Editing and design for your self-published book
Sea Leaf Book Editing can help you
get your book ready for publication.
“Editing should be ... a counselling rather than a collaborating task.
The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say
to himself, ‘How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?’
and avoid ‘How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?”
― James Thurber
Derrick Anderson
Author of
Miss Eva Palmer, Arriving
You guys were great to work with and
had good, sound suggestions. My book
was finished in a timely and
professional manner.
The experience was delightful, and
perhaps we'll work together again soon.
J. Kent Boseman
Author of The Law of Blood
The number one complaint of agents and editors is a sloppy manuscript. Sea Leaf Book Editing will fix your manuscript, upgrade your manuscript, and make sure it’s thoroughly presentable. They are very thorough and helpful and easy to talk with, and they stay in touch throughout the editing process.
Sea Leaf Book Editing is a confidence builder.
Author of
Hello, Wilmington
I'm absolutely delighted to share my experience working with Sea Leaf Book Editing on my first children's book.
Shelagh was beneficial in ensuring the words in my book were age-appropriate for young readers and that all grammar and punctuation was accurate. When it came time for final proofing and review of the artwork, Shelagh was helpful in pointing out potential issues before going to print.
Shelagh was not just an editor, but a wonderful collaborator who respected the spirit of my story while adding her expertise and knowledge. She was a pleasure to work with and I highly recommend Sea Leaf Book Editing to fellow authors.
André Brillaud
co-Author of The
Autograph Book:
Goorthy, the irish hero
Sea Leaf Books edited and designed my
first fictional historical novel dealing with the Irish fight for independence. I have
written many scientific papers but this
book was the first novel I have ever written.
I was fortunate to have chosen Shelagh
and Sea Leaf Books as they were firstly competent and then accommodating, friendly, and efficient. When I write again it will be Sea Leaf Books that will be my editor.
Well done, Sea Leaf and Shelagh, and thank you.
Author of Harold's field,
A People at The Source
of a River, and
The Chair Beside the Bed,
and co-Author of The
Autograph Book: Goorthy,
the irish hero
Because of your skills and timeliness I had the reassurance I needed to publish my book. Now in the queue to be printed, I am looking forward to a high quality product.
I highly recommend your services.
Your input increased my confidence and inspired me to publish a quality book.
Christian Clavadetscher
Author of The Red Hot Grind Show
When one endeavors to write a novel,
particularly a first novel, it quickly becomes clear that a tremendous amount of courage, fortitude, and grit are required, and that’s just to start the damned thing. Sticking with the process and seeing it through to completion requires these things in even greater measure.
After all the weeks, months, or years that it took for you to write that final word on the last page of your manuscript, you may want to show your friends and family what you’ve done and get their opinions. You will likely find that this exercise, whilst it might provide you some of the validation you crave, will not do much good in making your manuscript better (any more than the spellcheck feature on your computer caught all the misspellings and other errors you made—and trust me, it didn’t).
What you really need after all that effort, after all that toil, is to submit your novel to somebody who is intimately familiar with the publishing industry and loves working with other writers. You want to show it to somebody who will be honest with you and is committed to making your manuscript the best it can possibly be.
Allison and Shelagh at Sea Leaf Book Editing are just these kinds of people. They will work tirelessly to read through your manuscript to weed out every quotidian grammatical and lexical error. They will identify weak passages and discuss ways to improve them with you. They will make sure the words you choose are the words you want, that your work actually says what you want it to say. They will be your faithful partner in making your work worthy of an agent’s interest and a publisher’s attention.
So, if you have a manuscript that you want to bring to the world, I strongly recommend contacting the wonderful folks at Sea Leaf Book Editing. Thanks to them, I have a first novel that I am truly proud of.
Landfall Writers' Group
Author of
Moments of life
Our Landfall Writers’ Group used Sea Leaf Book Editing to help us meet a deadline for publishing our book, Moments of Life. Shelagh was wonderful to work with and set a schedule for us. We had no problem getting the book on time thanks to her diligent efforts.
Working with a group of writers can be challenging, and everything went extremely well. We will be using her services again, both as individual writers and as a group.
—Charlotte Hackman
