THE WRITING ESSENTIALS

  • writing
  • coaching
  • editing services

“Editing is the process of preparing a text or film, deciding what will be removed, what will be kept in, in order to prepare it for being printed or shown.”

THE CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH DICTIONARY

There are various types of editing from proofreading, to structural, line, and copy editing. Editing can also involve fact checking. Essentially, an editor helps writers with spelling, grammar, punctuation, and syntax or the arrangement of words and phrases. All this is done with the aim to polish your work for publication.

When I was young, I taught High School English. I taught students English Literature and the English language. As an English teacher, I’ve had to mark hundreds of essays. This was when my first forays into editing began. I loved editing my students’ essays, though I didn’t like seeing red marks and streaks and my squiggly handwriting strewn across the pages. At one point, I decided to use a purple pen instead, and made sure that my students had the chance to meet with me for a one-to-one discussion of their work. Many of my students went on to do very well in their English G.C.S.E and A-level exams. I’ve also helped IB students with their Extended Essays on super interesting topices, such as a thesis on the history of the violin.

When I grew up, I left teaching and took some serious courses on how to edit other types of writing. I learnt what being an editor involved and to help my clients bring out the best in their work. I swapped my purple pen for a computer. Technology allows me to edit online now, but I still make sure that my students or clients have ample face-to-face contact with me. Editing online saves trees for our planet and me the stress of carrying a bunch of papers around. Skype and FaceTime means that I can see and talk to my clients wherever they are. I love technology!

I love helping writers improve their craft. I love helping authors fine-tune their work. I love helping creatives polish their work for publication.


I offer editorial services for

  • academic work for students of Art History — I can proofread your essays; help you to navigate the academic langauge an art history essay requires.
  • catalogue entries for art exhibitions — I can write and/or edit your catalogue essays and entries.
  • wall text for museum curation — I can write and/or edit your panel texts.

 

I can help picture book writers

  • by offering an in-depth critique of their manuscripts — I have a system of critiqueing to help you succeed as a picture book author.
  • by offering an academic review of their stories — I will help you analyse your work through an academic lens, so you see how readers will interpret your story and how you can engage and captivate your readers.
  • by coaching them on the craft of writing picture books — I can help you distinguish between the craft of picture books vs the art of them.

 

If you’ve written a novel, I can help with

  • proofreading — I am also a sensitivity/diversity reader: I can help you adjust your language so you’ll always stay mindful of the various diversities that you’re writing about.
  • copy editing — I can help you with your dialogue; focus and tighten your story; improve grammar and sentence structure to enhance readability.
  • developmental edit — I can help you improve your storyline, plot, and structure.

If you need content for your book, blog, and business, I can

  • create the kind of material you need — I ghost write.
  • edit your materials for a bigger impact — I know the language of advertising.
  • help you gain more followers and subscribers through your content — I have some great ideas and steps that you can follow.

In the list of services I provide, I am simultaneously offering a personalised coaching service to help you communicate better and succeed as authors, writers, and essayists. All for a reasonable price,

  • You will learn why I took the actions I did to edit your work.
  • You will learn to write authentically, purposefully, and accurately.
  • You will learn to be proud of your work and let that amazing writer in you shine.

Eva is a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.

Client Testimonials

- THERESA M TAY – ASPIRING PICTURE BOOK AUTHOR --

“Engaging Eva has been an enriching and encouraging learning experience. Eva’s detailed critique and nurturing style has helped me become a more confident and efficient writer.”

- DR WOO FOOK WAH, ART HISTORIAN -

“I am pleased to inform you that Eva had carried out the task professionally. She has good knowledge of the Singapore Art Scene and good command of the language. The work she did was of good quality and was carried out on time and the rate she charged was reasonable. She also interacted well to ensure that she understood what the author’s intention, which I thought was very important. I do not hesitate to recommend her to anyone that needs help in proof-reading and editing of a literary piece of work”

- BEN LEE, CARMELITES FRAMING & ART GALLERY -

“Eva Wong Nava is a diligent person who works to high professional standards. She proofread and edited catalogue essays for my art gallery, Carmelites Framing & Art Gallery, where she had to decipher the text written in English translated from the Burmese and put these essays together into coherent English. Eva is always on time with her assignments and I am pleased to recommend her to anyone who requires proofreading and editing services. Her rates are reasonable as well.”

- DR THERESA DEVASAHAYAM, GENDER SCHOLAR -

“It was Eva who introduced me to the fascinating world of picture books. As an author myself of academic books and papers, the entire genre of picture books was an unknown genre to me. With Eva’s prodding, I attended the Picture Book Matters workshop last year in which Eva was a facilitator since I had the idea of composing a picture book myself. The workshop was extremely useful as it covered a gamut of children’s picture books with helpful tips for potential authors. The workshop was also an eye-opener to the genre and how picture books differ from other genres of books composed for children of different age groups. Eva is an excellent facilitator. She was very clear and thorough in her presentation of the main ideas related to picture book writing; much of which, I believe, was a demonstration of the immense experience she has garnered as a successful author of picture books herself; as well as being familiar with the publishing industry.”

- DARYL KHO, ASPIRING AUTHOR -

“Eva has been simply wonderful to work with. I first enlisted her help to copyedit my upcoming novel. But over and above delivering that, she was extremely generous in sharing not just valuable editorial feedback, but also advice, encouragement and industry insights. Because of that I went on to engage her for additional manuscript critique services, and look forward to working even more with her in the future!”

COMMISSION ME

Eva holds a Master’s in Art History from the Open University in the U.K., and is passionate about art and how history informs art. She is currently reading a Master’s in Children’s Literature at the University of Roehampton.

She has written about art for several magazines. She has been commissioned to write memoirs, self-help books and picture books for young readers. Eva cofounded Picture Book Matters, offering picture book writing workshops to aspiring and emerging picture book creators. She works in a consultative role for companies and organisations offering solutions to their in-house creative team. Eva is the curator of Telling Our Stories With Art(e)facts, a life-writing workshop using artworks as prompts to writing memoirs and essays.

Born in Singapore, she is based in London. She has studied and lived in London, worked in Paris, London and Singapore. She loves books, yoga, and wine.

Eva is always available for side collaborations and talks worldwide. If you want to chat about writing for a child audience, working from home as a freelance editor, or you need help with your writing, don’t hesitate in reaching out. Eva is also a sensitivity reader and has worked with several trade and independent publishers in this capacity. Self-publishing authors have also reached out to her for sensitivity reads.

If you want to hire Eva for writing projects, contact her agent (Lydia Silver) or drop her a line on Twitter (@evawongnava)

Writing

Wayang Novi: Caring For Life
Nonfiction

Yayoi Kusama: Life Is The Heart Of The Rainbow
Nonfiction

The Everlasting Face
Fiction

Commission Eva : enquiries@evawongnava.com

SENSITIVITY EDITING

A sensitivity editor is someone who is paid to read, assess, and review unpublished manuscripts for issues of misrepresentation, cultural inaccuracies, unconscious biases, passive and blatant racism, offensive stereotypes and tropes, and/or problematic language.
To learn more about sensitivity editing, click on the link below.

WRITING COACH

Eva’s skills as a Writing Coach have earned her a spot on the Coach Foundation, one of the biggest names in the coaching industry.

To find out more about the Writing Coach, visit here.

Or discover more about the Coach Foundation here.