Catherine Dee - Editor

I can help! What qualifies me to work on your book?

I've been an editor of nonfiction books for adults and kids at a small publisher, EarthWorks Press. These titles included The Recycler’s Handbook, The Women’s Voting Guide, and Kid Heroes of the Environment.

I'm also a published author of nonfiction books, so I know what you're going through. I wrote five inspirational books to help teen girls build their self-esteem and pursue their dreams. The Girls' Guide to Life was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller. The Girls' Book of Wisdom won awards from the American Library Association, New York Public Library, and Disney Adventures.

I've also perfected my copy editing and proofreading skills at technical companies, including HP and Google.

As a copy editor and proofreader, I'm known for my ability to:

● Correct grammar errors, spelling mistakes, style errors, and typos that others may miss
● Simplify long and wordy sentences, removing words you don't need
● Suggest ways to simplify jargon
● Create a more conversational tone

When I'm your copy editor or proofreader, you can expect me to be:

● Straightforward with suggesting corrections (which you may accept or ignore)
● Not afraid to say what I think you could clarify or improve (I'll put comments to you in the margins)
● Passionate about helping you get your message out
● Attuned to editorial details (or, as I like to say, "In the weeds")
● Cognizant of the bigger picture: I'm not a developmental editor, but I may identify ways you could improve your message and point out concerns about content
● Approachable and easy to talk to
● Attuned to editorial standards: I loosely follow the Chicago Manual of Style
● Appreciative of your flexibility on the due date (I'm often juggling projects)
● Efficient; possibly completing the work before the deadline

I'd love to help you with your adult nonfiction book about basically any topic. I'm especially passionate about working on books that help people find and nurture relationships, help women and girls become empowered, and uplift and inspire regular people to cope with everyday things and reach their goals.

A few testimonials on my work:

"I’ve gone through everything you did a few times now and had to reach out. THANK YOU!!! I am so appreciative. You went above and beyond anything that I expected. I found myself nodding to my laptop as I read your recommendations. You truly helped bring this book to the next level. I will not hire anyone else for my books from here on out…that is, if you are open to working with me again. :)" —James DiNanno, author

"I have nothing but good things to say about this editor. I found her comments and feedback thoughtful. I appreciated the way she understood the intent of certain sections and how to make the words flow better for a specific audience. I'd definitely work with her again and highly recommend her!" —Virginia Goodhart, author

"Catherine has become my go-to teammate for editing. She not only provides an excellent edit, she asks questions about my writing, which makes me think a little differently while guiding me to use more relevant words....I can't say enough about her work. —Steve Radentz, author

"Catherine is a solution-oriented oasis of positive energy—a real joy to work with." —Kevin Steen, content manager, Google

If this all sounds good to you, I'd love to bid on copy editing or proofreading your nonfiction book. My rates are competitive with those of other established professionals, and I think you'll be pleased with the results.

I look forward to helping you make your book fantastic!

Cheers,

Catherine

P.S.: Here's a set of tips I've created for nonfiction book authors. Let me know if you have questions!

47 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Nonfiction Book Before Having It Copy Edited

Writing is a process that's similar to the act of peeling an onion. In my experience, getting writing to flow correctly and make sense almost always requires multiple drafts and tons of revisions.

The amount of “polishing” you can do before hiring a copy editor could make a big difference in the number of red marks and suggestions you receive.

Want to make your book as awesome as possible for your copy editor? Here are ways you can get it in shipshape:

1. Write in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, which will make it easy to track changes.

2. Start strong. Begin each chapter with something intriguing, entertaining, or reader focused, such as a question, quotation, or anecdote.

3. End each chapter with a “summing up” that’s interesting and leaves your reader feeling good.

4. Peel the onion. If you tend to write “backward,” throwing your thoughts onto the page and eventually arriving at the point you want to make, consider doing a second draft to restructure all that information. Start with the main point, or at least clearly allude to it.

5. Directly address your reader as “you” and make the book as focused on their needs as possible.

6. Don’t use “we” or “us” to refer to humanity or a subset of people (for example, those who suffer from a particular condition). By doing this, you appear to assume that everyone is exactly the same, and it can come across as condescending and alienate readers who don't subscribe to your way of thinking.

7. Addressing your reader directly and as much as possible. Don’t change from “I” and “my” to “we” and “our” or “you” and “your” in the same paragraph. Ideally, stick with focusing on the reader ("you") and not you or your experience.

8. Lead your reader. Make sure every single sentence in a paragraph relates to the ones before and after it. Make sure every paragraph relates to the ones that come before and after it.

9. Get to the point. Cut out extra words, sentences, and paragraphs that aren’t relevant or adding value for your reader. The shorter and sweeter, the better.

10. Don’t start a sentence with “This” or refer to “this” if it’s not clear what the “this” is.

11. Be elegant. Avoid ending a sentence in a preposition.

12. Don’t repeat yourself or refer to something you said earlier (“As I wrote earlier…”). Don’t reference information in other books you’ve written.

13. Be understated about yourself. Don’t quote yourself in the text or above it. It’s better to quote celebrated authors and celebrities (even if would consider yourself to be one). Don't subtly market your services or other books you've written to the reader.

14. Cite the source if you’re referring to a statistic.

15. Be concise: prune every sentence of unnecessary words. For example, instead of “Why is that?” write “Why?”

16. Keep paragraphs short (3–5 sentences).

17. Keep sentences relatively short.

18. Break up dense text by adding subheads.

19. Avoid making generalizations (for example, “We’re all so busy!”).

20. Make sense. Have you left out any key words? Will your reader know what you’re talking about?

21. Be logical. Make sure each sentence and paragraph leads to the next thought.

22. Transition smoothly. Don’t sporadically switch topics. At the very least, insert a subhead to denote a new topic.

23. Write informally. Use words that people will understand. Imagine that you’re having a personal conversation with one of your readers.

24. Use contractions (“You’ve”, “Can’t”) for a friendly, informal tone.

25. Delete most details about yourself (unless you’re writing an autobiography). Save the personal anecdotes for the introduction and maybe the end.

26. Avoid sounding biased: sexist, racist, ageist, misogynist, elitist. For example, don’t assume your reader is male and married with kids.

27. Fact check all your material, including the spellings of people’s names.

28. In chapter titles: capitalize major words (this is called “headline case”).

29. In subheads: capitalize only the first word (this is called “sentence case”).

30. Emphasize words by italicizing them.

31. Emphasize the right words: only those that are begging to be emphasized.

32. Don’t use ALL CAPS for emphasis (it’s the equivalent of shouting).

33. Don’t use italic as a different font.

34. Don’t overuse exclamation points. Use them for occasional emphasis to indicate points that are truly exciting. If you use them too often, they lose their effectiveness.

35. Avoid the future tense (for instance, “You will learn about this in Chapter 2.”). Instead, use the present tense. (“I cover issues in Chapter 2.”)

36. Assume that you are your reader and read the book from their perspective.

37. Have friends and family members read the book and give you their candid input.

38. Make your content interesting. Put effort into your phrasing. For example, don’t write a subhead that’s a single word.

39. Don’t plagiarize. Credit ideas as appropriate. Rephrase others’ thoughts in your own words.

40. Don’t be preachy. Don’t tell readers that they “should” do something.

41. Write for all levels: Make sure your content would make sense to a 6th grader.

42. Do a spellcheck.

43. Do a grammar check.

44. Hire a developmental editor before having the book copy edited to ensure that it’s ready for detailed editing.

45. Use one space between sentences (not two).

46. Review this checklist.

47. Have fun! Enjoy the process of working on your book, whether it takes you two months or two years.