I worked for 17 years as a newspaper writer and editor, mostly for small dailies. My last job was as the editor of a major weekly newspaper in North Carolina. I've studied history and fiction my entire life, and I'm well versed in AP Style, Chicago Manual of Style, and Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Proofreading has long been my strong suit, as typos and poor word choice seem to pop off the page for me.
Due to my many years of obsessive reading, I've also developed a strong ear for clarity and rhythmic prose. During my early days as a reporter, I was obsessed with improving my copy and spent many hours reading tip sheets from Poynter gurus such as Chip Scanlan and Roy Peter Clark.
All that to say, if you need an editor for your manuscript who will return error free copy, then I'm the one for you. If you need an editor to clean up your prose and make it readable, I can do that as well.
I am not looking for co-writing or freelance writing assignments.
If you'd like to hire me to proofread your text, or provide developmental editing, then please email me. My base rate is $4 a page for copy editing and $6 a page for developmental editing. Contact me at jsykes74 at icloud dot com.