. I am a professional journalist and writer with over 20 years full-time experience. I enjoy editing the novel manuscripts of new authors. Many of my clients are retired people turning to finish their dream of publishing their first novel after many years of working on it on and off.

. I will edit your finished manuscript to bring it up to a professional level, ready for agents, publishers or self-publishing. You don't want to let yourself down by using a draft that still requires a final edit.

. What I offer is simple and specialist. You email me over your first three chapters for editing and feedback. The cost to you will be confirmed when I have looked at it and you will need to pay this upfront for me to do the work. I will print your copy off, edit it and mail a copy back to you in the post - with some notes.

. You will see the difference a professional polish makes and, usually, want to send me the rest of the novel - otherwise the quality may markedly drop off on the fourth chapter after you incorporate the edit!

. As well as getting editing, you get to improve your writing skills for life - dropping small, unknown bad habits you may have had with punctuation and spelling etc, as well as realising and eliminating any deeper flaws that a professional reader, like myself, will spot.

. It's better for you, after incorporating (or rejecting!) my editorial corrections, to go ahead and proudly self-publish or to send your book to an agent/publisher who will see you as less of an amateur and be less likely to "switch off" at the prospect of having to put so much time in to edit the work to publishable quality.

. You will be handled sensitively and given encouragement to get the job done.