Discover the secret to successfully publishing your book

Are you 100% ready to share your fiction novel with the world? Really? Are you sending your manuscript to publishers or agents who respond with a rejection letter?

See how our professional editors have helped over 50,000 authors like YOU.

You’re too close to your work to know what it needs to take your fiction book from good to excellent. After all, you’ve been living the plot alongside your characters and scenes. You need a fresh point of view – professional!

That’s where Certified Story Editors come in! It’s our job to strengthen your story arc and overall presentation while cleaning up the writing and critiquing your plot. Not only do we improve your manuscript, but we also help you avoid future storytelling snags. Become a strong storyteller with structural story editing from a Certified StoryCoach.

Certified Story Coaches to structurally edit your fiction book

Our team of Certified Structural Story Editors has a solid history of successfully published novels and manuscripts. These vetted and trained professional book editors have advanced degrees and extensive experience in book writing, proofreading, and novel editing.

We are confident in their work and offer a free editing sample, critique, and price quote. Simply email us a portion of your manuscript to get started.

Get a Professional Critique & Recommendation

Our Certified Story Editors are professionals with advanced degrees and ten years of experience

Our fiction editors have industry-proven experience in providing substantial edits in a variety of genres, including literary fiction, creative nonfiction, Christian novels, poetry, romance, westerns, sci-fi, self-help, children, and young adult – the list goes on!

With over ten years of experience in writing and editing, including a history of successfully published books and articles, we are confident enough to promise guaranteed satisfaction to all of our clients.

Professional editors for ALL types of fiction writing:

  • Fiction Books
  • Novels
  • Poetry
  • Children’s Books
  • Science Fiction
  • Romance
  • Black Genre / Urban Literature
  • Short Stories
  • Query Letters
  • Chapter Synopsis
  • Book Jacket Cover
  • Press Release
  • Author’s Bio
  • And more…

Four levels of Fiction Editing Services

Structural Editing is the best service for fiction writers. We evaluate the foundation of your novel to ensure it is strong. We evaluate every scene using a checklist for the 38 Story Elements.

Furthermore, we use a professionally licensed editing software to outline and assess every aspect of your story arc, characters, plot, and scenes.

You receive an in-depth assessment which will show you exactly where and how to fix the structural elements of your story. Story Editing focuses on the larger, overall developmental elements of your manuscript, such as

  • Story Arc
  • Key Scene Placement
  • Plot Structure
  • Story Strength
  • Scene Point of View
  • Character Development
  • Tone, Voice, and Dialogue
  • Pace
  • Setting
  • Readability
  • Organization & Development
Basic

Copy Editing

Your final edit before formatting and publishing

Recommended ONLY for confident writers who have completed all revisions

Necessary as your last edit before formatting

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Full description: Copy Editing

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Standard

Line Editing

Line by line editing of your revisions

Recommended before you share publicly

Necessary before submitting to literary agents or beta readers

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Full description: Line Editing

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Executive

Content Editing + Rewrites

All-Inclusive, Done-For-You (DFY) Content Edit with up to 20% sentence rewrites and in-line critique

Recommended for in-depth editing and extensive writing support with corrections which are Done-For-You (DFY)

Necessary when you need English writing help & comprehensive editing, plus honest feedback with professional in-line critique of your overall presentation

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Coaching

Developmental Story Editing & Critique

Evaluates the big concept of your story and answers the question “Is it any good?”

Recommended for feedback from a Certified Book Coach. Get an in-depth substantive edit to better structure and develop your story. You will also receive a professional summary letter critiquing your entire presentation.

Necessary for strengthening your story, while REVISING and organizing your narrative. Get a Certified Book Coach to assess and strengthen your storytelling.

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Basic Copy Editing

Basic Copy Editing includes checking your grammar, spelling, and punctuation for accuracy; ensuring consistency in your writing’s word choices, style, and compositional spacing; and eliminating jargon and repetitious words.

Basic Copy Editing is your FINAL edit after multiple revisions. You request this level when you are done. You have no further changes planned before formatting, proofreading, and then publishing.

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Standard Line Editing

Line Editing is your ideal choice when seeking professional editing services for ongoing revisions. Your Line Editor addresses your writing style, creative content, and use of language at the sentence and paragraph level.

Line Editing focuses on how you communicate with your reader. It corrects your sentence and paragraph structure, checks for subject-verb agreement, and inserts transitional phrasing as appropriate. Standard Line Editing includes our Basic Copy Editing services (correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, word usage; eliminating jargon and repetition; ensuring style consistency; and adjusting compositional spacing). Line Editing is a more technical editing style which adheres to your chosen style guide.

Your professional line editor improves the continuity and flow of your writing and support statements. You also receive in-line editorial remarks, suggestions, and feedback throughout your manuscript.

Line Editing is the writing industry standard. Publishing agents and university professors recommend this as the minimum level of professional editing prior to submitting for review and consideration.

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Advanced Content Editing

Content Editing is your ideal choice for completing your manuscript’s first draft when you desire honest feedback and thorough professional guidance on your overall presentation. Choose content editing for your first round of editing and always prior to peer review or public distribution as it is comprehensive.

Content Editing critiques your written presentation, flow/continuity, and consistency of thoughts. Your content editor provides professional, structural assessments and feedback on your manuscript throughout your document’s comments section. It ensures support of all statements, and it provides formatting according to industry style guides, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, etc. Your content’s structural edit includes basic copy and standard line editing which corrects spelling, grammar, and punctuation; reviews your word choice; eliminates jargon and repetition; guarantees writing consistency; revises inappropriate verb tenses; and inserts transitional phrasing.

 

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Executive Content Editing + Rewrites

Executive Content Editing is your ideal choice for advanced English editing corrections. This in-depth writing assistance encompasses Content, Line and Copy Edits for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and consistency of verb tenses.

You get our in-line professional Editorial Critique of your English writing strengths and challenges. You will receive sentence rewrites of up to 20% of your entire document, when necessary.

Executive Content Editing ensures you have a smooth English presentation which reads easily. Your in-line editorial critique evaluates your writing’s overall substance, organization, and presentation. You have insight into your writing, along with improvements made on your behalf. Upon completion, you can use the positive professional editorial commentaries to enhance your book marketing.

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Coaching Developmental Story Editing & Critique

Get a Developmental Edit with a Certified Book Coach who evaluates your story and gives you professional insight and instructions at the highest level. Strengthen your story arc, character development, and plot. We use a checklist of 38 elements for every scene for an objective edit to show you exactly where and how to strengthen your writing.

Our Certified Developmental Editors structurally organize and professionally critique your manuscript’s story. You get a high-level, substantive review with specific feedback for making revisions. Your book coach helps strengthen your presentation before you contact an agent. This allows you to overcome rejection due to common foundational weaknesses. Get help from an experienced publishing professional first.

Receive an in-depth Developmental Edit with analysis of your writing, reader engagement, and structural strength, plus a professional summary letter critiquing your entire presentation. The Developmental Edit includes an outline of your story arc with instructions for improvement. We also confirm your 5 key scenes and show you how to create the ideal story form. You receive a comprehensive evaluation of the word counts per scene and per character. Well recommend adjustments for your genre’s pacing to ensure theme consistency and overall balance. All of this is outlined in a professional summary letter which references your necessary revisions, highlights what you do well, instructs you where and how to solve specific issues, and explains why we recommend such. The developmental edit includes in-line changes, syntax rules, and feedback.

Developmental fiction editing focuses on story development, such as the plot, scene, point of view, characters, tone, voice, dialogue, pace, setting, readability, organization, and more. It is the most in-depth editing service available for storytellers.

Get a certified Story Coach who has unique publishing experience to assess your writing. They will developmentally edit and analyze your novel to show you HOW to make your story shine.

Delivery time is approximately 5-7 weeks.

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We have helped writers from all over the world

We believe in personalized communication and customized consultation and support. These aspects are often mentioned in the reviews we get. Our director of customer service, Kathy, usually gets very positive feedback from our clients for her quick and professional responses and customer dialogues. Unlike other companies, we would like to talk to you!

Our latest reviews

“My editor gave great advice! He made a bunch of changes that made wordy sentences better without changing the tone of the character. I am still working through the changes, as some will affect the following books. I am excited to work with Michael on future projects.”
Taryn Kitchener, Canada
“The free sample gave me confidence that the expense would be worth the editing service, and it was. Andrea did a thorough edit of my manuscript, and it's much stronger now.”
Heidi Gillette, USA
“Professionalism, personal communication, cost, guarantee.”
Beth Carol Staten Island, USA
“Very professional and competent editor.”
Uwe Freiburg, Germany
“I have been using First Editing's services, and overall, my experience has been positive. What I liked most about their services includes the following: Free Sample: The provision of a free sample was immensely helpful in assessing the quality of their work before committing to a service. Quality: The quality of the ...”
Michael Tel Aviv, Israel
“Joanne did a masterful job of editing my manuscript. She not only patiently corrected my atrocious punctuation, grammar, verb tenses, capitalizations, spelling, and formatting, but she also caught inconsistencies and inaccuracies I had overlooked, even after reading the manuscript countless times. She made excellent suggestions on rewording for clarity and ...”
Delmar ALBUQUERQUE, USA
More Fiction Editing Reviews

Meet your book publisher’s deadline

When what you are writing carries ANY level of importance, you just can’t afford NOT to have each sentence written as perfectly as possible. Make sure you meet that next deadline by enlisting professional book editors who achieve extraordinary results according to your schedule.

Professional fiction editors at your service!

Professional fiction editors read and examine every single word while considering each sentence, paragraph, character, plot point, and argument as they stand individually and within the entire manuscript.

Your writing is professionally polished while remaining true to your voice and intentions as an author. Even a near-perfect piece of work can benefit from a keen editorial eye that provides basic corrections while weeding out illogical statements and inconsistencies.

You’ve done all the hard work of getting the writing down on the page. Now is the time to put your feet up and let our editors correct any oversights.

Get Started Today With a Free Sample
Client Reviews
“I appreciate the editing which caught several questions of why or made me support my research. It was a very helpful and professional editorial review.”
Cynthia Whitehouse, Texas, USA
“My editor gave great advice! He made a bunch of changes that made wordy sentences better without changing the tone of the character. I am still working through the changes, as some will affect the following books. I am excited to work with Michael on future projects.”
Taryn Kitchener, Canada
“I like the personal communication with my editor! It's been a couple of years since I had my first book edited through FirstEditing, and I'm glad I could use the same editor this time too!”
Vincent Osaka, USA
“Lee Ann was amazing. From the sample piece that she did to my full book, her feedback was so assuring and professional.”
Tiffany Sandy Ridge, USA
“Thank you very much for the valuable comments and suggestions. It helped me substantively improve the content of the document. ”
Christelle Sion, Switzerland

Writing, editing, and publishing go hand in hand

You’ve put your heart and soul (not to mention time, stress, and money) into birthing your new literary creation. Now it is time to review each word gently and ensure that it sings on your behalf.

Don’t let your book be overlooked or dismissed because of grammar, punctuation or other presentation errors which can be quickly and easily corrected by your book editor.

Want to see how this works? Get a free editing sample of your writing.