Services and Costs
I provide a variety of editing services. Please contact me so we can discuss your best option.
Editorial Assessment
An editorial assessment provides honest feedback on the weaknesses in a manuscript. I look for the development of ideas, the logical order of events or information, writing style, and other broad aspects of the manuscript. I provide a written analysis of what you can do to improve your manuscript prior to copy editing. No changes to your manuscript are made.
Castle ruins, Samobor, Croatia
An assessment is typically done on an early draft of the manuscript, as it can lead to substantial rewriting.
Developmental Editing
Developmental editing is the process of helping you plan, structure, and develop your manuscript. It can be done in the early stages of writing or after you have written a substantial amount but need help organizing, cutting down, or fleshing out the manuscript. I reorganize the entire manuscript when necessary, cut down too-long manuscripts, create a cohesive and logical flow to the content, note where more content is needed, and much, much more.
Copy editing is a separate job and is not included in developmental editing.
Copy Editing
Copy editing involves the standard correction of errors in grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation, but it goes much deeper than that.
A primary focus of copy editing is checking for the “five C’s”: comprehension, clarity, concision, cohesion, and coherence. Is the content easy to understand? Is it clear to the reader, with no ambiguities? Is the wording concise, or is the writing overly wordy? Does each sentence, paragraph, and chapter flow logically from one to the next? Are the ideas within the chapter or section well connected? All of these items and more are addressed and corrected as needed during the editing process.
I work only in American English and use the Chicago Manual of Style unless otherwise requested.
Please note that while basic proofreading is inherently a part of copy editing, final proofreading is a separate job and is not included in copy editing.
Heavy Copy Editing
White Temple, Chiang Rai, Thailand
Heavy copy editing, also called substantive, content, and line editing, goes deep into improving the professional quality of a manuscript.
Heavy editing is often needed for inexperienced writers or those who lack strong grammar and syntax skills.
In addition to the work done in standard copy editing, heavy editing improves language use; reorganizes paragraphs, sections, and chapters as needed; and makes necessary changes to structure and organization.
Rates
The following prices are ballpark figures only. A final estimate for a specific project is based on the quality of writing, inclusion of elements (graphics, charts, tables, etc.), issues with structure or content, and more.
- General estimates by word count 40k 60k 80k
- Editorial assessment $500 $700 $900
- Copy editing $900 $1,350 $1,600
- Developmental editing: see note below
*Developmental editing for a work in progress is done by retainer only. Please contact me for more information.
For a free estimate on your project, please contact me.
Small Projects
I charge $50 per hour for editing short, one-off projects such as press releases, magazine articles, website content, and blog posts (minimum one hour, then billed in 30-minute increments).
For frequent editing work on small projects such as blog posts and monthly articles, I charge an up-front fee of $500 and deduct $50 for each hour I work. This way you are not constantly billed for frequent small projects.
Please contact me to schedule a complimentary consultation. It costs nothing to talk!
Playing with elephants in Thailand