Editing Services
Copyediting
Copyediting is for authors who are ready to refine their manuscript before it’s published. Big-picture elements like structure, organization, pacing, and creative content have already been addressed with developmental and line editing. The copyediting stage focuses on sentence-level details to catch any overlooked errors and ensure that your manuscript is correct, consistent, coherent, and communicates your message clearly.
A copyedit looks for the following
Correct and consistent spelling, punctuation, capitalization, hyphenation, and abbreviations
Errors in grammar and syntax
Proper word usage
Convoluted, repetitive, or wordy sections
Missing or repeated words
Correct use of dialogue tags, punctuation, and action beats
Consistency and continuity of details for characters, places, timeline, and plot
Issues with POV and head-hopping
Treatment of lists and charts
Formatting issues with footnotes and endnotes
Broken links
Basic fact-checking (e.g. dates and correct spelling of people, places, and brand names)
What’s Included
A free 1,000-word sample edit from the middle of your manuscript. This gives you the opportunity to see my editing style and whether I’m a good fit for your project. This also allows me to determine the scope and timeframe of the project.
Two full passes through your manuscript: a light pass and a heavy pass
I use the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word to mark up your manuscript and leave questions, comments, and suggestions.
You will receive a custom style sheet that notes general preferences. Fiction will include the tracking of characters, places, timeline, and plot. I use The Chicago Manual of Style as a starting point.
Communication and check-ins throughout the process. We will discuss communication preferences before I start editing your manuscript.
An editorial report that outlines instructions for viewing your edited manuscript, any global style issues and larger concerns that were addressed in the editing, and suggestions for further work that might need to be done.
What’s Not Included
A copyedit does not include developmental editing, in-depth fact-checking, permissions editing, or ensuring that a manuscript is factually correct.
Rates for copyediting: Nonfiction $0.012 per word Fiction $0.01 per word
Proofreading
Proofreading is for authors who are at the final stage of the writing process and want to ensure their manuscript is error-free before publication. You have already gone through copyediting and need a proofreader to catch lingering typos, punctuation mistakes, formatting issues, and minor inconsistencies. Proofreading is the last quality check. It gives your finished manuscript a final polish so it looks clean, professional, and ready to be shared with readers.
A proofread looks for the following
Correct and consistent spelling, punctuation, capitalization, hyphenation, and abbreviations
Egregious errors in grammar and syntax
Missing or repeated words
Correct use of dialogue tags, punctuation, and action beats
Formatting and layout issues with fonts, text size, numbering, graphics, paragraph breaks, headers, footnotes, and endnotes
Placement of front and back matter
Mistakes that might have been introduced during the formatting process, such as dropped words
Minor errors that were overlooked during copyediting
Broken links
What’s Included
A free 1,000-word sample proofreading from the middle of your manuscript. This gives you the opportunity to see my editing style and whether I’m a good fit for your project. This also gives me an idea of the scope and timeframe of the project.
Two full passes through your manuscript.
I use the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word to mark up your manuscript and leave questions, comments, and suggestions.
An updated style sheet. Proofreading services do not include a custom style sheet, but I will reference and update an existing one.
Communication and check-ins throughout the process. We will discuss communication preferences before I start proofreading your manuscript.
A report that outlines instructions for reviewing your edited manuscript and any concerns that were addressed during the proofread.
What’s Not Included
Some of the tasks that proofreading does not include are rewriting or rewording content, editing for wordiness, and ensuring proper word usage. Egregious errors will be queried.
Rates for proofreading: Nonfiction $0.01 per word Fiction $0.008 per word
Contact me for a free sample edit.
