Experience / Love of Craft / Dedication
James Gallagher
- More than 400 manuscripts edited (click here for sample titles)
- New York Times and USA Today bestsellers among books edited
- Instructor of “Editing Horror” webinar at Club Ed Freelancers
- Presenter at ACES VCON24 and ACES Salt Lake City 2025
- Proficiency with the Chicago Manual of Style and publisher best practices
You’ve poured your heart into your work.
You deserve a professional edit.
Proofreading
The last look before a work goes to print, proofreading checks for typos, repeated words, spelling, punctuation, and formatting issues. Errors found here may have been missed in previous stages or may have been introduced during layout.
Copyediting
A rigorous edit, copyediting entails a check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, style, continuity, and consistency. Edits are usually made on screen with Track Changes, and a style sheet is provided for reference and further explanation of edits.
Manuscript Evaluation
With a manuscript evaluation, you receive a review of your manuscript and an evaluation of such items as structure, overall pacing and tension, characterization, POV, setting, continuity, and notes on awkward or confusing sentence structure.
Developmental Editing
A Big Picture look at your manuscript, developmental editing addresses similar items as those in the manuscript evaluation. But in addition to the evaluation letter, this includes page-by-page commenting in the document itself.
WHY CASTLE WALLS EDITING?
As with the stones that make up a castle wall, each word in a written piece must be carefully selected for strength and appearance. The accumulation of these words in sentences, paragraphs, and complete works results in magnificent structures that should be worthy of admiration, both for their utility and aesthetic pleasures. The walls of a castle protect those within, and my clients should feel a great deal of security when turning to my services.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“James is the best proofreader I have ever used. His attention to detail amazes me, and his turnaround times are just as impressive.”
— Renee Linnell, author of The Burn Zone
The 3 Pillars of
Serving the author
We want to build trusted relationships and establish Castle Walls Editing as a resource clients will turn to again and again. We want to be the invisible partner who helps clients achieve all their writing goals.
Serving the audience
If the audience is happy, the writer is happy. An understanding of the writer’s audience is vital, and editors must consider the intended audience when making editorial decisions.
Serving the work
We want to push the work as close to possible to its ideal state. We believe that each author has a vision for the work, and by helping the author achieve this vision, we are helping the text achieve its best possible form.
What level of editing do you need?
Contact Us
- CALL : 804-214-6227
- EMAIL : James@castlewallsediting.com
To start the editing process, fill out the form below. We look forward to hearing from you.