The Book Gardener

Writing is like seed growing in a garden. First, the roots grow down into the soil and anchor the plant in the ground. Good writing needs to be anchored in the form of structure. Next, a shoot grows upwards towards the sun, absorbing water and minerals. Your writing grows like the shoot as you create your story bit by bit, feeding it good ideas and fertilising it with nutritious language until it is fully grown and ready to blossom. To make your writing bloom, 'weeding' and 'pruning' is needed and that's where I come in with editing and proofreading.

Developmental Editing
When I developmentally edit your work, I look at the content of what you are writing and make suggestions for improvement. I look at the structure of your work and use the "secateurs" to help you restructure it if necessary by reorganising, adding or deleting sections. I also look at characterisation, point of view, narrative voice, tone, and style, and give you "fertiliser" in the form of suggestions to help bring your story to life on the page. You will receive a report detailing my suggestions as well as comments on the manuscript.

Copy Editing
For a copy edit, I look at your sentences to make sure you have clarity, flow, consistency and appropriate tone and style. I check facts, syntax, grammar, capitalisation, punctuation, spelling and formatting. This is like me checking for "pests and diseases" on the leaves of your manuscript and weeding out any unnecessary sentences. I also fertilise your manuscript with suggestions. You will receive comments and changes on the manuscript.

Full Edit
A full edit includes a developmental edit and a copy edit (pruning, weeding and fertilising). You will receive a report and comments and changes on the manuscript.

Proofreading
When I proofread your work, I look at the surface features of your writing – grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, formatting – and bring it to perfection. I look for repeated or omitted words and may suggest alternative word choices. This is like a final weeding of errors or inconsistencies. You will receive comments and changes on the manuscript. By now your manuscript will be ready to bloom!

The Book Gardener
I began growing my own writing from a young age. I nurtured my burgeoning skills over the years by writing short stories, poems, school and university essays and trying my hand at picture book writing. 

I obtained a Bachelor of Education and a postgraduate diploma in secondary teaching. I taught in a primary school for three years, later going on to pursue a career in libraries.

To further encourage the flourishing of my writing, I completed the 'Writing Stories for Children' course from the New Zealand Institute of Business Studies, gaining 'Excellence'. I also completed a writing mentorship, as well as a short self-publishing course. Since then, I have blossomed, writing and self-publishing four children's novels and completing a fiction editing course.

I live in Ashburton, New Zealand, with my husband and two small children, Caleb and Ada. I enjoy reading, playing the piano, as well as singing and solving crosswords, cryptic crosswords and cryptograms.

Contact Me
If you would like your novel to be pruned and weeded, please email me for a quote or use the contact page on my website.

[email protected]
www.rachelnixonediting.weebly.com