Michelle Shelfer – Editor

I know how scary it can be to entrust your cherished manuscript to an editor. Be assured that as your editor, I will work hard for you. I will honor your voice as author, even as I honor your readers' need for clarity.

I bring a holistic approach to editing. That is, I dig in and do whatever needs to be done. If I see developmental issues, I bring them to your attention. If I see copy issues, I fix them. We will work closely together to clean up your writing and crystallize your meanings so you and your message shine through.

It's hard to know all the crazy rules of writing, particularly the specialized treatment of theological issues. I edit books dealing with Biblical topics, including Hebrew and Greek treatment. I use CMS, SBL, and Cambridge, conforming to American standards. I work in InDesign and Word. I handle footnote and bibliography formatting and double-check all Scripture and Biblical references for accuracy. I believe God's Word needs to be handled with nothing less than excellence.

You will submit a Word document to me, and I will read it at least three times, using "Track Changes" in the Review tab. We will discuss areas that need work. Once we've settled all issues, you'll receive a final Word document by our deadline, ready for proofing and typesetting. After that, we can discuss a new collaboration to give you a fully typeset layout made in InDesign and exported as a pdf ready for press.

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"I’m so grateful for you and your wisdom and guidance that are honing and polishing this book into the best version of itself. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else but you! Thank you for working with me on this!" - Reedsy Author

"Sometimes you represent my thoughts better than I do—the sign of a great editor." - Ronald Kirk, Theological Editor

"Michelle, I can’t even qualify the greatness of your work. I was most honored to work with you, because you are the fastest and most detail-oriented editor I have ever seen." - Nikola Dimitrov, author, The Four in One Gospel of Jesus

"Michelle carefully edited our manuscript, cleaning up the verbiage while preserving the voice and intent of the work. I HIGHLY recommend her to you. She will improve your writing and you will have confidence that it has been treated with respect and care." - Myles and Katharine Weiss, authors, When Heaven Hits Home

"Michelle is an invaluable asset to authors and publishers. She has a keen intelligence coupled with deep sensibility that enables her to quickly assess the intent and audience of a written work and to clean up, tighten, redirect, and generally edit for better readability and authority. She can alter tone of voice, smooth ragged edges, and focus attention on the important intentions of the author, all with the additional attribute of good grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation." - Kent and Katie Philpott, Earthen Vessel Publishing