Alyssa M

Proofreader & KDP Interior Formatter

New Beginnings • Freelance

May 2019 - Apr 2021 • 1 yr 11 mos

Books do not become books by accident. Behind every polished paperback on a shelf is a manuscript that went through careful hands before it ever reached a reader, and that is the part of the process I have built my work around. I work with independent authors at the point where a finished manuscript still has to become a finished book. That means reading full-length novels closely enough to catch what the writer cannot see anymore because they are too close to it: pacing that drags in the middle, a chapter that needed to open somewhere else, dialogue that does not quite land. I deliver honest, specific feedback, not vague notes, because a writer preparing to query agents or self-publish needs a clear roadmap, not a pat on the back. Once the writing itself is ready, I take manuscripts through the technical side of publishing: designing interior layouts that look intentional rather than default, building chapter openings with real visual character, and formatting every file to meet Amazon KDP's exact requirements for margins, trim size, and bleed. This is the part most writers do not expect to be difficult, but a single wrong measurement can get a book rejected on upload, sometimes more than once. I have spent real time learning KDP's quirks so my clients do not have to, catching errors before they become delays and troubleshooting rejected files until they pass clean. I have also supported authors publishing across multiple languages and formats at once, keeping eBook and paperback editions consistent with each other while managing the separate files and requirements each one demands. What ties all of this together is a simple standard I hold myself to: a client's manuscript should leave my hands looking like it belongs on a shelf next to the books that inspired them to write it in the first place.