Services and Rates
I specialize in nonfiction and creative nonfiction editing, coaching, and manuscript assessment.
Book Coach
Work with the writer to map out and complete a first-draft manuscript
$50/hour (open ended) or $480 for a 3-month package fee (includes one hour per week Zoom meetings or phone calls and weekly writing submission reviews)
As your book (writing) coach, I help you identify the most suitable and marketable theme for your manuscript. I will help you stay focused on your theme, keep your ideal audience in mind, and serve as an accountability partner. Please note that coaching does not include editing; however, I offer editorial guidance and feedback to improve your writing as you go.
Manuscript Assessment
Overall Analysis
$300 - $400 to read manuscript and write report
With a manuscript assessment, there is no editing. Instead, I provide a report. Since I work in nonfiction, prior to the assessment I will need to know your answers to these questions: Who is your audience? What is your purpose? What promise does your manuscript make to the reader? I will tell you what works and what doesn't, such as:
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have you fulfilled your promise to the reader?
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is the subject matter thoroughly and accurately explored?
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are the style, tone, and approach appropriate to each of the above?
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how much editing needs to be done (see below)?
EDITORIAL SERVICES
Developmental Edit
Shaping Stage
$55/hour
A developmental edit has many nicknames: a deep-dive edit, a macro edit, or a big-picture edit. At this early editing stage, I look at the presentation of the material in the entire manuscript. This is an organizational edit. I might move chapters around, as well as large chunks of text within a chapter. I suggest how to plug holes in the material. I will...
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make the chapter arrangement logical.
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give the text a cohesive flow.
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highlight jargon to be defined or eliminated.
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check to assure the tone and language are appropriate to the purpose and audience.
Substantive Edits
Idea Development & Clarity Stage
$50/hour
A substantive edit addresses the flow of ideas within a chapter or sections within a chapter, the clarity of the ideas and information, and the quality of the prose. I make sure...
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the work has smooth transitions between chapters.
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we fill in missing content.
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the prose is clear and appropriate for the target audience.
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the prose uses an active voice and engages the reader.
Line & Copy Edits
Smoothing & Correcting Stage
$45/hour
It's hard to separate line and copy edits. These are paragraph- and sentence-level edits. I check the flow. I decide if every paragraph, every sentence, and every word is necessary. I make sure...
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the text is clear, logical, and coherent.
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the structure is consistent throughout and easy to follow.
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the tone is appropriate to the material, audience, and purpose.
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spelling, grammar, and punctuation are consistent and correct.
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repetitious words are removed.
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awkward phrasing is rewritten.
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you've used active voice and you're showing not telling.
Proofreading
This service is only offered to my clients for whom
I have edited the manuscript
Quality-control Stage
$30/hour
The end of the line to make the manuscript the best it can be. It's the final review, after the manuscript has been typeset. A clean-up, looking for errors of any kind that happened during the typesetting process: checking for PUGS (punctuation, word usage, grammar, syntax), any inconsistency of font style, weight, and size, problems with page layout, numbered charts, graphs, and images, and widows and orphans.