Positioning the idea
Clarify the audience, purpose, distinctiveness and the book’s central promise.
Working together
Clear thinking.
Candid feedback.
A book that stays yours.
My role is to help make your book clearer, stronger and more publishable while keeping it recognisably yours. I bring editorial judgement, publishing experience and constructive challenge. You remain the author and make the final decisions.
What I can help with
Support at the stage that matters.
Every book needs something different. We’ll identify the intervention that will make the greatest difference now, rather than assuming a full programme of work.
Developing the proposal
Strengthen the structure, chapter summaries, sample material and publisher-facing documents.
Developing the manuscript
Work on structure, argument, pacing, explanation, case studies and consistency.
Thinking through publication
Consider suitable routes, publisher conversations and the practical steps ahead.
Developmental feedback is about the book’s larger shape and effectiveness. It is different from copy-editing, proofreading and fact-checking. We’ll be explicit about the work you need and what the agreed deliverable includes.
How we’ll work
Structure without rigidity.
A good editorial relationship is candid, collaborative and practical. We protect momentum without pretending the creative process is always tidy.
Agree the task first
We confirm the scope, materials, timing, fee and expected output in writing before a new piece of work begins.
Work in manageable stages
A proposal, chapter or defined section is often more useful than waiting for a perfect full manuscript.
Share work in progress
Rough drafts and unresolved questions are welcome. Mark gaps, uncertainties and areas where you want particular help.
Keep a clear version trail
Use one current master file, with a date or version number, and explain what has changed since the last review.
Make feedback actionable
I distinguish essential reader-facing issues from optional suggestions. You can ask me to explain or prioritise any comment.
Protect time and momentum
Tell me early if your availability or timetable changes. We can reset the plan instead of letting an outdated deadline create pressure.
What I need from you
Expertise, evidence and openness.
Please provide the material needed for the agreed task, flag confidential or sensitive content, and identify permissions or factual checks that remain outstanding.
You are responsible for the accuracy of the subject matter, the rights to use material and final approval of the manuscript. I can identify questions, but I cannot independently verify every technical claim or secure permissions unless we specifically agree that work.
A useful handover
Tell me what the work needs to do.
- What this section is trying to do and who it is for.
- What you would most like feedback on.
- What is unfinished, uncertain, confidential or awaiting permission.
- Any AI assistance used, especially for research, analysis or wording.
- The next decision or deadline you are working towards.
Using AI responsibly
Use it to think and test, not to replace authorship.
AI can be a useful assistant, but the expertise, judgement, argument and voice should remain yours. Treat its output as provisional and keep responsibility for the finished work.
Good uses
- Brainstorm questions, examples or alternative structures.
- Test an outline for gaps, repetition or poor sequencing.
- Generate search terms and lines of enquiry to verify yourself.
- Use it as a reader to identify confusion or unanswered questions.
Use with care
- Check factual claims against original, authoritative sources.
- Treat rewrites as suggestions, not prose to paste in unexamined.
- Do not rely on it for specialist nuance, legal interpretation, quotations, dates, numbers or references.
- Check privacy, publisher and client requirements before uploading sensitive material.
Do not use it to
- Invent evidence, citations, quotations, interviews or experience.
- Generate substantial publishable prose without discussing it and checking publisher rules.
- Imitate a living writer’s distinctive voice or conceal material AI involvement.
- Evade permissions, attribution or disclosure requirements.
If AI has materially shaped research, analysis, structure, images or wording, keep a short note of the tool and how you used it. Tell me when you send the work and follow the publisher’s disclosure rules.
Ready to begin?