expertise | accuracy | support
BOOK EDITING
I specialize in editing book manuscripts in all genres except children's and comic books. I am passionate about my clients' work and support them from idea to shelf.
I earned my bachelor's degree in English from the University of Montana and my master's degree in Writing: Book Publishing from Portland State University, one of only eight graduate publishing programs in the nation. I am skilled in copyediting and developmental editing (see below). I have more than a decade's experience professionally editing print media of all kinds, many of which have landed on bestseller lists and won national awards.
Today my true love is book publishing. My clients range from self-published authors to major publishing houses, such as Bloomsbury Publishing, the original publisher of the Harry Potter series.
Publications have featured my writing more than 100 times, and I've been the recipient of an editor's choice award and the James Welch Jr. Memorial Award for outstanding writing.
I love the sun, road trips, and music.
I am based out of Missoula, Montana and am terrible at chess.
You should be able to trust your editor and know I'm on your side. My role is to provide expertise and accuracy, tell the truth, educate, encourage, and support. I'd love to strengthen your manuscript, giving it the best chance of getting on shelves for booklovers everywhere. I respect authors' visions for their work, and my editing preserves their unique voices.
That's me. Well, that's me on a good hair day.
I provide premium book editing services at competitive rates.
Missy provided excellent insights regarding aspects of my novel's plot, character, and pacing. Her expert eye caught errors in grammar, spelling, and usage in my manuscript that made it clear she truly cared about my project."
—James Briggs, author (fiction)
COPYEDITING
$12/1,000 words
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING
$19/1,000 words
Email MissyLacockEditorial@gmail.com to discuss your project today.
SERVICES
COPYEDITING
My goal for copyediting is to make copyedited books error-free.
I follow the four Cs of cleanliness (clarity, coherency, consistency, and correctness) and enforce The Chicago Manual of Style.* This includes copyediting for general typos, correct punctuation, subject-verb agreement, parallel structure, grammar, capitalization, tense, hyphenation, spelling (Merriam-Webster), etc. This edit also includes copyediting for style (clarifying meaning, polishing language, and editing line-by-line for smoothness and clarity while maintaining author’s voice and style).
The COPYEDITING PACKAGE will include:
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the fully copyedited, clean manuscript with comments
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an editorial letter detailing consistent errors, as well as how to get published traditionally or self-published
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track changes instructions
* I edit the manuscript using the most recent edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), which is the standard stylebook of choice in the industry. It is considered the “Book Publishing Bible” and indeed is much larger than any Bible. All standards are in the CMOS, from how to write numbers in every unique instance to when to use an en dash. It's my job to know the CMOS well and look up anything in question so your manuscript is as consistent and professional as possible.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING
For developmental edited books, I'll offer thoroughly evaluated manuscripts for "big-picture issues," including plot, characters, dialogue, argument, audience, and more.
The DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING PACKAGE will include:
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FICTION chapter notes for every chapter: title, length, summary, queries, character notes, dialogue notes, language notes, suggestions, and "good stuff"; NONFICTION chapter notes may also include notes for content, organization, argument, audience, etc.
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an editorial letter detailing big-picture issues, as well as how to get published traditionally or self-published
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track changes instructions
