Deborah Shaw Editing and Proofreading

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Deborah Shaw Editing and Proofreading

I provide copyediting and proofreading services for authors who write about travel, adventuring, and It is the final step before publication.

My aim is to help you tell your story while not altering your ‘voice’. I approach my work with enthusiasm and empathy, pointing out what’s working, as well as what could be improved. When something you write makes me laugh or gasp or tear up, I’ll tell you!

✒️ What is copy editing? Copy editing involves reading through the work for style and consistency, as well as spelling and grammar. Changes o

r suggestions are made on a sentence by sentence, or paragraph by paragraph level.

✒️ What is proofreading? Proofreading checks for spelling and grammar mistakes, missing punctuation, and formatting errors such as line spacing and paragraph breaks.

03/02/2025

I finished listening to The Impossible Climb over the weekend.

I went into it not being a fan of free soloing, and I came out of it still not being a fan but at least understanding it a lot more.

The book has a fascinating structure. It's part memoir, part biography, part history. All three parts work well.

I got my history fix through the account of rock climbing in the US and Europe, and the people who pioneered routes and climbing systems.

The author's friendship with Alex Honnold adds extra depth to the biography part.

And the memoir aspect was an added bonus! Mark Synnott writes thoughtfully on the climber's life and how egos and personalities sometimes clash, sometimes come together.

Definitely recommend!

30/01/2025

This chicken is an escape artist! I don't know how she's getting out of the chicken yard, but she's going off on her own adventures.

She at least knows how to get back into the yard.

I'll be at my desk and see a flash of orange out the window. Sure enough, it's a chicken just wandering and pecking.

29/01/2025

How long should your book be?

The short answer: as long as it needs to be. Sorry for the vague answer!

Your primary goal is to tell a compelling, well-paced story that keeps readers turning the page. If you can do that in 50,000 words, great. But if you need 80,000 words, that’s fine too.

I go into more detail in my new blog post. DM me for the link 😀

23/01/2025

Book rec! Lebanon Days, by Theodore Ell.

Theodore came to Lebanon as his partner took up a position at the Australian Embassy in Beirut. Together they explored the city and country, listened to residents tell their stories, and watched the October Revolution take place.

Then the pandemic happened.

Then the explosion happened.

This book is a gorgeously written account of a city, and country, that has been through more than its share of tragedies and disasters. It's beautifully written.

There's also a cat 😺

21/01/2025

Like a lot of authors and small businesses, I'm at the whims of the social media overlords/oligarchs, their algorithms, and politics.

While I have a nice calm space carved out here on Insta, I know that the scene can change rapidly. Maybe you feel the same.

I've been enjoying writing my newsletter and sharing my thoughts about book publishing and adventure writing. Want to join me? You get:

🌲 writing tips
🌲 encouragement
🌲 book recs
🌲 recaps of my mini adventures

Let's stay connected! DM me abd I'll add you to the list, or head to the newsletter link in my bio.

📚

20/01/2025

I love looking through my spreadsheets and seeing what I've achieved over the year. Here's a breakdown of my 2024 numbers:

➡️ I worked with 6 new writers, 7 returning writers, and edited/proofread 2 books for 1 publisher.

➡️ I edited 754,847 words, give or take!

➡️ My longest project was a whopping 100,300 words.

➡️ The longest I spent on one project was 67 hours (and it wasn't that 100k-word manuscript).

I've already beat one of those numbers: I'm currently working on a manuscript that's 170k words!

If publishing if your adventure story is your goal for 2025, I can help! DM me and let's chat. We can figure out what kind of editing you need and take it from there!

12/01/2025

A solid year of travel and adventure reading wrapped up in pretty pictures.

Here's the list:

🍄 Books & Islands in Ojibwe Country, by Louise Erdrich

🍄 Hadrian’s Wall, by Adrian Goldsworthy

🍄 The Camino for the Rest of Us, by Tim Mathis

🍄 The Cold Inside: A Story about Mountains, Friendship and Doubt, by Paul Hersey

🍄 An Eastern Tailwind, by Jack Few

🍄 A Wild Moose Chase, by Ken Tustin

🍄 Everest, Inc.: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World, by Will Cockrell

🍄 The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, by David Grann

To give you a sneak peak into what I’m reading in 2025, I have just finished Lebanon Days, by Theodore Ell. And I’ve started Around the World in 80 Years, by Ranulph Fiennes.

Happy reading!

09/01/2025

If you've written about an incredible, unbelievable journey you've been on, you need to convince readers that yes, it really happened!

You can do that by writing convincingly and authentically. Even better if you have other sources that can back you up.

One of the ways I help adventure writers is asking questions in the manuscript.
➡️ Can you clarify what happened here?
➡️ Checking if this elevation/time/detail is correct, because a paragraph up you say something different.

I can help work out what sticky questions readers may have so you can put forward your best writing. DM me if you want that second pair of eyes on your story.

This quote has been attributed to many people, mostly Mark Twain, but this particular wording comes from Amy J. Schneider in The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction (page 192).

15/12/2024

I raced through The Lost City of Z, by David Grann. Wonderful writing, deep research, bonkers story.

I also listened to a podcast from The Ancients about Amazon archeology and civilations, so between that and this book, I've learned a lot!

09/12/2024

What's your favourite thing to fill your tramping (or hiking) mug with? Share in the comments.

Now that I'm an Adult(TM), the only time I drink Raro is when I'm tramping 😅 Sometimes you just need that sugar rush to get you to the hut!

02/12/2024

You've seen my posts here on Insta. Now get me in your inbox!

(Honestly, you get more of my personality in my newsletters than what you see here too 😅)

What do you get?
- writing tips
- encouragement
- book recs
- recaps of my mini adventures

To sign up, DM me or head to the newsletter link in my bio.

See you there!

Address

Dunedin

Website

http://deborahshaw.co.nz/

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