O U R S E R V I C E S
Friendly. Professional. Affordable.
One of the biggest challenges for indie authors, especially ones who are just starting out, is finding the money to pay an editor. It's tempting to skip the editing process; after all, nobody knows your manuscript better than you, right? Wrong. Your book is your baby. You love it with all of its flaws and imperfections, or, more accurately, you don't SEE any flaws. Guess what - I promise you that they're there, and your readers will find them!
You've invested months or even years into writing your book. You want people to love it as much as you do - otherwise, you wouldn't be publishing it. Even the most well-read grammar nerd makes mistakes. To err is, after all, human. I contend that ADMITTING you've erred is ... cough ... the only way you're going to make it in this field.
And that's where I come in.
You'll note that my rates are more than competitive. That's not because I lack experience or education, nor is it because I'm starving for clients. My prices are low because I'm an indie writer (who uses an amazing editor!) and I understand how tough it can be to come up with the money to do it right.
Check out my testimonials, with links to the actual authors, and my "About" page for my creds.
I know it's tough to finally have somebody outside the family critique your work, but wouldn't you rather it be me than your readers? I won't cradle your ego because that won't help you improve (that's why you have friends and family), but I'll never go out of my way to hurt your feelings, either.
Contact me and lets make that book great!
Developmental Editing: 2-3 cents/word
Developmental editing is the most comprehensive form of editing. I'll look at your overall story arc to find holes or disparities in the plot. I'll also evaluate the pace and clarity of the story, the development of the characters, and the quality of the world-building. If you have significant grammar or style mistakes, I'll point those out in general, but not individually.
Line and Copyediting: 1-1.5 cents/word
This is, by far, the most common form of editing. For most writers, it's where the rubber meets the road. There is a huge difference in copyediting and line editing, but I combine the services in order to save you money. I look for and either point out or correct:
Redundancies
Words or phrases that are overused
Headhopping
POV and tense shifts
Passive voice
Unnecessary words or sentences
Poor word choice
Poorly structured sentences or paragraphs
Sentence length and rhythm
Scene clarity
Transitions
Unclear, unnecessary, or unrealistic dialogue
Additional words or sentences that will add substance and clarity
Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors
Consistency (blonde hair in one scene but black in another, OK versus okay, etc.)
I make all of these changes in Track Changes so that you may choose to accept or decline them on an individual basis. I also add notes as needed to explain why I made a change or to make suggestions. I highly suggest a dedicated proofread after making these final revisions. I will, of course, correct small errors if I see them, but when editing at this level, it's impossible to catch them all.
Proofreading: half-cent/word
Proofreading is the final step you take before you format and hit the "publish" button, and is just as critical as line/copyediting. Consider the latter as baking the cake, and the former as smoothing and perfecting the icing. I look for:
Punctuation errors
Spelling errors
Repeated words
Typos
Homonym errors
Formatting - Price dependent upon needs
You've likely read (or started reading and stopped) an ebook that had formatting issues such as extra pages, weird font errors, missing page breaks, or text that runs off the side of the page. That's why you need a formatter. Formatting typically runs between $50-$150, depending on how fancy you want to get. |