American English Memoir Editor for Final Copyedit and Proofread

I am seeking an experienced American English editor to perform the final professional copyedit and proofread of my memoir, Where Dreams Break. The manuscript has already undergone multiple rounds of editing. This is not a developmental editing project and I am not looking for a complete rewrite. I need a meticulous final review that makes the book read naturally, consistently, and professionally for an American audience. The ideal editor must be a native or fully fluent American English speaker with proven experience editing memoirs, narrative nonfiction, biographies, or professionally published books. PRIMARY OBJECTIVES • Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax, capitalization, and word usage. • Identify and revise sentences that sound translated, unnatural, awkward, or non-native in American English. • Correct accidental repetition, inconsistencies, and demonstrable language problems. • Maintain consistency in names, dates, terminology, chapter titles, capitalization, and timeline. • Ensure that the manuscript reads like a professionally edited American memoir. • Identify wording that sounds generic, artificial, overly polished, or AI-generated. • Preserve the author’s distinct voice, emotion, faith, intensity, and personal storytelling style. STRICT EDITORIAL LIMITS • Do not change facts, chronology, meaning, or personal experiences. • Do not invent information or add new scenes. • Do not perform substantial creative rewriting. • Do not remove emotional repetition unless it is clearly accidental or weakens comprehension. • Do not flatten or standardize the author’s personal voice. • Do not alter formatting, typography, page layout, images, spacing, or design. • Do not make unnecessary stylistic changes to passages that are already correct. DELIVERABLES 1. A Microsoft Word document with Track Changes enabled. 2. A clean final version with all approved corrections incorporated. 3. A concise editorial report identifying recurring language problems, inconsistencies, and passages requiring the author’s decision. 4. A style sheet covering names, spelling choices, capitalization, dates, terminology, and consistency decisions. 5. A final review of the book description, author biography, cover text, and Amazon marketing copy. The selected editor must first complete a sample edit of approximately 1,000 words. Shortlisted candidates will receive the same sample. EXPECTED TIMELINE The complete project must be finished within 2 to 4 weeks, with a maximum deadline of 30 days. Please include the following in your proposal: • Your experience editing memoirs or narrative nonfiction. • Two or three relevant published titles or comparable projects. • Confirmation that you use Microsoft Word Track Changes. • Confirmation that you will preserve the author’s voice and factual content. • Your approach to identifying prose that sounds translated, unnatural, or AI-generated. • Your estimated completion time. • Your fixed price for the complete project. Generic proposals will not be considered. Please begin your proposal with the words: WHERE DREAMS BREAK.