Natalie Ko is a writer, editor, and creator living in Ellicott City, MD. She has over four years of professional and academic experience in the publishing industry working as an editor.  Besides working as a substantive editor and copy-editor, Natalie also writes fiction across various mediums inspired by nightmares and far-fetched fancies. Her series of flash fiction explores the universality of fear and nightmares, and has been featured live at venues such as Writers & Words | A Baltimore Reading Series and Infinity's Kitchen Late Show.  

Natalie's habits include frustrating friends and family with grammatical corrections, congratulating every dog and cat she encounters, profanity, bourbon and cigars, representing strongest duo-house SlytherClaw, and collecting books like a magpie; she hopes that one day her personal library will drown her and swallow her up. Her weapon of choice: red ink pen. 

"5 Burning QUestions"

5 Burning Questions with Natalie Ko, Writers & Words | A Baltimore Reading Series

Manuscript Evaluation

Evaluating one's manuscript entails a broad overview of the work, including fluency and clarity in the basic plot, structure, characters, imagery, transitions, and any genre-specific aspects. A Manuscript Evaluation won't delve into the nitty-gritty, but approach the work as a whole. 

Stylistic And Line-Editing

Stylistic or line-editing entails going 'line by line' in an edit, and deals with the arrangement of phrases and sentences, lapses in tense and voice, and might include the rearrangement of  small blocks of text to improve flow and organization. 

Developmental/Substantive Editing

While more detailed than a Manuscript Evaluation, Developmental or Substantive editing deals with the overarching structure and tone of a work. Edits include ensuring the consistencies and strength of plot, character, voice, dialogue, imagery, and pacing. 

Copy-Editing

Copy-edits include the correction of all mechanical errors; this includes the correction of grammar, spelling, syntax, tense, voice, punctuation, etc. The opposite of a big-picture edit, copy-editing deals entirely with the nitty-gritty of the text.