Are you unsure if your action scenes flow, your character’s motivations are believable, or if your plot actually makes sense?
Or are you wondering if you’ve used that semicolon correctly? If the Oxford comma is really necessary, or if you need a space before and after an ellipsis…
I can help eliminate distractions from your manuscript, meaning your readers can better enjoy your story. Your book will be more professional as a result, giving you a better chance at success in whatever you hope to do: self-publishing, querying agents, traditional publishing, or anything else.
Developmental Edit
The developmental edit is the first stage in the editing process. It looks at the big picture, seeing the story as a whole and how all the pieces fit together.
During this edit, I figure out what’s working and what isn’t, and provide suggestions on how to strengthen those weaknesses. Some of these areas might include (but are not limited to) overall structure and pacing, conflict and tension, sub-plots, character arcs, viewpoints, and sticking the landing (i.e. crafting an ending that makes readers go, “Wow!”).
I work in Microsoft Word or Google Docs using Track Changes and comments, allowing you to see and action my suggestions as you see fit. It’s your story, after all! I will also provide an approximately 10-page editorial report, summarising the key areas to focus on during your revisions.
$0.03 AUD per word. Turnaround is 4-6 weeks. For quicker timelines, enquire about a customised quote. Payment plans are available! Enquire for further info.
Copy/Line edit
The boundary between copy and line editing can be blurry, but I offer both as a combined service. These kinds of edits are sentence level, removing typos and grammatical mistakes but also bringing your voice to life, ensuring there are no inconsistencies within the story.
The key focus of this kind of edit is stylistic, including tenses, spelling of words when more than one version is correct, as well as character, setting and timeline consistency. I’ll make sure your manuscript is ready to be formatted and typeset for publication.
I can work to a specific style guide, otherwise I will ensure consistency throughout the manuscript based on your choice of UK or US English. I work in Microsoft Word documents using Track Changes and comments, so the final say is completely yours.
$0.02 AUD per word. Turnaround is 2-4 weeks. For quicker timelines, enquire about a customised quote. Payment plans are available! Enquire for further info.
Proofread
Proofreading is the final stage of editing. The manuscript should be complete and polished to the best of your ability, and have undergone at least some level of developmental and copy or line editing. By now, it is formatted and as close to its final state as possible.
This final edit is a last check before you send your pride and joy out into the world. Typos and other overlooked details can completely break a reader’s immersion in your work, and, in some cases, cause them to lose trust in your storytelling abilities. We don’t want that!
I can work in physical and digital formats, and use traditional proofreading marks and notation, or simply add comments to the PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
$200 for 20,000 to 49,999 words. $350 for 50,000 to 74,999 words. $500 for 75,000 to 100,000 words. Turnaround is 1-3 weeks. For quicker timelines, or for projects outside the above wordcounts, please enquire about a customised quote. Payment plans are available! Enquire for further info.
how it works
When you submit a request for a quote, I will ask you some details about your manuscript. If I think we’ll be a good fit, I’ll request the first 2,000 words of your manuscript to conduct a sample edit. This is important to ensure that both of us feel:
- I’m the right editor for you and your work
- I can offer you the right service for what you need
- You think my edits and input are valuable and worthwhile
I’ll return the sample edit to you within three business days, and you decide whether you want to go ahead.
If you choose to enlist my services, I’ll provide you with a list of available start dates and an invoice for half the total amount. This will lock me in, and the other half will be payable upon delivery of your edited manuscript.
At any point throughout the process, I’m available for any questions you might have about editing in general or my own personal methods.
If you think I might be able to help you, please reach out.
