Services

Congratulations on finishing your book! I’ve experienced first-hand how difficult that is to do and I know you’re excited to get it published, either through self-publishing or by submitting to a traditional publisher. Here’s what I offer to help you on your way to becoming a published author:

Big Picture Edit

Ok, I sort of came up with that name myself. It’s what others might refer to as macro-edit. You want this when you’ve completed a first or second draft and you’re looking for big picture feedback. You want to know what someone other than your mother or best friend thinks of the story and you want feedback on the writing and the major themes.

For this edit I read your entire manuscript and provide you with a report that addresses questions such as:

• Does the story make sense/move too quickly/move too slowly?
• Are the character arcs complete and believable?
• Is the writing mostly in an active rather than passive voice?
• Are the major plot points in the right places?
• Do you employ mostly showing rather than telling techniques?
• Do your characters have strong voices, both as narrators and as speakers?

My report will point out any issues I’m consistently seeing that are detracting from the story, or elements that you could add to enhance the story.

The fee for this service is $400 to $700 depending on the length of the manuscript. Please email me a word count of your book and I will quote accordingly.

Line Edit

A line edit is one of the final edits before publishing. It’s useful when your book is complete and you feel that your scenes are in the right place, your character and plot arcs are solid and you don’t have any major structural changes to make.

This is a polishing edit and it has me going line by line through your manuscript, identifying problems and offering solutions. I look for spelling and grammatical errors, plot, character and language inconsistencies, repetitive word use, awkward-sounding sentences, and clichés. What you end up with is a manuscript that is completely your voice, only cleaner and clearer because the errors and distractions have been stripped away, allowing the reader to see the story that you want to tell.

Rates vary between $12 and $16 per thousand words.

What next?

Hopefully by now you have an idea about the editing services I offer. If you’re not sure which edit is for you and/or you’d like a sample of my line editing service, please send me a sample of your writing (preferably from the middle of your story) up to 1000 words and I’ll send you back a version with my edits and my opinion on which service you might consider. Email your sample to me: christina@redherringediting.com