One day, someone is going to stay up all night reading your book.
One day, someone is going fall in love with your characters.
One day, someone is going to lose themselves in a world you created, and never want to leave.
PublisherRocket.com

EDITING AND SEMI-GHOST-WRITING RATES

Other Services Offered
BETA READING, Voiceovers, Commercials, Book Narrator, Song Lyrics

TEAMWORK: As a professional editor it’s my job to see that your manuscript is the very best it can be.

My extended team includes specialists in printing as well as specialists in ebook formatting and cover design. Your book can be uploaded to Amazon, the Apple Bookstore and more. Our services, available individually or combined, are very reasonably priced.

I personally monitor the process every step of the way.

ABOUT EDITING RATES: I'll encourage you to compare prices of course, but common editorial rates —regardless of whether a project is flat rate or hourly— tend to fall within the ranges indicated on the industry research link listed below. Rates will vary considerably, depending on the nature of the work, the talent and abilities of the author, the time frame of the assignment, the degree of special expertise required, and other factors.

WHICH IS WHAT? Rather than re-invent the wheel to explain the difference between proof-reading and copy-editing, I'll link to the explanation of Louise Harnby,a highly qualified editor and proofreader located in the United Kingdom.

OUR RATES:

Pages undergoing Proofreading / Copy Editing review will be billed at $3/page (that's 0.012/word)

Pages requiring Content editing will be billed at $7.50/page (for each time the page in question needs revising or re-revising.) (that's 0.03/word)

Books requiring semi-Ghost Writing will be billed at $15/page. For example, 5 pages would be $75.(that's 0.06/word)

BETA READING: Honest review, suggestions made when applicable, overall grade from one to five stars.
.001 per word. 50,000 word book = $50.

WHAT CONSTITUTES A PAGE? The industry standard for a manuscript page is a firm 250 words. That's because 250 words is what a one-inch-margin, double-spaced, twelve-point-font manuscript page typically turns out to be.

I encourage my writers to submit their story to me in single space format for review purposes, (This results in less paper wasted when I print out a hard copy.) For billing purposes however, every 250 words will be counted as one page.

As an example, let's say your novel has 77,500 words. We'll divide that by 250 words per page which gives us 310 pages for billing purposes.



Proofreading & Copy Editing
Proofreading & Copy Editing together will check for and correct any errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, verb tenses and other grammatical errors.

Content editing includes identifying factual errors, contradiction, and inconsistencies. If the content is fictional, it checks for discrepancies in the plot, character, or dialogue. If the story requires ghost writing to clean it up and flesh it out, there is an additional charge and that falls into the semi-ghost writing category.

SEMI-GHOST WRITING: Books requiring some ghost writing to expand, reconfigure or rewrite some of your content.
This option is for talented story-tellers whose writing, spelling, and language skills are good, but not great. This selection is for someone who would benefit from the help of an editor who can translate the product of their unique story-telling skills into an entertaining and marketable read. I do this for many of my clients. It's actually the majority of my business. Anybody can write. Few people write well, and only a handful of people can tell a really good story. Working with a good story teller feels a bit like translating a story composed in some magical world into today's English. It's one of my favorite things to do.

VIEW THIS SAMPLE CHAPTER:

RECEIVED: Chapter idea, based on an author's old recollection.
ASSIGNMENT : Edit, semi-ghost write to lengthen, then polish for story coherence and smooth reading, but maintain feel of author's writing.
WORD COUNT: 593 words

PRODUCED: Finished chapter.
COMPLETED WORK:
Edited, semi-ghost written to lengthen, then polished for story coherence and smooth reading, while maintaining author's voice.
FINISHED WORD COUNT: 1186, an increase of 593 words, original word count doubled.
TIME SPENT: 1.5 hours

Third party charges to keep in mind:

(1) DICTATION: You're great at dictating what's on your mind but the idea of sitting down at a keyboard and having to type out every chapter gives you a headache? We have an inexpensive solution. You can dictate on your smart phone and email your dictation to REV.com who will transcribe it and email the transcription to us. Our editing clients have found them very reasonable. They charge $1/Min, 12hr Turnaround & 99% Accuracy. You can do a chapter or an entire book at a time.
VERY IMPORTANT SUGGESTION: Request the SAME transcriber for your entire book.

(2) FORMATTING: Formatting your finished e-book for marketing on Apple, Kobo and Amazon would be a third party charge. Average cost is $100 - $150. IF YOU PLAN TO GO DIRECTLY TO AN E-BOOK, WE'VE BEEN VERY PLEASED WITH THE WORK AcePub.com DOES, AND FORMATTING IS INCLUDED. (their rates are from $99)
NOTE: Their formatting has also been used by some of our authors for hard-cover printed books, and it looks terrific.

(3) ILLUSTRATOR: Engaging an illustrator to create an attractive semi-custom cover image for your finished book is a third party charge. Average cost is $100. - $500 but it can go higher for custom covers, depending upon what you have in mind.

(Note: We do have reasonably priced staff illustrators for cartoons to illustrate chapters if desired.)

If you have a general idea of the type of cover image that appeals to you, I will work with you to create a sample image that will be submitted to the illustrator as an idea of what you're looking for. There is no charge for my assistance on cover images.

Alternatively, we can ask the illustrator to submit up to three informal sample sketches of his/her own choosing, at no additional charge.

I will proofread the newly converted digital copy to make certain it displays properly on phones and tablets. There is no charge.

I will go back and forth with your cover illustrator as many times as is necessary until the artist gets your cover right. There is no charge.

Illustrated children's book? I'm on the case.

Feel free to bounce plot and character ideas off me at any time. There is no charge.

If you would like for me to provide input and editing as you compose the back cover story synopsis, I will be happy to do so. There is no charge.

If you would like for me to review and edit the publisher query letter, you have written, just ask. There is no charge.

Finding the right Literary Agent or Publisher can be a seriously daunting task. Sometimes it feels like a snipe hunt.

If you'd like me to do that part of your homework for you, I'll be happy to oblige. I charge $25/hr. I'll provide you with a list (as many reputable agents as I can verify that appear to be a good match for your book). I'm only interested in those who specialize in your specific type of story. I'll provide you with the agent name, the agency name, address, and email address for submissions, (etc) plus a note detailing exactly what they want you to provide along with your query letter (i.e.-first ten pages, first three chapters, etc.) In short, I'll provide you with everything you're going to need along with a fill in the blank section which allows you to keep track of what you sent, when you sent it, each agent's response to your letter, and any follow-up requests you receive from that agency. You will receive this in Word format. Each agency will have a separate page and I will encourage you to print the agency pages out and file them alphabetically in a three ring binder to keep track, (also so you don't accidentally contact the same agency twice.) I use an up to date agency list and then I read through every single page of both the agent and the agency's website to confirm that they're actually worthy of contacting. I do not use a stock list. Every author's book is different, thus every selection of agents is different. How long will it take me? Anywhere from one to two days on average, often a good bit less.

How I edit: First we'll get the story content to where you want it. You'll approve each chapter as it's completed. If there are to be internal illustrations, that will come next. Then comes page formatting, so that page display is consistent from chapter to chapter. Next I'll combine all of the chapters and print it out as if it were a hard-copy printed book, and I and a member of my editing team will each sit down and read it all the way through, red-lining anything that looks like it still needs tweaking. Once that part's done we'll concentrate on getting the cover right.

BILLING: Chapter by Chapter Simplicity

I invoice via PayPal, one chapter at a time. That allows the author to remain aware of progress. It also provides the opportunity for the author to caucus with the editor in the event the author is suddenly struck with an inspiration and wants to revise one or more chapters.

Payment is due upon invoice receipt . When PayPal advises that the invoice has been paid, edited chapters are immediately transmitted.

Sticking with our original example, a 77,500 word novel at 250 words per page, gives us 310 pages.

If we were looking at 10 chapters of 31 pages each, assuming no content editing problems, that would be an affordable 31 pages x $3.00=$93. per chapter. The author is also able to control the speed at which the editing progress proceeds. Typical time from start to completion of review would be between 1 and 2 weeks depending upon what's found once work begins.

HOW TO BEGIN:

Got questions? Send email anytime or call me at 772-219-0457. Florida is on Eastern Standard Time.

READY TO PROCEED?

Send me an EMAIL with the text of the FIRST CHAPTER of your book pasted into the body of the email. Do NOT include an attachment.
Just do a simple copy/paste (HIGHLIGHT the TEXT, then click Edit/COPY, and Edit/PASTE) right into the body of the email)

In that same email I will then ask you to
(1) Tell me a little bit about yourself, include your name, address, and telephone number
and
(2) Include a brief description of what your story is about.

Helpful links:

LEARN ABOUT ISBN NUMBERS
Does your paperback or hard-cover book need an ISBN? Yes.
Does your e-book need an ISBN? That depends upon where you plan to sell it.
Amazon (Kindle): No
Barnes and Noble (ePub): Yes
Apple iBook (ePub): Yes
You will need SEPARATE ISBNs for EACH of the different formats of your ebook and your printed book. For example, if you have a Kindle version, an ePub version, a softcover, an audio book, and a hardcover, you will need at least four different ISBNs (five, if you want one for your Kindle book too.) They're cheaper if you purchase them in blocks of 10 numbers.

LEARN ABOUT COPYRIGHTS
AFTER the editing has been completed is when you legally register the copyright.
That's because we have to upload a digital copy of the finished manuscript to the U.S. Copyright Office.
When do you get confirmation that the copyright has been approved and formally registered? Anywhere from 2 to 10 months after submitting the application. No, I'm not kidding.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Interesting article. What happens to the author's work and royalties if the publisher who purchased the rights to their book goes bankrupt? A good argument for making sure the publisher you sign with has a good track record and is financially sound.