Yes, I am college educated. Yes, I have a good grasp on the English language. Yes, I deal with authors and have proofed and edited for several in various genres, both fiction and non. Yes, I love books. And yes, I am myself a writer. That all being said, most people trying to get their work out there are doing so on a pretty limited budget. I know the standard rate for just proofing starts at $13
per 1000 words, and many offering this service are no different than myself and/or come to the table with less experience. But I'd rather help people fulfill their dream by putting out the best product they can without feeling like they need to mortgage their home to do so. I do not believe in simply proofing without sharing my thoughts on flow, context, etc....that isn't my style because if it doesn't sound right, I'm going to speak up. I'm not going to ignore it because I wasn't "paid" to point something out to you. So, fully expect notes from me on your work, along with possible suggestions for improving flow. As far as genres, I'm pretty flexible. Although not my favorite, I have edited for non-fiction political books and articles as well as software/tech articles. Most of the projects I've worked on were romance, erotica, sci-fi, paranormal, crime, humor and/or combinations thereof. There are so many genres and sub-genres, so if you are wondering if I will take on your project, just ask....but as long as I have the time, I'll probably say yes. That all being said, here are my basic price break downs. I charge a flat rate for first pass through on most items (prices subject to change).:
Short stories (7,499 words or less)
Proofing and editing $45
Novelettes (7,500-17,499 words)
Proofing and editing $100
Novellas (17,500-40,000 words)
Proofing and editing $250
Novels (40,001-80,000)
Proofing and editing $500
Anything over 80,000 words will be charged the Novel price plus an additional fee per standard manuscript page (a standard page is 250 words, double spaced with 1" margins. I will be going off of word count.):
Proofing and editing $0.42/ up to 250 words
Example: 100,000 words would be
$500 novel copyediting plus $33.60 (20,000/250=80 pages x $0.42=$33.60) for a total of $533.60
Please note, after you make changes from my initial pass of edits, I'm happy to make additional passes through at the fee of $0.42 per standard manuscript page (250 words). If you are interested in me beta reading and/or doing a final read after formatting, I would be glad to do so. I will charge a reading fee of $0.12 per 250 words. In addition, any mistakes found during a final read will be a charge of $0.20 each. If I find that there are a lot more mistakes than should be in a final, I will stop and discuss things with you about possibly changing to a proofing fee instead. Example: If you have 100,000 words, a reading fee would be $48 (100,000/250=400 pages x $0.12=$48). If I caught 12 mistakes, it's an additional $2.40 making the total $50.40
The first $50 is non-refundable, regardless of your total. This is because if I have spent time on a project, I want you to be happy, but I will not be taken advantage of. I have still put my time in and have tried to help you. I require payment in full up front on any project under $50. Anything over that, we can work out payments if needed, but final payment is due when I complete the edits. I will not send edits if there is an outstanding balance. If you have any questions, want a quote, need to set something up and/or need to know my schedule, please contact me. Most projects can be done fairly quickly, depending on current availability. If you have a rush needed, it can happen for an additional fee. So, lets have some fun together and get through this process so you can get on to releasing your book to the world.
-Dallas
