Editing / Manuscript Services
Why have your manuscript edited?
"But I reread that manuscript umpteen times ... how could I have missed it?" We writers have all uttered that phrase at one time or another. Still, missing words and transposed letters do slip through the process, ending up as glaring errors on the published page. Blame it on the human brain (or your spell-checker). As you read and reread your all-too-familiar manuscript, your mind subtly corrects missing letters and words and your writing looks fine. Fine, that is, until you see it in print.
A fresh pair of eyes, an outsider, can pick up bad habits you've never noticed, errors you've overlooked. And that's okay ... the writer’s job is to write. Leave the style and function rules to an experienced editor who understands the different standards required by newspaper, magazine and book publishers. Why have your manuscript edited? To correct errors before you invest in printing, of course.
Understanding today's publishers and editing
Why have your manuscript edited?
"But I reread that manuscript umpteen times ... how could I have missed it?" We writers have all uttered that phrase at one time or another. Still, missing words and transposed letters do slip through the process, ending up as glaring errors on the published page. Blame it on the human brain (or your spell-checker). As you read and reread your all-too-familiar manuscript, your mind subtly corrects missing letters and words and your writing looks fine. Fine, that is, until you see it in print.
A fresh pair of eyes, an outsider, can pick up bad habits you've never noticed, errors you've overlooked. And that's okay ... the writer’s job is to write. Leave the style and function rules to an experienced editor who understands the different standards required by newspaper, magazine and book publishers. Why have your manuscript edited? To correct errors before you invest in printing, of course.
How Much Does It Cost?
Editing fees depend on what your project is, its length, structure suggestions, error potential and so forth. Because manuscripts can differ a great deal from one to another, each job estimate is separately made, based on an initial sample-edit.
Rate is $30 per hour—that usually averages $1.50 to $3 per page
-
Sample edit of 30 double-spaced pages $50
-
Twenty pages for $30
FREE SAMPLE EDIT
-
Up to five pages for a book-length manuscript
-
For articles and manuscripts less than 10,000 words, number of pages are negotiable, depending on length.
The importance of analysis and critique
Your manuscript—whether fiction or nonfiction book, short story or magazine article—is done. Your friends and relatives have read it and tell you it's wonderful. Your Grandma thinks it's grand, or your kids "just love it." Unless they are bonafide editors looking for a manuscript to purchase that is likely to earn a profit for their publishing company, chances are they didn't take note of its strengths and weaknesses—like plot, character development, construction slip-ups, incorrect word usage, grammar errors, proper paragraphing, shifting points of view and typos. An editor would notice these flaws.
Publishing house editors rarely read past the first paragraph of your manuscript before rejecting it. Consider yourself extremely lucky if your photocopied rejection slip has a line scribbled at the bottom that indicates why they didn't want it. If you plan to self-publish and market your writing, a professional analysis and critique, along with proofreading and a line-edit, is especially important and can alleviate probable frustration and expense in your quest for a quality, marketable product (not to mention what you might learn about writing).