1. Please start by sending an inquiry to fivefiftyau@gmail.com
In that email, include:
- The total word count, genre (or subject for non-fiction), and the title
- A sample (a few chapters or at least a few thousand words). Best is if you randomly select an excerpt from the middle. (Please attach as a .doc or .docx file)
- Any questions, special requests, concerns, etc.
Note: I receive a lot of inquiries and orders, so I may not be able to respond if the above are not included in your email inquiry.
2. I will respond within 24 hours. If your manuscript is something I'd like to take on, I'll send you:
- A quote on the cost
- This is a fixed price that will not change at any time during or after the editing process. This price is calculated based on a per-word rate and takes into consideration overall complexity and workload, frequency of errors, etc.
- For more info, please see the Cost & Payment page, or scroll down.
- An estimated timeline
- Even a large (100k-word+) manuscript is unlikely to take more than a month. If I like your book but have too long of a wait list to get started right away, I'll discuss options with you. Out of hundreds (thousands?) of editing projects, I have never been late on delivering an order. Never.
3. If you are happy to proceed, I will ask you to email me your full manuscript as an attachment in .doc or .docx format (please inquire if you are unable to use either of these).
I will also ask for payment at this time. Payment is through PayPal or e-transfer (bank transfer; Interac e-transfer). For larger projects, you may pay in instalments and can cancel the project after any instalment for any reason.
4. The editing begins.
With me, you get two kinds of edits in one. I make several passes of the manuscript, conducting a thorough line edit and copy edit (for a great explanation of the difference and what each entail, see https://blog.reedsy.com/line-editing/ ).
· Grammar
· Punctuation
· Spelling (US or UK)
· Word choice
· Word order (syntax)
· Sentence structure
· Flow/pacing/readability
· Clarity
· Nuance, tone, etc.
· Redundancy/repetitiveness
· Logic/consistency
· Wordiness/brevity
· Show don’t tell
· Dialog
· Sentence fragments/run-ons
· And much more
Not generally included: document formatting. Certainly, my editing does include spacing and minor alignment issues, but correcting a garbled mosaic of fonts, tables, margins, images, etc. is generally beyond what I offer (but there are plenty of free tutorials out there to help you format your own manuscript).
What about developmental editing?
The comments I make in the side bar of the edited copy I deliver to you may (if necessary) offer advice and general guidance on plot holes and character arcs, but the “big picture” foundational stuff is beyond the scope of what I generally offer. The manuscripts I usually work with have already moved beyond the outline or first-draft stage.
In my editing, I will, for example, make suggestions to improve pacing by pruning and merging. And suggest ways to sharpen dialog, or tighten up an action scene to make sure the sentence structure is optimized to convey the intended sense of urgency. In instances like these, I’ll often write out an alternative version of the sentence or paragraph (which you can decide to use or ignore).
5. Delivery
Upon completion, I deliver two versions to you: (1) a version with Track Changes, which allows you to view (and accept or reject) my corrections and suggestions as well as view my comments, advice, and explanations in the side bar; and (2) a final clean copy with no markup.
Take your time reviewing my suggestions, corrections, and comments. There is no deadline on revisions.
6. Revisions
Yes, one round of revisions is allowed. In many cases revisions and/or further communication between you and I are needed before the manuscript can be fully ready for publication. As long as the revisions are related to my edits (i.e., you didn’t suddenly add ten more chapters), I’m happy to re-do, re-view, or re-work the section(s) in question.
About Cost & Payment:
The price I quote you (after reviewing the sample you send me) is a fixed price and will not change at any time during or after the editing process. This price is calculated based on a per-word rate and takes many things into consideration: word count, complexity, frequency of errors, total workload, etc.
The per-word rate is likely to be higher for shorter manuscripts. This is because no matter the length of manuscript, I need to commit a minimal amount of up-front time to the project (assessing the sample, communicating with the author, etc.). Two 50k-books take much more time than one 100k-book.
The minimum cost it typically $50.
Payment is through PayPal or e-transfer (bank transfer; Interac e-transfer). For larger projects, you may pay in instalments and can cancel the project after any instalment for any reason.
Do I have to pay in advance? Can I pay in instalments?
Yes and yes.
You can pay in instalments and cancel the rest of the project after any instalment. For example, let’s say you have a 45,000-word book and, based on the sample you’ve sent me, I quote you at $600 and 21 days. If you like, we can break both the delivery and payment schedule into, say, three segments. You e-transfer (or via PayPal) me the first $200, and, within seven days, I deliver the first 15,000 words. Then—and only if you are satisfied and want to continue—we move on to the second segment: you pay the second instalment, another $200, and I deliver the second 15,000 words, again within seven days. If all is well, and you want to proceed, you send me the final $200, and I deliver the remaining 15,000 words within a week.