Services & Pricing
STYLISTIC & DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING
Also known as "line editing," this is the most comprehensive service. I seek to clarify meaning, eliminate jargon, and polish language. I'll also line-by-line edit for smoothness and clarity while maintaining your voice and style. This service includes copyediting and proofreading as well, because I just can't help myself.
You may be wondering exactly what "voice" and "style" mean. Your writing voice is as unique and permanent as your fingerprint, but your style may change to suit the project. Voice is your personality. Your thoughts and feelings are consistently yours, though you may express them in slightly different ways depending on the situation in which you find yourself. You know how sometimes a famous author will release a book under a pen name, but readers still figure out who they are? Sometimes attempts to hide a voice are the literary equivalent of a floppy hat and sunglasses. You probably can't disguise it successfully. Style, on the other hand, is malleable. Would you write a crime novel in the same way you would write a romance? I, and any current or future partners you may have, sincerely hope not. You don't speak to your best friend the way you speak to your grandmother, though you may be telling them the same anecdote. The audience informs the delivery.
My job is not to change your voice into mine (which would be very rude), nor is it to obliterate your style. My job is to clear the way by eliminating confusion, questioning jarring word or plot choices, and correcting grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. If I've done my job correctly, no reader will ever detect my presence.
$0.02 PER WORD
COPYEDITING
Copyediting is a little less complicated than a Stylistic & Developmental edit, but that doesn't mean it's less important. Yes, the copyeditor corrects typos, grammar, and errors in punctuation. (I don't believe any self-respecting editor could ignore those with a clean conscience.) But there are bigger concerns that it is the copyeditor's job to address as well, such as fact-checking and the potential for legal action.
Does your non-fiction memoir decimate your next door neighbor's character? Did you write a history of your town and give the wrong date of its founding? These are important questions for you, the author, to answer. At worst you could be financially ruined by a lawsuit, and at best embarrassed and ignored by your peers. Any publishing house that takes a chance on you will send your manuscript to a copyeditor to assess these risks. They certainly don't want to be caught up in a lawsuit or damage their reputation in the industry.
Another important task for a copyeditor is to check for inconsistencies. If your main character has blonde hair in Chapter 1 and red hair in Chapter 2, you've got a problem if he's not an international man of mystery or a recent addition to the witness protection program. Smaller, more nit-picky errors in consistency are also within the copyeditor's purview. These include font, capitalization, spelling, and hyphenation. Look at this page, for example. The section titles are all the same size, font, and color, and they all use "&" instead of "and." These things may not seem that important, but consistency in these small details means you've paid attention to them, which leads readers to believe you've paid attention to the bigger things as well.
$0.01 PER WORD
DATA ENTRY & TRANSCRIPTION
You need something entered into a spreadsheet, or something transcribed as-is from a recording? This is the service for you. If you need a spreadsheet or database built, that can be arranged for an additional hourly charge. Please contact me directly to discuss your needs in greater detail.
$0.008 PER WORD or $50, WHICHEVER IS GREATER