Developmental Critique (Professional Beta Read) – $5 Per 250 words
We’ll read your manuscript with a critical eye toward plot, structure, pacing, characterization, dialogue, narrative voice, writing style, etc. and send it back to you all marked up with notes on what you’re doing right as well as what needs work, along with recommendations for the latter.
Partial / Short Story Critiques
Just need feedback on a partial manuscript or short story? No problem. The rate is the same as above, but there’s a minimum fee of $15.
Sample Edit & Evaluation – $15/(up to) 3 manuscript pages*
This is step one in determining whether we’re a good fit for your manuscript and the level of editing your book or story needs. Send your roughest three pages along with a synopsis and description of your story or book and the type of content it contains, along with the type of edit you’re looking for. We’ll edit your pages accordingly. If it appears we’re a good fit, we’ll determine the scope of the project based on the sample and send you an estimate for the full project along with a work agreement and an invoice for either the full amount or the deposit, payable via Paypal.
*On one-time (as opposed to a drawn-out series of small partial edits) editing projects over 5,000 words, the cost of the sample edit will be deducted from the overall total.
Substantive Line Editing, Copy Editing, and Proofreading – $40 Per Hour
Substantive Line Editing – A deep, line by line edit to punch up your prose, point out both story and mechanical issues, and make your manuscript clear, consistent and structurally sound.
Copy Editing – We’ll check your manuscript line by line to correct issues with grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.
Proofreading – We’ll scour your final draft for typos, spelling errors, formatting and style issues.
Please note: substantive line editing and copy editing can be combined in one pass (although if it needs extensive substantive work, it’s best to save copy editing for the next draft), but proofreading should be done separately as the very last pass on your final draft. Also, note that combining substantive editing with copy editing will cause me to work more slowly, increasing the cost.
Partial Edits (Budget option! Perfect for Indies on a Shoe-string)
Can’t afford to have your entire manuscript edited in one go? We can break it into smaller jobs, or if you want to use a partial edit as a guide for self-editing the rest of your manuscript, that’s fine. Let us know how much time you can afford in one go and we’ll get as far as we can in that time frame. There is a minimum fee of $40/one hour, payable up front.
Payments & Financing
For projects under $100, full payment is required up front. For projects between $100 and $1,000, a non-refundable deposit equaling 50% of the estimated fee is required up front, and the rest will be due upon completion. For projects estimated at $1,000 or above, 35% of the estimate will be required up front, 35% at the midway point, and the remainder of the actual total cost (minus the cost of the sample edit) will be due upon completion.
Once an agreement is in place, we’ll email you an invoice with a link to pay via Paypal. You can use any credit or debit card that Paypal accepts. Six-month interest-free financing is also available via Paypal Credit for those who qualify.
How are Editing Project fees estimated?
Based on your sample edit, we’ll see how many pages we can edit in an hour, and extrapolate from there. If the writing is in decent shape and the story is engaging, we typically average about ten pages per hour. The more work it needs, the lower that number goes, so it’s in your best interest to clean it up as much as you can before engaging our services.
Refund Policy
If we do any work on your project, you must compensate us for our time, regardless of whether you’re happy with your edit. Refunds are only given in the event that we can’t fulfill the terms of our agreement.
If at any time you decide it’s not working out or that we need to part ways, you’ll only be billed for the work we did up to that point.
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