make it easier for writers to find an editor who’s familiar with their chosen genre.
I also published a new blog, Who Are They?, exploring the history of the singular ‘they’ and why its use isn’t nearly as modern as some people might think. From everyday conversations to mystery fiction and personal pronouns, it’s a fascinating little corner of the English language. If you missed it, you can read the article here.
Initial manuscript reviews
Not every author knows exactly what kind of editing their manuscript needs, particularly if it’s their first book. That’s why I offer a free initial manuscript review, allowing me to get a feel for the writing and recommend the most suitable service.
I then follow up with a free sample edit or proofread so authors can see how I work before committing to anything. It’s also an opportunity for me to assess how much work is involved and provide an accurate quote and realistic timescale.
I carried out several of these reviews during October, and a few have already led to bookings for next year. It’s always encouraging to meet new writers and hear about the stories they’re working on.
Looking ahead
The rest of the year is now fully booked, and January is filling up quickly too. There’s plenty of variety on the horizon, with psychological thrillers, romance, sci-fi, military fiction and action thrillers all lined up. One of the things I enjoy most about this job is never knowing quite what world I’ll be stepping into next!
If you’re working on a novel and thinking about professional editing in 2027, you’re always welcome to get in touch through my website.
Images: Cris Balincuacas; Tima Miroshnichenko; Kaboompics; Ivan Mudruk (Pexels)