Editing Services

Proofreading: At the final stage of your writing process, I can read through your text and correct any errors, such as typos and incorrect spelling, to ensure it is as close to perfect as possible.

Copy editing: I can go through your text and correct and revise it to ensure that it reads smoothly and suits your style preferences, as well as any necessary guidelines. This might involve rewriting some parts or changing the structure to improve the flow, but I will always maintain your personal tone.

In both cases, I will use Track Changes on Word so that you can see all the changes I make and choose whether or not to accept them. I will provide clear explanations for most detailed changes, so that you know why I made the change. If you wish, I can also provide sources with my explanations for changes (such as New Hart’s Rules, the Oxford University Press style guide, which I will use to inform a lot of my decisions, unless you already have another style guide to follow).

I will also provide a style sheet for you to select some initial preferences, and I will continue to update this document throughout our work together as we establish more preferences for your writing. If I have any specific queries, I will list them in a separate query list document for you to provide responses.

My goal is for us to work collaboratively to bring your writing to its fullest potential, and you will always have the final say!

Workflow

We can establish and follow a workflow that suits both of us, but a typical workflow for copy-editing a novel might be as follows:

1. I am happy to begin by undertaking a 1,000-word sample proofread and/or copy edit at no charge to enable you to see how I work and what level of editing you would like, and whether you like my editing style. This will also help me to get an idea of how much editing will be required and how long the full project is likely to take.

2. If you want to continue, you send me your full manuscript, and I work through a chapter or a few chapters at a time.

2. I copy-edit the chapter(s) and send you ‘reference’ (with Track Changes still on) and ‘use’ (without Track Changes) versions, a query list (if there is one) and an updated style sheet.

3. You go through and accept/reject my edits, perhaps adding comments where necessary to explain why you’ve kept your version in order to inform my future editing. You also respond to my queries (if there were any). You then send back the chapter(s) with your accepted/rejected edits, as well as the query list with your answers and the style sheet with any extra comments if you have them.

4. I will then review your updated version of the chapter(s), implement the resolved queries, and send it back to you so we both have the ‘final’ version for this stage.

5. After copy-editing all the chapters, I will use the ‘final’ versions to do a final proofread to remove any remaining errors or inconsistencies and then provide you with a fully edited version of your manuscript.

Pricing

Proofreading: £15 per 1,000 words

Copy editing: £20 per 1,000 words

Word counts will be taken before editing and will be rounded to the nearest 1,000 words.