I truly believe that every manuscript will benefit from proofreading before publication. After several rounds of editing and numerous revisions, it’s easy to miss a forgotten period or leave a typo in a word you’ve read a thousand times. It’s also possible for errors to be introduced during the final formatting process, like words broken in the wrong place. Proofreading is a great opportunity for fresh eyes to catch any final typos and errors before publication.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Has my novel already been developmentally edited AND copy edited?

• Am I completely done making changes to the manuscript?

• Has my novel been formatted (whether by myself or a professional), or is it about to be?

If you answered “Yes” to all of these questions, you’re likely ready for proofreading. Still not sure? Request a quote and I’ll assess your manuscript’s readiness.

When I receive your quote request, I’ll take a look at your sample and assess whether you’re ready for edits. If it looks like we’ll be a good fit, I’ll put together my offer, as well as a sample edit. If you agree that we’re a good match, you’ll accept my offer and we’ll get you on my schedule.

Once the project has officially started and you’ve sent me your final manuscript, I deep dive into it. During this time, you likely won’t hear from me much, as I’m saving all my comments and suggestions for the in-line comments. I don’t offer mid-project updates or check-ins because your job is not to think about the manuscript or work on it in any way. The goal is for you to take a breather and feel fresh when you have my edits in hand.

When I’m done editing, I’ll send everything back to you, then it’s in your hands. I’m happy to answer questions or clarify my thoughts after I’m done editing, but you are responsible for the actual revisions.

Proofreading can take anywhere from three days to three weeks depending on the length of your novel. A 20,000-word novella might only need a few days, while a 150,000-word novel might need three weeks. I’ll offer you a turnaround time based on your manuscript and my schedule availability with my quote.

The cost of proofreading varies based on length of your novel. A 20,000-word novella might start at $0.01/word, while a 150,000-word novel might start at $0.02/word. Each quote is tailored to your manuscript.

Absolutely! Every quote comes with a FREE short sample edit so you can better see what my edits will look like. This is a great way to know if we’ll be a good fit.

A style sheet is the document that I use while editing to keep track of different elements of your novel. It includes the following:

• A dictionary of spelling choices and proper nouns

• Short character profiles and descriptions

• Timeline references

• Location profiles

• A list of grammatical choices

Style sheets help me, as the editor, make consistent choices throughout your novel, and they can be helpful to you, as the author, too! They might shed light on character description inconsistencies (for instance, if she’s a brunette on page 73 but a redhead on page 217), or on main characters that only have one physical description in the whole novel (which is more common than you might think!). Maybe you spelled your character’s name a few different ways, or your town’s name is punctuated differently throughout. A style sheet will reveal all!

Style sheets are also helpful across a series, as I can make sure that all elements stay consistent throughout each manuscript.

Actually, no! Part of my quoting process involves taking a look at your sample edit and determining whether you’re ready for proofreading. If I think a different level of editing would be more beneficial to you, I’ll offer that instead, or if I think that you need to keep working on the manuscript before bringing in an editor, I’ll let you know first. It’s not beneficial to you OR me to work on a manuscript that’s not ready for editing.

That’s totally okay! My suggestions are just that—my own suggestions. At the end of the day, this is YOUR story, and you get to make the choices. I’ll do my best to explain WHY I suggest each change, however, so you can make an informed decision.