professional editor

Kathy Ide

A beautifully written and meticulously edited manuscript will pique the interest of traditional publishers and literary agents. Or stand out in the plethora of self-published books.

Do you long to write that kind of book? Kathy Ide can help. If she’s not the right editor for you and your project, she can help you find the right one. Contact Kathy for a quote.

A professional editor comes alongside authors to show them how to create books that speak clearly and powerfully to the hearts of their readers. An editor also provides direction and encouragement along the way.

Do you want to be that kind of editor? Kathy Ide’s Christian Editors Association offers all the tools you need to start, grow, and maintain a successful editing business.

Kathy Ide has a passion for raising the quality and reputation of Christian books. She loves working with authors and editors who share that desire.

Kathy Ide worked side by side with me to turn in the best manuscript possible. I truly would not have been able to do this without her. She is top-notch.

Tracey Bateman

Published Author

About Kathy Ide

Kathy Ide has been a professional freelance editor since 1998, working with beginning, intermediate, and established writers, traditional publishing houses, and subsidy publishers. She is the author of Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, Editing Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, and the Capitalization Dictionary as well as the editor/compiler of the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series.

Kathy owns and manages Christian Editors Association, parent organization to the four divisions she founded: The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network, The PEN Institute, PENCON editors’ conference, and Christian Editor Connection. CEA sponsors the Editors’ Choice Award.

Kathy has spoken at numerous writers’ conferences across the country and directed three of them: Orange County, SoCal, and Mount Hermon. She has also put on Christian writers’ retreats at Mount Hermon and in Southern California.

Are you coordinating a writers’ event and looking for faculty who will benefit and bless your attendees?

I took your proofreading class at Mount Hermon. Thank you for your help! I referred to your materials many times as I edited my manuscript. Two weeks ago I saw my editor at the Oregon writers conference. He said my manuscript was the most complete, ready-to-go manuscript he’d ever received from an author. My manuscript required no major rewrites and went right to the copyediting stage.

Judy Gann

Published Author

Kathy's Editing Services

If you have part or all of a manuscript written, Kathy Ide can provide you with comprehensive editorial services that include a developmental content edit, line-by-line copyedit, and a proofread for typos, inconsistencies, and errors in punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling according to the most recent editions of the US publishing industry’s standard reference guides.

Kathy will also show you how to format your manuscript for submission to an agent or traditional publishing house, subsidy publisher, or independent formatter.

Kathy is the most professional editor I have worked with. She is prompt, insightful, and responsive to communication. Through her eyes, I am able to see the areas that need work.

Lisa Hoffman

Published Author

Portfolio of Editing Projects

Kathy's Books

Get decades of experience at your fingertips

Learn how best-selling authors proofread their manuscripts to avoid typos, inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and errors in punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling.

In Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, Kathy Ide identifies the industry-standard references for books, magazines, and newspapers (which are different from the guidelines for other types of writing, such as college term papers). Using these official references, she highlights the most common mistakes writers make in the areas of punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling (for which she coined the acronym PUGS). She also includes guidelines from The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style for authors and editors who work in the inspirational market.

Successful writers spend a lot more time editing than they do writing. They know that first drafts need extensive revisions to ensure their stories or messages come across clearly and effectively.

In this book you’ll find a wealth of suggestions from best-selling authors who have studied editing techniques and implemented them in their books, which have touched the hearts and lives of readers around the world. If you’re an aspiring, beginning, or intermediate writer, this book will help you polish your manuscript and get it ready for publication. If you’re an established author, these tips can help you edit other writers’ manuscripts, either in a critique group setting or as an editorial freelancer.

Do I capitalize north or not? When should church be capitalized and when should it be lowercased? What about earth? Or master’s degree?

If you often find yourself asking such questions while proofreading your manuscript or someone else’s, you’ll find the answers right here. Kathy Ide’s Capitalization Dictionary is an alphabetical list of words that writers and editors often wonder about when it comes to capitalization rules.

Different reference books sometimes have different guidelines, so the Capitalization Dictionary identifies whether a word is capitalized or lowercased according to the industry-standard references for books and articles. 

Your manuscript editing will be quicker and easier with this handy resource at your fingertips!

It is easy to read and understand; helped me with my editing which has saved me money on my professional edits.

Dr. Elizabeth Woolsey

Verified Amazon review

I highly recommend this amazing resource for any type of author or writing. I could have sure used these tips in my former career where I wrote evaluations and papers. The secrets revealed have already helped me polish my current project.

Penelope Childers

Published Author

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