Jessica Levey
writer, artist, editor
Developmental editing and Line editing
I specialize in line editing, developmental (substantive) editing, and editorial assessment.
I also love fact-checking.
This means I polish second or third (or tenth) drafts and get them ready to publish in print or online, or help get messy, early drafts or story outlines on track for future revision.
Contact me here to request a quote or to set up a consultation.
So, what kind of editing are you ready for?
Writing is a process, and so is editing!
Make sure you get the right type of editing for your needs.
Is your draft messy and new?
When an editor focuses on the big picture, including what your story is about, how it's structured (it's bones), and how your plot points and characters are developed by the narrative, that's called developmental editing, or substantive editing, and can be further broken down into editorial assessment and structural editing.
This type of work is my jam!

Is your draft in pretty good shape after a few passes?
When you've made one or two passes at your draft yourself, and you're confident that your story works on the page, you're probably ready for copy editing or line editing. These are slightly different roles, but this level of editing gets your draft polished for publishing, free of glaring grammar errors or misspellings, and flowing well from line to line. Copy editing focuses on mechanics and rules, line editing leans more in the direction of style and flow. I love this work, too!
Is your draft pretty much ready to go, but you want to make sure it's perfect?
The last stages of editing include proofreading, fact-checking, index editing (for non-fiction and dense works), and formatting. These come after the heavy lifting of the early stages, when you're close to a final draft, and ensure your work really shines, looks professional and credible, and is accessible to a wide range of readers. I personally love (love!) fact-checking and proofreading, but do not specialize in indexing or formatting.
In the beginning... How I got started in editing
I took my first editing job in 2012, as a freelancer working with the (now re-branded) small press Third Place Press, helping local and emerging authors prime their pieces for the daunting world of self-publishing. I continued working with Third Place Press for years, and was thrilled to watch as it transitioned into the now thriving VertVolta Design + Press under the creative eye of long-time bookseller and designer Vladimir Verano.
Over time and with more professional experience, I began taking on new clients independently and specializing in key areas of the editing process. In addition to new authors, I met and worked with business professionals polishing their online portfolios, entrepreneurs and educators publishing instructional manuals and self-help materials, and technology and science experts writing for public audiences.
But more and more, I noticed many of the manuscripts I found attached in emails weren't much farther along than first drafts, in need of substantial revision before they would be ready for the fine-tuning of a line editor. In consultations with new clients, I met writers struggling to put pen to page, or with outlines and false-starts to stories languishing in kitchen drawers. I realized this is where my passion lies... at this early stage of the process. The big picture work: development, structure, assessment, and coaching. Helping cobbled-together drafts and messy paragraphs find their cohesive, shining footing, and helping writers get motivated and working.
Projects
Fiction/Artistic Projects
"Post - Rattle"
Editing services provided: Proofreading
Collection of poems
Copyright 2016, Julia Donald
Halley's Promise
Editing services provided: Copy editing
Full length manuscript, Novel: Historical Fiction
Copyright 2016, Brandon Bagley
Monolith
Editing services provided: Assessment/Development
Full length manuscript, Novel: Fantasy
Draft copyright 2016, C. L. Perry
A Shank in the Bank
Editing services provided: Developmental/Line editing
Full length manuscript, Novel: Crime/Mystery, Pulp, Humor
Draft copyright 2016, Judith Fawcett
The Familiar Algorhythm [sic]
Editing services provided: Copy editing
Speculative essay, academic work
Copyright 2016, Meghan Trainor
Madam Wanda Comes to Kenwood
Editing services provided: Developmental/Copy editing
Full length manuscript, Novel: Crime/Mystery, Pulp
Copyright 2013, Judith Fawcett
Growing Up in Shelton, And Beyond
Editing services provided: Ghost writing/ Developmental/ Copy editing
Full length manuscript, Memoir, Historical Non-fiction
Copyright 2013, Charles Runacres
A Wedge in the Hedge
Editing services provided: Developmental/Line editing
Full length manuscript, Novel: Crime/Mystery
Copyright 2012, Judith Fawcett
(This list is not comprehensive.)
Non-Fiction/Technical Projects
Who Wrote Shakespeare?
Editing services provided: Copy editing
Literary essay, academic work
Draft copyright 2017, Thomas Coad
The Human Niche
Editing services provided: Copy editing
Sociopolitical essays, academic work
Copyright 2016, Thomas Coad
How to Make Money from Rural Land Property
Editing services provided: Copy editing/Line editing
Instructional manual
Copyright 2016, Nicholas Maslaney
jiteagbro.com
Editing services provided: Copy editing/Line editing
Portfolio content and linked web pages
Updated May 2016, October 2016, June 2017
Tristrategy Inc.: Global Management & Consulting and Tech Blog
Editing services provided: Copy editing/Line editing
Articles on science, tech, global management strategy
Copyrights 2012-2015
Supervisor A. Green
UX Research Project
Editing services provided: Copy editing
Confidential research documents for mobile software application
Copyright 2015
Coordinator J. Agbro