Editing
You know the feeling. You've poured your heart and soul into your manuscript. Every character, every plot twist, meticulously crafted. But now it sits on your screen, a finished work, yet somehow…incomplete. The self-doubt creeps in. Did you miss a typo? Does the dialogue flow naturally? Is your story truly captivating? That's where I come in. I am your partner in this final leg of your literary journey, offering a keen eye for detail, a passion for language, and the expertise to elevate your manuscript to its full potential. Let me help you turn that spark of an idea into a polished gem ready to capture the world.
What service are you interested in?
Polishing your sentences for maximum impact, ensuring your readers stay hooked from start to finish.
A detailed examination of the fine points, giving you confidence that your manuscript is polished and ready for readers.
The final pass to catch any lingering typos and errors that survived the editing and formatting process.
Line/Copyediting Combo
Investment: $ 0.015 per word
This package is tailored for indie authors who have already benefited from developmental editing and are ready to elevate their prose to the next level. If you're looking for nuanced sentence-level feedback that enhances impact, improves rhythm, and maintains emotional resonance, this service is perfect for you. With my expertise, you’ll have the confidence that not only are the technical details correct, but your writing also flows beautifully, engaging your readers from start to finish.
What I’ll Focus On:
- Technical Accuracy: Correcting spelling, punctuation, and grammar
- Style and Consistency: Ensuring uniformity in capitalization, hyphenation, and terminology
- Clarity and Precision: Enhancing overall clarity and correctness, and identifying any continuity errors
- Narrative Voice: Making sure the voice and tone remain consistent throughout your manuscript
Additional Line Editing Elements:
- Reviewing point of view and offering solutions for any inconsistencies
- Suggesting cuts to unnecessary filter words or excessive stage directions
- Checking dialogue for proper formatting and natural flow
- Analyzing sentence structure for optimal length and rhythm
What You’ll Receive:
- An edited manuscript with tracked changes + a polished clean copy
- A tailored style sheet that outlines all stylistic choices
- A detailed editorial letter summarizing key feedback and suggestions
The style sheet will capture all your chosen conventions for your manuscript, such as capitalization and punctuation styles, character details, and plot points. This tool is particularly invaluable for series authors, helping you maintain consistency across multiple books.
The editorial letter will provide a snapshot of your manuscript’s strengths and areas for growth, outlining the primary suggestions for improvement.
Please note that project pricing may vary based on specific needs. After assessing a sample of your manuscript, I will create a customized proposal that fits your vision.
Copyediting
Investment: $0.01 per word
Ready to fine-tune your manuscript? This copyediting service is perfect for authors who have already tackled the heavy lifting of developmental or line editing and are looking for that final layer of polish. Whether you've worked with editors before, completed multiple rounds of self-editing, or collaborated with beta readers, this service ensures that all the technical details are flawless, so your readers stay fully engaged in your story.
What I’ll Focus On:
- Language Mechanics: Correcting spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors
- Word Usage: Ensuring appropriate word choices and consistency in style
- Uniformity: Maintaining consistency in capitalization, hyphenation, and abbreviations
- Clarity: Improving readability and identifying any unclear or awkward phrasing
- Continuity: Flagging any discrepancies in names, numbers, or plot details to keep the narrative seamless
What You’ll Receive:
- A fully edited document with all changes tracked for easy review, plus a clean version for your convenience
- A detailed style sheet documenting the editorial choices (such as abbreviations, hyphenation, character names, and plot specifics)
- A 1-2 page editorial summary that highlights significant edits and feedback on recurring issues
The style sheet ensures consistency throughout your manuscript, including rules for grammar, spelling, and plot elements, making it a valuable tool for future projects—especially if you're writing a series. This ensures you maintain continuity across multiple books.
Pricing may vary based on the scope of your project. After reviewing a sample of your manuscript, I’ll provide a custom proposal tailored to your specific needs.
Proofreading
Investment: $0.006 per word
If you’ve completed the editing process and want a final, thorough review before hitting "publish," this service is for you.
Proofreading provides that crucial last check before your manuscript is ready for print or digital distribution. It’s your final safeguard against any overlooked errors, ensuring that your work is polished to perfection. For print projects, I’ll meticulously review a PDF version of your ready-to-go file using professional Adobe markup tools. For ebooks, I’ll apply the same care to your final Word document.
Key Areas of Focus:
- Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation: Correcting any lingering issues
- Consistency: Uniformity in capitalization, hyphenation, abbreviations, numbers, and names
- Technical Accuracy: Ensuring running heads, headers, footers, and page numbers are correct
- Visual Cleanliness: Addressing widows, orphans, and awkwardly short lines
- End-of-Line Hyphenation: Fixing incorrect or awkward breaks
- TOC & Cross-References: Checking table of contents, pagination, and internal references for accuracy
What You’ll Receive:
- A marked-up PDF (for print) or Word doc (for ebook) with all corrections clearly highlighted
- A basic style sheet that documents all major style choices if one hasn’t already been created during copyediting
The style sheet will contain key decisions on capitalization, hyphenation, and abbreviations, as well as a master word list—ensuring consistency and accuracy throughout your document.
Note: Pricing may vary depending on the complexity of the project. After reviewing a sample of your manuscript, I’ll provide a personalized proposal tailored to your specific needs.
MY EDITING PROCESS
Once you’ve filled out the contact form to request a sample edit, I’ll acknowledge your request within one business day. After that, I'll ask for your complete manuscript so I can evaluate the project and understand the scope.
Within four business days, you’ll receive a sample edit of 1,000 words, along with a detailed project proposal and cost estimate.
To ensure we’re on the same page, I’ll also share a link to my calendar so we can schedule a 30-minute call to discuss the sample, your expectations, and to ensure that we’re the right fit for your book.
If you choose to move forward, I’ll send you an agreement outlining the terms, and payment will be securely held in escrow via Upwork.
Turnaround Time:
The time it takes to edit your book depends on its length. For example:
- A manuscript of 50,000 words will typically take 2-3 weeks to complete.
- A manuscript of 100,000 words could take closer to 5-6 weeks.
Style and Standards:
I follow the Chicago Manual of Style and use Merriam-Webster for US spelling, ensuring consistency and accuracy throughout.
Communication:
Throughout the process, I’ll send you regular updates, usually on Mondays, especially for longer projects. Feel free to reach out anytime if you have any questions—I'm always here to assist.
What You’ll Receive:
- The edited manuscript in Microsoft Word with all changes tracked for your review
- A clean copy with changes accepted for easy reading
- A comprehensive style sheet (full for copyediting, basic for proofreading)
- An editorial report (included in the Copy and Line Editing package)
After reviewing my edits, you’ll have the chance to accept or reject suggestions and make any final additions. Once you’ve done this, you can send the manuscript back to me for a final review of those changes, ensuring it’s polished and ready for formatting.
As a final step, I offer a 30-minute Zoom consultation where we can go over any lingering questions or discuss the next steps for your novel.