Welcome! At Comma Sense Editing, you will get more than an editor who crosses the T's and dots the I's. Any editor should provide the 4 C's of copyediting: clarity, correctness, coherency, and consistency. I also provide common sense. In other words, does this work as it is written?
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I bring more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper and freelance editor, with sound instincts honed throughout the years. I have edited hundreds of books, and worked with clients not only across the United States, but also authors in Britain, Canada, Australia, Spain, China, South Africa, and Israel. Distance is no factor! My clients have gone on to win awards, including the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award and the IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Awards), as well as been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger Awards, Edgar Awards, Bosque Fiction Prize, Royal Palm Literary Awards, RWA Daphne Du Maurier Award, Chanticleer Clue Book Award, International Latino Book Awards, and many others.

Why an editor? You may have read and reread your manuscript a dozen, or even a hundred, times. But as the author, your eye may skip over missing words, since you know what you meant. You may also be too close to your work to be objective. As an editor, I can pick up on repetitions, inconsistencies, holes in the story, wordiness, and other problems that a writer may have overlooked.

My aim is to keep your voice as the writer, while making it clearer and stronger. My services include everything from a light editing to more substantive rewriting and reshaping of the manuscript.

If you are interested in editorial services, please contact me through the contact page.

If you are an author new to editing, please check out my book, Publishing for Beginners: What First-Time Authors Need to Know. Visitors to this page can get a free PDF copy by signing up to my newsletter (see form below).

Below is an unsolicited testimonial from one client, filmed by the Editorial Freelancers Association, of which I am a member and teaching instructor.

​I hope to hear from you!
                                                                                                                                                         ~ Lourdes Venard 

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More About Me

What I Edit

​I was trained as a journalist, but now edit everything from travel articles to thrillers. My authors have won prestigious awards and their books have been on bestseller charts.

​I specialize in:

• Mystery and crime fiction
• Fantasy
• Science fiction
• Multicultural literature
• ​Young Adult
• General literature
• Nonfiction​

The Short Resume

In addition to editing, I am an instructor for the well-regarded copyediting program at the University of California, San Diego.  I also teach copyediting through the Editorial Freelancers Association, the largest group in the United States for freelance editors.

As a journalist, I was a reporter and copyeditor at Newsday, The Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Florida Today. I was part of copyediting teams for coverage that won two staff Pulitzer Prize awards.

I have a master's degree in media management from the University of Missouri and a bachelor's in journalism from the University of Miami.

I founded Comma Sense Editing in 2010. For my full CV, please take a look at my LinkedIn profile.

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