Testimonials

Susan did an excellent job of proofreading my latest novel, and even kindly offered to read the first book in the series so that she was up-to-date before starting work. I really appreciated that, especially when she caught an important continuity issue. As a proofreader myself, I know how difficult it is to spot errors in your own work when you’ve been so close to it for so long. Susan was very efficient and stuck to the schedule she had promised, which again was so helpful at the last stage in the publishing process. I would be very happy to work with Susan again in the future, and to recommend her to other authors.
Julie Stock, Author

After self-publishing two novels I realised that next time I would seek the advice of a professional editor and proofreader. I chose Susan Cunningham of Perfect Prose Services. I could not have made a better choice.
Susan is thorough. Every little error in punctuation and spelling is spotted, better phrasing is suggested and mistakes in the storyline are highlighted. Nothing escapes her notice, and it is all done in a firm but friendly manner.
From the start Susan realised that I had a very basic error in my work. I did not understand Point of View and there were numerous points of view. How Susan maintained her calm I do not know, but eventually it was all corrected and ready for publication. Susan was not just someone who was doing a job, and doing it well, she was someone who cared about me as a writer. She had become a teacher, but more than that, a friend who understood what I was trying to achieve. She encouraged me when the going got tough, and she was always positive, assuring me that it would come right. It just took me that bit longer than anticipated.
I cannot thank Susan enough for all she did and I would not hesitate to recommend Perfect Prose Services to anyone who requires an editor and/or a proofreader.
Alistair Dunlop, Author

I was incredibly lucky to find Susan on the internet as my proofreader. Susan was very patient, strict and even-handed with my first person stream-of-conscience manuscript. Not only did she fix the periods and commas but also pointed out basic fact-checking, syntax and spelling errors in foreign words that greatly improved the accuracy and feel of the novel. She was supportive throughout the entire process and I am confident in the finished product. Susan also left me with a much better understanding of how things like italics and colons work, which makes me a better writer. I am looking forward to hiring her as the proofreader of my next book!
Andrew Anzur Clement, Author

Susan has an incredible eye for detail and helped to proof read my manuscript in double quick time. She has been helpful and ready to explain some of the confusions I have grappled with. I will certainly use Susan again and recommend her to any writer as an excellent proof reader.

Sue Crampton, Author

I’ve used other editors on other projects, so I can compare. The editors on other projects were good, but they weren’t stop-me-from-shopping-around good. Susan is stop-me-from-shopping-around good. I’ll use her again.
D I Hills, Author

Susan has been an invaluable help in shaping up my manuscript. Her developmental editing feedback was sensitive and good humoured, but rigorous and her attention to detail is excellent. Susan’s feedback has given me concrete, actionable ways of improving my writing style and has pushed me to rethink and improve areas of my work that need development. I really value her knowledge, encouragement and calmness through the editing process. Susan works efficienctly and is reliable- which helps me to stay on track too. I’ll be back with Susan for book two in my series and look forward to the pleasure of working with her again.

Prudence S Thomas, Author

‘Finding Susan was like finding water in the desert of freelancers. It would be dishonest to say I wasn’t hesitant to hire a proofreader. My manuscript had already been edited. How much could a proofreader really offer me? From day one, I knew I had made the right decision. I quickly learned that Susan is very approachable, responsive and engaging. Not only was she able to flush out mistakes that my editor and I had become oblivious to, but she was also able to flesh out the manuscript by offering a plethora of editorial suggestions on everything from word usage to sentence structure. Her attention to detail was astounding, she worked quickly, and was transparent in managing my expectations for when she would complete certain steps, all qualities that one would hope for in hiring a proofreader. But more than any of that, I felt that she cared. For anyone considering hiring an editor or a proofreader, Perfect Prose Services is a refiner’s fire and Susan is an excellent wordsmith. I will be hiring her as an editor for my next novel.’

Lawson Nielsen, Author

“When I started writing my latest book during Nanowrimo 2015 I knew I wanted to launch my first novel with the right type of professional help. A good editor and an outstanding cover were essential requirements. I had the cover in hand, but I needed to find an editor. I can’t remember how I found Susan, I think it was via twitter, but I knew when she did a sample edit for me that I had struck lucky. Beta readers convinced me I had a good story and spotted a few errors and typos, but Susan did a superb job of finding all my writing faux pas that I had missed during my earlier edits. She found plenty of errors, repetitions and grammatical issues and highlighted them in a way that’s supportive, positive and makes the process a real joy. She has been prompt and meticulous in her structural edits and I have no hesitation in recommending her. As an added bonus she makes a fantastic writing mentor. I know I can bounce ideas off her, like my back cover content and I always get useful and constructive feedback. I have booked her to edit two more books since and will continue to use her services in the future. My manuscript is the now strongest it has ever been and I am confident about its launch, thanks in huge parts to Susan.”

Karen Furk, Author

“I am not sure if I was simply lucky to find Susan amongst the opaque jungle of book services advertised on the Internet, or if it was my guardian angel pointing me into the right direction. Anyway. No matter who was responsible, they have done a great job. Thank you (universe)!
Susan has been professional and super-responsive from day dot. She hasn’t missed a deadline or a comma – placing them sure handedly at the right spot, always weary of your decision which market you are aiming at (US or UK).
Thank you Susan. You have done a marvelous job!
I highly recommend her proofreading services to anyone who wants to elevate their manuscript from good to great.”

Alexander Winzer, Author

“Susan is truly talented. I seriously doubt there is anyone better at reviewing written work. She’s also very dedicated and reads the story twice. I wanted to work with Susan because I thought another proofreader could be helpful for catching the occasional error, but I didn’t expect her to find ways to improve the readability of my story. She did. Susan is the real thing.”

Matthew Sabin, Writer

“I was referred to Susan for proof reading and I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Susan was very understanding and helpful and came back to me a couple of times to double check some aspects of my writing style, making some excellent suggestions. She was incredibly easy to deal with and the whole process was a pleasure. My short story now reads and flows much better and is the polished piece of fiction I always hoped for. Thank you Susan!”
Logan Brookfield, Author‘Finding a good proofreader/editor can be an intimidating task. How do you know who to choose? Are they trustworthy and knowledgeable? Or are they someone you should avoid? I feel fortunate to have had Susan as my proofreader. Skilled and professional, Susan was just what my story needed. She is easy to work with, and she met every single dateline on time. With her guidance, I can say with confidence that my novel is a stronger, more polished piece of fiction. I highly recommend Susan. I look forward to using her services again. Thank you, Susan! You rock!’
Jen Printy, Author

‘Maria Savva guided me to Susan after I decided my work deserved to be a better quality product than I was able to produce on my own. One of the hangups I had with investing what I consider to be a lot of money was not knowing what to expect in terms of quality and thoroughness. Tired of seeing reviews on all eleven of my books that mentioned a need for better proofreading, I took the chance. I was not disappointed. If you are serious about your work, then you need to hire a proper proofread/editor, and I cannot think of a better one than Ms. Buchanan. Her rates for the quality of work she performs are probably the best you will find. She goes beyond simple corrections like misspelled and misused words and suggests changes to improve flow and coherence. I will not publish another book without having Susan fix my numerous mistakes, mistakes I have repeated shown to be incapable of finding on my own.’

Brock E. Deskins, Author

‘Finding a proofreader for my first manuscripts was a little daunting. Whom to trust and whom to avoid? When I researched different ones, my instinct told me to go with Susan – and I’m over the top happy with the choice my instinct made me go for! I threw at her a tremendous challenge; to proofread/edit a short story and a novel (both of them full of bad grammar and a mix of US and UK English). She not only handled that challenge with professionalism and patience, but also within a very tight deadline I imposed.

Truly remarkable professionalism. Without Susan, my stories would have looked like scrapheaps compared to what they do today.

I can’t wait for Susan to have a crack at my next stories.’

Vetle Sivertsen, Author

‘Susan is a professional and incredibly skilled proofreader and I can’t recommend her enough. Without her guiding hand I would have been lost in a sea of disorganised syntax, repetitions, squiffy indents and incorrect clauses, things no author could spot on their own. Susan has been easy to work with, quick to respond to any queries and sticks to deadlines. I wouldn’t choose anyone else and wish her all the very best as her business takes off. She is a gem!’
E J Greenway, Author

“Susan is incredibly eagle-eyed, with excellent attention to detail. She gave me tips on how to set out direct speech in my first novel Party Games and corrected grammar and punctuation issues which others had missed. I will not hesitate to use her to proofread my sequel as I know my precious manuscript will be in extremely safe hands!”
E J Greenway, Author ‘Translating into a foreign language is not a simple task and not one I’d usually take on. I was glad to have found Susan as I immediately realised I could rely on her to spot not only all the grammatical and syntactical mistakes I made, but also to help me translate a difficult text so that it sounded good and natural. I’m not an expert in British English, so she helpfully replaced all my Americanisms with the proper idioms. I could truly rely on her throughout the process, and she even responded when I emailed her over the weekends. If you’re in need of a knowledgeable, helpful and friendly editor, I recommend you use Perfect Prose because Susan is a delight to work with.’
Brigita Orel, Translator“My first experience with an editor/proofreader has been amazing. I had written a short story and in my excitement to finally be done with it, I submitted it to a contest. After reading through it a few more times, I felt I rushed that decision and needed professional help. There was another contest coming up with a submission deadline at the end of June so I reached out to Susan. She worked with me through multiple edits and proofreading well ahead of the date I needed to submit my story and all while accommodating the time difference between the United States and the UK. Susan was kind, prompt, nurturing, explained my mistakes, suggested changes, and connected with both me and my story. I am walking away from this experience having learned a great deal that I will carry forward as I continue writing. Since I am presently working on my first novel, I could not have picked a better time to have my writing looked at by a professional. Hopefully, it will make my next project easier for her to edit.I highly recommend Perfect Prose Services. Susan Buchanan, you rock!”
W. C. Cunningham, Writer“I would highly recommend Susan and would use her again. For a fast turnaround, she was very thorough and took great care to liase with me and query any text that wasn’t clear, whilst taking a keen interest in the subject matter.”
Oliver Hanson, Author of The Guiri

“I met Susan via twitter. When you interact with people on social media it can be difficult to get to know the ‘real’ person, but Susan interacts with her followers with a conversational ease, and this appealed to the people person in me. When we initially connected I was still in the writing stage of my book and had no thoughts beyond that time. As I completed my manuscript I realised that, to be taken seriously as an indie author, I needed help from professionals. Susan immediately came to mind and I emailed her with my proof reading and copy-edit enquiry. From that point on she became my mentor, she was patient and professional and talked me through the entire process. As this was my first book she fully understood my apprehension and guided me with confidence to a fully edited manuscript ready for publication.
Having a professional editor/proof reader to look over your hard work is essential. My book is non-fiction and follows a personal, motivational journey, Susan’s recommendations meant that my book was free from silly errors and overused phrases. She helped me to rework sections to improve the flow and in turn give my readers a more enjoyable experience.
If you are looking for an editor or proof reader then look no further than Perfect Prose Services. Susan is a delight to work with and you will be so thankful you used her services when the 5 star reviews start to pour in!”
Shelley Wilson, Author

“I first met Susan after I read her novel The Dating Game and loved it so much I contacted her through Twitter. Right away we began a professional working relationship and she was very helpful in providing tips during the process of writing my first book.

Being a novice at writing novels, I soon found that as I came across each stumbling block Susan was there to share her own experiences, as well as provide advice when things were not going to plan. I had no real understanding of the different technical terms used within the editing process, such as copy-editing, content development etc, but soon began to understand it better through my conversations with Susan.

I was struggling to get the book professionally edited and when I heard of Susan’s new venture, I asked if I could become one of her customers. As soon as she had the manuscript, she began work on it immediately and always communicated with me regularly. She stuck to all deadline dates and never once did I not know what stage of the process she was at during the editing and proof reading process.

With Susan’s patience and assistance the book has now been published. I know I could not have done this without her, and have already booked ahead for her services again as I begin my second novel.

Little suggestions made a significant difference to the overall feel and read of the book, as well as her great eye for detail ensuring the grammar etc is exactly how it should be.

I want to say a very special thanks to Susan and appreciate the help she has offered. I look forward to working with her again very soon and would definitely recommend her to anyone out there looking for a professional finish.”
Kayrin McMillan, Author of The Bluebell Wood

“I first became aware of Susan Buchanan’s proofreading talents a couple of years ago when she read my novel Coincidences after I’d published the second edition on Kindle. She told me she’d spotted a couple of typos. I had completely revised and re-edited the novel for a second edition and had lots of beta readers, and had also read it over myself many times. It surprised me that there were still typos. I admit that I didn’t believe Susan until I checked! That was one of the defining moments for me as to why all authors need proofreaders.

Anyone who knows me also knows that when I’m writing a novel or short story I am obsessed with grammar, spelling, words, etc. After chatting with Susan, I learned that she, like me, also likes to underline and highlight typos when she reads books on her Kindle.

After noticing that Susan was a fellow word nerd, I asked if she would beta read my next novel, Haunted. She agreed, and she was very thorough. I was impressed. She spotted a word I had used in the wrong context. She noticed things like ‘any more’ and ‘anymore’ being confused, and she also told me something about my dialogue, which has now been carried over into all my story writing. She pointed out that some of my character dialogue was quite formal and didn’t really fit with the characters I was portraying, and suggested I contract some words within dialogue like ‘they are’ to ‘they’re’ etc. I have continued using that advice and am now told that my dialogue is much more realistic and flows better.

The latest project that Susan has helped with is my collection of short stories, Far Away In Time. I asked her for a proofread and she delivered so much more, including telling me about a few editorial issues. She pointed out overused words, some slight inconsistencies e.g. where I had written a number as a figure and then gone on to write that number as a word later on.

Her proofread also spotted a handful of typos that had been missed by 7 beta readers! At least two of those beta readers I know to be very thorough as I have had help from them in the past.

I would not hesitate to recommend Susan Buchanan as a proofreader and editor. I owe her a lot for helping me to improve my writing over the past couple of years.”
Maria Savva, Author

“Writing is the best thing I ever did and I love putting a story together. Naively, I had no idea of the work involved once the story was complete. I doubt many indies that choose to self-publish without a publisher do. I had honestly revised my novel over forty times, had other people dissect it, done various grammar and word checks, and yet… all the suggestions I got from Susan were brilliant. It helped me to tighten the text, clarify many situations, consider how my writing could be improved, and of course correct silly mistakes!

I think it is important to realise that an editor/ proofreader’s job is to make the author think about what they have written, and enable them to improve it. If I had simply agreed to all the changes made automatically I would have lost out. It takes time to edit a novel, and going over the suggestions helps you become a better writer and develop your plot. When you publish your first and subsequent books, you should make it as impressive as possible. This will ensure the reader focuses on the story and not the mistakes, which will make them come back to read more over the years. As a reader, I know I can be pretty unforgiving at times if an author gets something wrong!

I have no hesitation in recommending “Perfect Prose Services” even if your book is already published. Take advice before you press that important publish button!”

Vanessa Wester, Author

1 Comment

Sue Crampton says:

February 19, 2019 at 8:03 pm

Susan has an incredible eye for detail and helped to proof read my manuscript in double quick time.She has been helpful and ready to explain some of the confusions I have grappled with.I will certainly use Susan again and recommend her to any writer as an excellent proof reader.

Perfect Prose Services

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