Reviews: Josiah

“I have to say, you are the most thorough editor I’ve ever seen. I’ve had four editors before. No one has ever picked my writing apart like that. I honestly had no idea about independent clauses and everything. And no one’s said anything about repetitive words or constructions. I’ve learned more from this 11,000 word edit than I’d learned from any editor or crit partner combined!”

— Angel Haze, author of Blood of Vengeance

“As a debut author, I am grateful to have had my first editing experience with Josiah. He went through my manuscript with a fine-toothed comb and helped me smooth out the broader points with the characters and plot, along with a thorough tightening of the writing itself. He was also available to work with me between the editing stages as I applied his feedback to my book, and he was also able to give me his opinion on ideas I had for changes to the story. It was wonderful to work with someone with a genuine desire to help me make my story the best it could be.”

— Sophia Minetos, author of Graves for Drifters and Thieves

“So here’s the real deal about Josiah Davis. If you want someone who gives you honest, thorough feedback that elevates your work and makes you a better writer, and is also a great cheerleader, Josiah is your man. If you want to still be able to retain your author voice in the manuscript at the end of the editing process, Josiah is your man. And if you want fantastic editing with a quick turnaround, Josiah is definitely your man. It is an absolute pleasure to work with him and I can’t wait to send him my next manuscript!”

— Dobi Cross, author of the Dr. Zora Smyth Thriller Series

“Josiah is an incredibly thorough and knowledgeable editor who knows how to communicate exactly what is wrong with a piece of writing and provides an easy solution to fix it. He turned the writing in my new book, a rough bit of earth, into a sparkling diamond. I recommend him to any author in need of a professional editor.”

— Phoenix Ward, author of Installed

I could not be happier with the feedback I received. The critique was insightful and cut right to the heart of the problems I had in my manuscript. Not only did he help to point out where my novel was flawed, he also helped me see some of the crutches and shortcuts I had fallen back on. With his help I was able to not only make my novel better, I was able to become a better writer.

— BW Guy, author of Elemental Sprites

“I think overall he’s someone who people should go to. I gave him completely unedited versions and he caught literally everything grammatically. Stuff that got past literally five or six different people, he saw. That is really valuable.”

— William Dickstein, author of Ch05en

I clicked “Set pre-order date” and started panicking, because I was 90 days away from putting my first book out there. It was only after Josiah looked at my manuscript and told me some things to focus on that I truly felt confident enough to have that book out there. He didn’t just edit my book and fix the mistakes, he revealed to me consistent blind spots that I immediately fixed moving into Book 2 (which he also edited for me). I can’t recommend him enough if you want to grow as a writer and have a higher quality product!

— Sam Linton, author of Severance

“Josiah provides a quality service at a reasonable price with expedient turnaround. If you’re considering working with an editor for the first time, fear not. Consider Josiah a personal trainer for keyboard jocks. His comments are always constructive and helpful. And—after working through a few hundred pages of edits, you’ll find your new writing is that much better.”

— Aaron Foster, author of the Adam Undercover Series

“As a writer I am a newbie, hence my learning curve is dramatic, to say the least! Josiah has been very understanding in his approach to my work. I really enjoy his style of notes, rather than alterations. As he says, “It makes me look at my work so I understand the errors.” Josiah has helped me develop and improve my manuscripts immeasurably. A second set of eyes looking at the grammar is a must. He is thorough, understanding and very importantly sticks to deadlines.”

— Steve Braker, author of African Adventure

“My business partner found Josiah through reddit and suggested we try his editing services for my novel already published. There had been spelling errors detected and I really wanted to clear those up. Josiah was awesome to work with. When I got the manuscript back, the comments were easy to read and efficient. There were lots of small picky things that I had overlooked and by Josiah recognising these, it really helped the book to become more refined and polished. I am really excited to work more with Josiah on future projects – his service is professional and 5 stars”

— Courtney Peppernell, author of Keeping Long Island

“Josiah was amazing during the editing process. His comments and critiques were clear, helpful, and timely. He helped me edit my poem book, which is not an easy format to edit, but his suggestions not only made my writing stronger but also helped me convey my ideas in the best way possible. I highly recommend to anyone who needs a second pair of eyes.”

— Outis Black, author of A Ship-Wrecked Bottle

“Writing is hard. For my first book, I was blissfully unaware of just how little I knew about pose, punctuation, and rhythm. Josiah showed me where I had made the mistakes, but more than that he explained the errors clearly and without condescension. Having your work looked at by someone professional like Josiah can be intimidating as a new author, but if you are thinking of having your worked edited—as you should—Josiah is the right person for you. He is honest and will not only make your work better, but make you a better writer as well.”

— James Bubela, author of Venator

Josiah did a round of line-editing for a novel of mine, and I plan on using his editing services again for the sequel. I was surprised by both how fast and how thorough he was in his edits, and he undoubtedly improved the quality of my manuscript. Josiah did a great job and, at his rates, I felt like I was getting a bargain.

— David Shaw, author of Alone in the Woods

 “Josiah’s keen attention to detail cleaned up my manuscript finding needed corrections I’d missed. His attention to detail and focus on clarity serves as a writer’s advocate for a reader. He’ll explain certain mistakes and overall observations to help you improve as a writer. Definitely recommend.”

— Patrick Harris, author of Survivor Response

“Working with Josiah was a pleasure. Despite several rounds of self-editing and beta reading, there were many issues with the final manuscript, which included minor plot-holes. He caught everything and the manuscript is now far more refined. His experience helped me learn a lot about my own language shortcomings right at my first book. It’s certainly going to help me for my future books.”

— Gaurav Mhatre, author of Sicarius Assassin

“A few years ago, I spend a lot more money with another editor on a first draft of my novel. The results were somewhat disappointing given the cost and time of the exercise. JD did a great job, in a short timeframe. Over the last year I had reviewed the manuscript countless times, JD found numerous errors on every page, and provided some great insights on plot points. The finished book will now be something I can be proud off. Josiah, can’t thank you enough.”

— Stephen Kirkham, author of Black Ash

“Josiah is a highly-skilled and efficient editor. Prior to reaching out to him, I’d done countless scrubs of my manuscript, but still, he managed to catch errors and recommend areas for improvement that never would have occurred to me. I learned from the experience, and my book is now better because of it. I’ll definitely be knocking on his door again for my next project.”

— T.M. Rain, author of Full Dive

“It has been great working with Josiah. He delivered on a tight schedule and his edits were very useful. His edits made me improve my writing and the book with it. Communication was great, professional and timely. Thanks!”

— Victoria Botvinnik, author of How to Adult: Money

“I had begun to despair of finding a reliable and affordable editor before I found Josiah through Reddit. He completed his edit in a very timely manner and was incredibly thorough in his work; finding not only grammatical errors but also errors in plot and continuity. We were in constant contact throughout the process and his advice was always honestly given and consistently helpful. My manuscript is now in a far superior condition and I will definitely be a return customer. ”

— Jamie Rowe, author of Curse of the Skyfolk

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have been referred to Josiah by another author. As I was going through his recommendations and making the suggested changes to my book, I couldn’t believe how shuffling a few words or changing the sentence structure made such a huge impact on how it read. He has an incredible talent of making suggestions and allowing you to see the best way of phrasing something while still feeling that they are your words. He also has incredible patience. I submitted my book to him feeling like I couldn’t possibly have made any further corrections and when he returned it, I was shocked at what I had missed. His attention to detail gave me the confidence to share my book.”

— Lily Nikopoulos, author of Christmas and Eve.

“I really enjoyed Josiah’s work on my Interstellar Spring series. He deftly handled my atrocious punctuation, kindly rejected repeated words, and best of all, caught a few continuity errors I hadn’t thought existed. He was professional, prompt and seemed a good fit for my project. Actions speak louder than words though: I’ll be asking Josiah to edit the next book in the series. ”

— Joseph Mitchell, author of Interstellar Spring

“Just starting off in writing can be a very nerve-wracking experience. Luckily, I found Josiah Davis to edit my work. With precise care and consideration, Josiah combed through my piece, applying crucial notes and turning my amateur writing into professional material. Not only that, he recognized the position I was in and offered helpful advice on where to submit my piece and other tips with self-publishing. A polite and professional man through and through, Josiah Davis is my first and future editor from here on out. Plus his prices were cheap as hell.”

— Adam Sinker, author of New Renaissance

“I struggled for a long time to find the right editor for my book. It’s a rare thing to find a talented editor who not only delivers a wonderful product, but also doesn’t break the bank. That’s why I was so pleased when I was introduced to Josiah. He’s very professional and keeps to his time frame. I couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. I’m looking forward to our next project!”

— Tristan Schreck, author of The Vanguard

“After hearing his name mentioned on various writing forums, I contacted Josiah about editing my first book. And boy, I’m glad I did! The book would have been a train wreck without his guidance. His prices are more than reasonable, and he is extremely thorough, picking up everything that was wrong with the book (and giving encouragement when things were right). Working with Josiah was a great experience, especially as a first tome novelist, and I’ll definitely be using his services again in the future!”

— Lee Mountford, author of Horror in the Woods

“ Mr. Davis is a consummate professional. Good communication, great feedback, timely completion of contract. 10/10 would work with him again!”

— Chris Embry, author

“I thought I’d use 50% of your input, but I found myself using far more. It also sparked me to make even more improvements to my book. I particularly liked your method of using comments. It made it easier for me not to miss anything, and allowed me to fix problems in a slightly different way if I had a mind to. Thanks for doing such a great job. Know that your name and company will be named in my book.”

— R. Marquez, author of Fallen Angel

“Josiah will help you bridge the gap between an amateur book and a professional one. I revised some sections over and over again and Josiah still caught many mistakes. Josiah works fast and has a great understanding of plot and pacing. Your book *will* be improved after you work with him. The price is great, too I’m very happy with the results and will work with him again.”

— Hugo Huesca, author of Dungeon Lord

“I wanted to thank you again for your work on my children’s book manuscript. I really needed a critical eye (and ear) and you certainly provided that. The changes you helped me to incorporate make for a more fluid and coherent storyline. Thanks again for your help and willingness to jump into a new genre with me. I look forward to working with you again soon!”

— Herb Griffith, author of The Great Cutlery War

“I had edited my book about a thousand times before I sent it to Josiah, who immediately found loads of issues which I completely missed. Aside from constant minor mistakes on virtually every page, numerous major aspects of the book changed as a result of his work as well: a third-person narrative changed to first-person, for instance, and a number of dates which didn’t match up at all were finally corrected. Highly recommended and incredibly helpful.”

— Ian James, author of Saving Hitler

“Josiah was a breeze to work with! Everything was done quickly and professionally at a fair price. He caught many mistakes I had missed on my own passes and I think has given my book more polish and shine than it had before. Very valuable advice on my story structure as well.”

— James Hanlon, author of The Star Pirate’s Folly

“You provided some great input for me not only to improve this story but also my writing going forward. I think the comma and sentence structure input was the most valuable feedback you gave and I really appreciate it.”

— Arthur McMahon, author of Silhouette

“Josiah was a pleasure to work with. He was happy to answer any questions I had, and the turn around was extremely quick. The insight he provided greatly improved my story. I will definitely come back for future projects.”

— Bryan Kwasnik, author of The Maple Tree Monster

“As a first time writer I found Josiah’s proofreading very eye-opening. He picked up on repetitive word use, grammar issues, and timeline/character inconsistencies. Even though Josiah generally reads fantasy and historical novels, I can say that he is more than capable of editing other genres. I asked him to read my romance novel and it was very insightful to have him edit, especially from a male perspective. His fees are very reasonable and I would definitely use him again and would highly recommend him to other people.”

— Violet Win, author of 108 Roses

“I have used Josiah’s Author’s Assistant editing package which gives me two passes—the first is for content development and the second is for line editing. I have been very impressed with both services from Josiah. He brings a fresh eye to my plot and helps me to both fill in holes and clean up things that made sense in my head, but didn’t come across to the reader. And as far as line editing, Josiah is very thorough! Not only does he find every one of those darn missing commas, he explains my grammar mistakes so I can learn from them.

He has edited both nonfiction and children’s fiction for me and I can say without a doubt that his excellent editing is one of the reasons both books are doing very well. I look forward to working with Josiah long into the future and already have four more books on his calendar for this year.”

— Emmaline Rose, author of the Hall of Travels Adventure series