While editing an author's story, be it creative or non-creative fiction, I am obligated to remember that the story belongs to the author and to be vigilant in maintaining the writer's voice throughout.
EDITING and PROOFREADING
As an editor, my role is that of a critical reader behind the scenes, refining, polishing and enhancing your story.
Books / articles / short stories / flash fiction are published only after an editor has checked for:
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Consistency: Did you describe your character wearing a red shirt on page 78 that transmogrified into a blue tank top on page 89?
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Logic: Did you describe an incident which ignores or contradicts an event that occurred earlier in the story?
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Structure: Did you overwrite and slow down the pace of the story? Would your story benefit by relocating some sections? Do some sentences cloud rather than clarify the story? Is your word choice always the best choice?
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Grammar: Did you get carried away with the prose and forget Grammar 101?
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Typos: So common. The best writers will type 'it's' when they mean 'its'.