Project 5k Assessment – £25

For a fee of £25 I will read, edit and report on your first 5k words. I will look at writing style, content, plot, characterisation, use of setting etc. This report will help you to consider the stage your writing is at and how to proceed further. If your project is suitable, I will then offer a full beta read for an extra fee.

Developmental Read – £100

I provide a running commentary, showing where I’m particularly engaged in the story, where I find something confusing or where I start to lose interest, aiming to explain why particular sections work or don’t work and whether the plot stands up to scrutiny. I will check your meaning is clear, your writing style is consistent and point out any major issues with grammar/spelling/punctuation if they affect meaning, although I will not proofread the work – that is for a later stage. If I notice issues in your approach, for example inconsistent point of view or use of tense, I will raise the point with you and discuss any questions you have. I aim to be supportive, helping you to produce the best piece of work you can.

As well as the commentary, provided via comment boxes in either PDF or Word format, I will provide general notes on your piece of work, on issues such as characterisation, setting and style.

On completion of the read, I will be in a position to advise you on what level of editing your project requires.

A developmental read is £100 for a novel up to 100k words – if your work is longer, then please ask for a quote.

Substantive/structural editing

This involves a thorough pulling apart of your work, checking all details and structure.

As the work involved will vary from project to project, I will discuss a price for this with you after project assessment/developmental read if you are interested in using this service.

Copyediting – from £8 per 1k words

I will go through your work line by line, making sure it flows well and makes sense, correcting any spelling/punctuation/grammar issues and I will also point out any errors in the plot/continuity that I find, but I will not be analysing the structure in detail. Copyediting includes considering consistency of characters, settings and timeline.

Charges start from £8 per 1,000 words for a very basic check. Please do ask for a sample edit.

Proofreading – from £5 per 1k words

Proofreading is the final stage before publishing – I will read carefully through your text, making sure spelling and punctuation are as perfect as we can make them. I will also do a final check on grammar and sense. If the work is in its final format, I will also be looking for layout errors.

The charge for proofreading is £5 per 1,000 words (£500 for a 100,000 word novel). This consists of two readings of the text and assumes that the work involves looking for and correcting errors in text/simple layout only – a complex layout check, checking images, tables etc. takes longer and will cost more.

Formatting for print and ebook – from £150

Typesetting a standard novel for print is £90. Providing an ebook of the text is £60.

See my formatting page for more information on this service.

Cover Design – from £50

I can create a simple design for your cover, if that is all you need. If you require a more elaborate design, I am happy to work with your designer or provide information needed.

Editing, proofreading and formatting package – £1000

Following a developmental read, if your novel is of suitable quality, I offer a package including copy edit, proofread and format for print and ebook for a combined price of £1000.

The project will be returned to you after the copy edit so that you can deal with any issues raised. Once it’s returned, I will proofread the text for any remaining errors and provide epub and print-ready PDF interior files.

If your text is longer than 100k words, then please ask for a price.

I can create a simple cover for £50, or you can provide your own cover file.