Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, their only capital.—Thomas Jefferson
Welcome to Compass Rose Horizons.
We offer expert proofreading, editing, book design, eBook formatting, and transcription services.
If you’d prefer to have a printed or typed copy of your book proofread instead of having us use track edits on an electronic file, we can bring out the red pens and do it “old school.”
Book Editing
Do You Need a Book Editor or a Proofreader for Your Manuscript?
Your book is finally done and you’d like to see it in print. You’re ready to send it out to agents and publishers for review but you’ve heard the sobering statistics. The top publishers receive thousands of manuscripts each week. An aquisitions editor has very little time to review each individual submission, so your manuscript needs to stand above the competition. Excessive typos and weak grammar will doom your book. Even if it’s a terrific story, and you have a true narrative flair, you’ll have a hard time finding a home for your book. While an editor cannot (and should not) promise you will sell your book if it is proofread first, he or she can help you polish and improve your manuscript before you send it out to be reviewed, allowing your story to shine.
We use the track-changes and comments tools of Microsoft Word to edit your book. If you would rather have us indicate the changes by hand, we can edit a printout instead. We provide three levels of service, as summarized below. (These are also described on our Editorial Rates page, where you will find our current monthly specials.)
Express Proofreading
This is a good option if the manuscript for your book has already been reviewed by a professional copy editor and you only require a quick, final look for minor typographical errors. Most of our clients who request this level of editing have already had a first edition of their book released and would like to come out with an updated edition. Before sending your manuscript to a literary agent, publisher, or before you go to press, let us review it for you one last time.
Basic Proofreading
If you are confident about the general structure of your book and just want the language to be “cleaned up” a bit, basic proofreading might be what you require. This service includes editing for spelling gaffes, general typos, punctuation glitches, capitalization blunders, and convoluted grammar. If all you are interested in is having your book read for mechanical errors, this is the level you should get.
Before the advent of the personal computer, the typewriter was an author’s best friend. The Chicago 3 was first produced by The Chicago Writing Machine Company in 1903, updating their earlier The Chicago model.
Extended Proofreading / Line-by-Line Copyediting
This is our most popular level of editing. In addition to everything offered with our basic proofreading service, your book will be reviewed for structure, flow, word choice, repetition, and discrepancies in plot. The review might include rewriting sentences for clarity, rearranging paragraphs for better flow, or providing suggestions for overall readability.
To review our current pricing, go to Editorial Rates. If you are ready to get started, Contact Us for more information.
Who Will Edit Your Book?
Chicagoland native Joanne Asala has worked in publishing since 1992. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Iowa and is certified in technical writing and editing. She is the senior editor of Compass Rose and handles the majority of book editing, but if there is a book or manuscript that she feels is better suited for another editor, she will work with you to find the right editor for your project. To learn more about the types of projects she’s worked on and to see samples of her published titles, visit her Resume and review a few Testimonials.
