Taking What You’ve Written… and Making It Better
Please read the following then contact us.
1) Essential Editing starts @ $0.045 per word
Cheaper basic editing can be found elsewhere. We do not compete at that level and offer something — what we consider the essentials — needed and affordable to the client at an acceptable rate to us. What we offer includes Grammar and Punctuation (the basics), Contextual Spelling (needed for jargon or unique wording specific to a profession or industry), and limited rework (tightening) of Sentence Structure, Style, and Vocabulary Enhancement (as appropriate and applicable).
- Short-form — 2,500 words and under with a 500-word minimum — @ $0.055 per word
- All editing requires scheduling in advance. Expedited service might be available–depends on the turnaround requested and current workload–but with a surcharge. Please advise timing and need at the time of your request.
2) Enhanced Editing, Content Improvement / Rewriting, and Development – Two Levels of Service
Enhanced Editing Fiction and Standard (Straight) Nonfiction: starts @ $0.125 per word: Grammar, Punctuation, Contextual Spelling, Rework, Rewrite (as needed) and Improvement of Sentence Structure, Style, and Vocabulary Enhancement.
Fiction Story Final Development, Refinement, and Creative Nonfiction: starts @ $0.325 per word: This method includes enhanced editing and additional work to improve the client’s draft (if nonfiction, shaping it to include elements of narrative fiction). Following is that service-level process:
- Breakdown the original draft, identifying areas to revise, re-write, re-sequence as needed to improve.
- Edit as needed for clarity, cut down on exposition and do more ‘showing’ than ‘telling.’
- Look at word choices, sentence structure and to vary phrasing; editing to improve the narrative.
- Make the story tighter and leaner, eliminating as much passive voice as possible. Remove soft wording and phrasing that creates padding leading to a sense of ‘overwriting’ or bloated writing.
- Re-aligning content as and if determined it’s needed to improve the story and narrative flow.
- Identify and discuss any story and content weakness or voids with the client and determine resolution, next steps and action to take.
- NOTE: Conversion to a different character perspective (to make them the focal point or narrator of the story) or in story Point-Of-View starts at an additional $0.10 per word and can range higher depending on the complexity of the story.
Final pricing depends on our evaluation of your manuscript or source material (i.e. is the writing clear and well-structured or cluttered and disjointed). Services are usually completed in two passes (stages) through the source content, to create a revised and improved manuscript. Depending on size and complexity, multiple iterations in collaboration with the client may be required.
Contact us with details about what you need help with; please provide the following:
- Is your story fiction or nonfiction?
- What level of editing [based on the above] do you require? Or do you want to discuss converting your straight nonfiction to a more compelling creative nonfiction or fictionalized account (based on actual events)?
- What is the final word-count for your draft manuscript?
- Is there any specific or critical need date? [Note: this is used as a gauge for us, but all projects are scheduled determined by our current workload. ‘In-house’ capacity is finite; we do not ‘farm out’ or refer work (which has proved to create quality control issues for us, so we no longer do it), and all projects are carefully scheduled.]
We’ll reply with initial pricing and if that meets your budget, we will request a synopsis of your story and a review of your manuscript to prepare final pricing and a proposal for the project.