Stephanie Wilson Editing

About Me

I love words and the magic that can be created with them. Fueled by this passion, I am committed to helping authors polish their work and make it the best it can be, by providing high-quality editing support. In doing so, I honour and respect their voice and vision. My specific interest is to support emerging Canadian writers.

I have thirty years of experience as a senior policy analyst and manager in the Canadian government. Writing and editing were integral in these roles, which included drafting, reviewing, and editing written policy documents in the federal government context for both senior and public-facing audiences.

I used my critical, analytical, and writing/editing skills to ensure that the content was accurate and the storyline was coherent, logical and appropriately worded to ensure clarity and flow of the content. As a manager, I delivered constructive comments on content and provided editorial feedback to staff and internal clients on draft documents.

Since retiring from the public service, I have supplemented these finely honed editing skills with professional editing courses as part of George Brown Polytechnic's Editorial Skills Certificate Program. I have successfully completed the Editors Canada Editing Essentials Test, which demonstrates my ability to professionally work as an editor. I am also a member of Editors Canada.

I have provided editing services to some authors (two of them repeat clients), including developmental editing, stylistic editing, and copyediting. My Client Testimonials speak to the quality of my work, my attention to details, and my excellent interpersonal skills.

My Background

I hold two university degrees – a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

My university education, coupled with my many years of experience, has allowed me to build a strong set of analytical, editing, and review skills which have been supplemented with professional editing courses and experience.

Professional Affiliations and Volunteering

I am a member in good standing of these national professional associations:

As well as editing fiction manuscripts, I work on other projects on a volunteer (or contractual basis):

Menopause Foundation of Canada (current, part-time contractual)
United For Literacy (current volunteer)
Editors Canada Marketing and Communications Committee (current volunteer)
Twice Upon A Time (former volunteer)

I have long been an avid reader and in my spare time, I enjoy reading and writing reviews for Netgalley . Netgalley is the recognized industry-standard for digital galley distribution and book marketing.

Services

I offer developmental (structural), stylistic, and copyediting services. As outlined in Editors Canada Professional Editorial Standards 2024 , the general purpose of each is to:

Developmental (structural) editing

Assess and shape the material to improve organization and content.

Stylistic editing

Clarify meaning, ensure coherence and flow, and refine the language.

Copyediting

Ensure correctness, accuracy, consistency and completeness.

Please note that I do not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in my editorial work and will not feed your manuscript into AI models for any reason.

Testimonials

"I've been working with Stephanie Wilson for over six months now as she's helped me with my first self-published novel, The Archman: Book 1 - Nameless Legend. She's provided a variety of editing services, including developmental, stylistic, copyediting, and proofreading. Working with her has been both easy and informative; it's clear that she is bringing a lifetime of editing experience to her work. Needless to say I'll absolutely be using her services for my future projects; we're already in the process of making an editing timeline for books two and three of The Archman. They have been essential for my self-publishing journey thus far, so I would highly recommend them to anyone else that is looking for some thorough, precise, and well-rounded editing."

Thomas J.A. Watson, The Archman

"I am so appreciative of Stephanie and the editing services she provided for The Ridiculous: Book 1. Stephanie was not only easy to work with but also went over and above in answering all my questions, re-revising sections, and helping me organize and refine my ideas, which truly brought out the best in the book. Her punctuality, kindness, and reliability made her a true gem in the editing process. Thanks to her efforts, The Ridiculous reflects the vision Jeffrey Kippel and I had in mind and gave us the confidence to publish it, leading to it becoming a #1 bestseller in multiple categories. Thanks Stephanie, you are a true gem."

Mindy Heather Blackstien, The Ridiculous Series

"If you are reading this to decide on which editor to pick for your cherished manuscript, stop right now, and pick Stephanie Wilson. She is meticulous and thoughtful in her approach. She has a strong literary brush that figuratively polishes work beyond expectations. I will gladly use her services again."

T.J. Thompson, The Throwback

Rates

My current flat rate is $40 Canadian per hour. I use the Editors Canada rate guidelines for estimating the amount of time a particular project may take as outlined below:

Developmental (structural) editing: 2 to 3 pages/hour ¹
Stylistic editing: 2 to 3 pages/hour
Copyediting: 4 to 7 pages/hour

I provide a complimentary sample edit (1000 words) for prospective clients. This allows me to gauge the state and complexity of the text and you to see my editing style and assess the quality of work.

Please note that I use a written contract, based on Editors Canada's agreement template , for all of my clients.

Contact Me

Ready to get started? Have questions about my services? I'd love to hear from you. You can reach me at stephaniewilsoneditor@gmail.com.

Helping your story to shine through high-quality editing support.