I firmly believe an indie author shouldn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for production services. I’ve been an editor for more than 30 years, and I was never paid as much (even taking inflation into account) as I’ve seen listed for content and line editing.

My areas of expertise are mystery, romance and science fiction (I know that seems like a lot, but I write a combination of the three, so I’ve had to study all three genres). I’m not going to be much good with memoir or literary fiction, though I’ve made a living creating technical non-fiction for more than twenty years.

I have a thorough knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style, AP Style and Microsoft Style for Technical Publications.

My general rates

Line Editing (copy editing): $.01 per word
The first ten pages (3000 words) are free as a sample, to see if I do the kind of editing you’re looking for. For example, I’m a fiend for the Oxford (serial) comma. If you don’t like using it, we’re not going to play well together. Also, if I notice any glaring plot or character issues that pop me out of the story, I’ll mention it.

Content editing (substantive editing): $.015 per word
This includes line editing, because I’m not wired to be able to ignore spelling, grammar and formatting issues while I’m looking for plot, dialog, and characterization issues. )Too many years as a technical writer trying to make engineers and programmers look fluent in English as well as C+.)

That can push the cost for a 75000-word novel over a thousand dollars, which makes my stomach hurt. If you’re someone who can outline (either before or after writing a first draft), I’d be happy to look at that for plot and character issues.

Bulk Discounts

If you’re prolific and would like me to look at more than two manuscripts a year–including novella lengths, we can look at a discount from the general rates for return business.

Formatting

To be determined.