Your Two Book Editing Options
ALL BOOK EDITING is done electronically
with comment notes and tracking that shows text changes and deleted text.
 Pricing
is on a per-word basis, but book manuscripts still need
to be properly formatted for easy editing and readability. Set page margins to one-inch all around, use
ONE standard font such
as Times Roman or Verdana in 12-point size for both text and headings, double space text with normal
paragraph indentations, and number the pages. Do NOT do any fancy formatting
or use a style sheet
as all formatting will all have to be removed by the typesetter (as well as for
conversions for eBook editions).
Use italics in the text where appropriate, but no boldface fonts. (This is done
with a style sheet in the typesetting process.)
Copy Editing—generally from $.03 to $.05 per
word, depending on the quality of the writing. My copy editing
is always COMPREHENSIVE, going well beyond what other
editors consider basic copy editing (and charge much more for). As a writer by profession, I figure if I'm there in the
middle of a sentence, correcting errors in grammar or whatever, I
might as well do some minor content editing while I'm at it.
My copy editing service includes
proofreading and the correction of
common errors in grammar;
poor paragraphing and run-on or incomplete sentences; the smoothing out
of poorly written sentences or choppy dialogue; and a check of any resources mentioned in the
text. Consistency or
continuity problems, as well as text the writer needs to
double-check or rewrite,
will be pointed out in comment notes, along with suggestions for other
improvements that might be made to the book through better chapter titles or
subheadings, bulleted lists, sidebars, quotations, or resources.
Substantive Content Editing or Rewriting (request
a quote).
This kind of editing, which is far more
time-consuming than copy editing, is for fiction and
nonfiction writers who need both comprehensive copy editing and extra help with
the whole book, whether in the form of reorganization of content, text that
needs to be rewritten, better dialogue, suggestions for sidebars, or improved chapter
titles or subheadings. (The less skilled the writer or the more
complicated the job as a whole, the higher the fee.)
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Requesting a Quote
IF YOU HAVE a manuscript you wish me to edit,
query me by
e-mail with
your phone number and
a good time for me to call you. Include a brief description of your
book and its word count. If I am interested in the
job, I'll give you a call to get briefly acquainted and then ask you to send me a sample chapter and table
of contents.
That will enable me to see how much and what kind of editing your
work needs, and then I can figure a quote for the job
and give you an estimate of how long it will take me to complete the
work.
Half of the estimated editing fee will be payable before the
editing begins. At the halfway point, I will send you the completed pages covered
by that portion of the fee, invoice you for the rest of the job, and
resume editing upon receipt of balance of payment.
How a Sample Edit Could Ease Your Concerns and Cut Your Editing
Costs
I no longer provide free sample edits, but
see these client testimonials
for proof of the quality book editing I do. If you're still unsure about working with me,
or if you would like to know if there is any "clean-up" editing or
rewriting you might do before sending the whole book manuscript to me, you can
request a sample ten-page edit for $60 (approximately 2,500-3,000 words), which
amount will be credited to your account when you give me the go-ahead to edit
the whole book.
THIS
SAMPLE EDIT will illustrate the kind of editing, tracking,
and comment notes I normally provide and give you a visual picture of any
writing problems you may have. I'll also include a list of any
simple editing or rewriting tasks you can do yourself to cut my
editing time and save you money if you elect to go ahead with a full
edit of your manuscript.
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