Copy-editing service from experienced and professional book copy-editor
Do you need a book copy-editing service to check the sentence structure and flow, quality of wording, ensure the text is succinct, and eliminate spelling, punctuation and grammar errors? Whether you require novel editing services or book editing for a non-fiction manuscript, I will amend these areas so you're ready to self-publish or send a submission to an agent or publisher.
If you have finished the final draft of your fiction novel, non-fiction book or short story, a book editor will make sure your book, novel or ebook is copy-edited to a professional standard prior to publication. This process includes my proofreading service, so if you would only like the spelling, grammar and punctuation checked, please check out my Book Proofreading Service.
Professional book editing at competitive rates, a thorough and reliable service, and a quick turnaround (subject to availability). As well as my editing service and book proofreading service, I also provide Manuscript Assessment and an Ebook Formatting Service. Please note, I only edit UK English text.
If you have finished the final draft of your fiction novel, non-fiction book or short story, a book editor will make sure your book, novel or ebook is copy-edited to a professional standard prior to publication. This process includes my proofreading service, so if you would only like the spelling, grammar and punctuation checked, please check out my Book Proofreading Service.
Professional book editing at competitive rates, a thorough and reliable service, and a quick turnaround (subject to availability). As well as my editing service and book proofreading service, I also provide Manuscript Assessment and an Ebook Formatting Service. Please note, I only edit UK English text.
Copy-editing service and ebook formatting service for romantic/historical novel |
What is Copy-Editing?
Copy-editing ensures your book is ready for publication by checking for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors; amending inconsistencies of hyphenation, capitalisation and use of italics; addressing missing information, plot holes and contradictions; improving the quality of word usage and sentence structure; and removing unnecessary and redundant wording.
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See my copy-editing checklist below for the aspects covered in this service:
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You’ve spent a lot of time and effort writing your book, so an experienced and professional book editing service will turn your great book into a fantastic book. One that flows well, engages readers and is free from errors. You want your book to be the best it can to realise its potential.
When you’ve worked on your book for a period of time, you read what you expect to see. Spotting the simplest of errors and inconsistencies is difficult because you can’t distance yourself from your own writing. Being objective becomes challenging, so it’s time to use professional editorial services to work through and finalise your manuscript so it’s ready for publication.
When you’ve worked on your book for a period of time, you read what you expect to see. Spotting the simplest of errors and inconsistencies is difficult because you can’t distance yourself from your own writing. Being objective becomes challenging, so it’s time to use professional editorial services to work through and finalise your manuscript so it’s ready for publication.
What Are the Differences between Editing and Proofreading?
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MY EDITING AND PROOFREADING SERVICES AT A GLANCE
Features of Each Service |
Proofreading Service |
Copy-Editing Service |
Spelling mistakes and typos |
✔ |
✔ |
Punctuation errors |
✔ |
✔ |
Grammar errors |
✔ |
✔ |
Consistency of tense |
✔ |
✔ |
Subject–verb agreement |
✔ |
✔ |
Capitalisation and hyphenation errors |
✔ |
✔ |
Dialogue punctuation and formatting (as required) |
✔ |
✔ |
Amend quality of word usage and flow of text |
✖ |
✔ |
Improve sentence and paragraph structure |
✖ |
✔ |
Ensures text is concise and removes redundant wording |
✖ |
✔ |
Awkward phrasing is revised without losing the author's voice and style |
✖ |
✔ |
Edited biography
The estimates I was getting for copyediting my book were way above Book Editing Services charges. The editing was thorough and I appreciated having both the tracked and finalised versions of the text. My queries were answered almost by return. I cannot praise the service I received high enough.
Paul Johnson
Why is Copy-Editing Important?
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Even excellent writers use more words than necessary, construct sentences that are difficult to follow or could improve the quality of their wording. Even though you've reread your manuscript a dozen times, there may still be omissions, inconsistencies, ambiguities or gaps in the storyline or presentation of text.
Copy-editing is important as it ensures that published material encompasses the the 5 Cs of copy-editing:
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As well as the overall checklist above, the following will also be addressed as appropriate:
The list above corrects any gaps or anomalies that ‘jar’ the reader as they read your book. Any plot holes, no matter how trivial, or misspellings, inconsistencies or ‘flat’ writing will be noticed, and probably discussed in Amazon reviews.
- Formatting inconsistencies.
- Irregular margin indentations or a mixture of fonts used, for example.
- If you would like the font, margin indentations, line spacing, style of chapter headings, etc. amended and a table of contents added so it meets publishing standards, please check my Ebook Formatting Service for more information.
- Change US English spellings to UK English (I only edit material using UK English).
- Correct usage if both single and double quotation marks are used.
- Italics for foreign words that aren’t listed in the dictionary / well known in English.
- Italics and quotation marks used correctly for the titles of films, books, TV shows, albums, songs, headlines, etc.
- There isn’t a mix of past and present tense.
- Abbreviations and acronyms are correct and expanded when first mentioned.
- Address multiple POV (head hopping) in the same sentence / paragraph / chapter section.
- Inconsistencies of names / places / aspects of characterisation.
- A character's name spelt differently or changes completely.
- Characters' ages are mixed up.
- A character has blue eyes at the beginning of the story and then they are brown three-quarters of the way through.
- The storyline time frames match up or dates/days/events are either logical or correct.
- An event was planned for tomorrow on Monday, then yesterday is referred to as Friday.
- 1 September 1983 referred to as Saturday when it was a Thursday.
- A character discussing what happened at a birthday party before it has taken place.
- Plot holes both major and minor.
- Checking for consistency in a character’s behaviour or actions.
- Improving word usage by ensuring adverbs are used sparingly and revising passive voice.
The list above corrects any gaps or anomalies that ‘jar’ the reader as they read your book. Any plot holes, no matter how trivial, or misspellings, inconsistencies or ‘flat’ writing will be noticed, and probably discussed in Amazon reviews.
Edited fiction novel
The PepperAsh Locket is the third book Alex has copy-edited for me, and I have found the work comprehensive and thorough, with friendly and encouraging advice given.
Franky Sayer
What Copy-Editing Doesn't Cover
Copy-editing is carried out when the plot, storyline, narrative structure, characterisation, etc. are final. As you wouldn’t build a house without laying the foundations, you wouldn’t copy-edit a book that needs restructuring or rewriting. This service is NOT the option if any of the following apply:
- The writing needs rewriting or restructuring.
- You need a ghostwriter.
- You need in-depth fact checking.
- You need someone to project manage the process of researching, writing and promoting your book.
- To check if there are problems with copyright or plagiarism.
- Also, this service is more in-depth than proofreading – check out my Book Proofreading Service page for more information on this service.
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Copy-editing is perfect for manuscripts where the writing needs to be tightened, improved and polished prior to self-publishing or submitting a sample to an agent/publisher.
If you need an even deeper edit to reorganise the structure, to strengthen characterisation or to change the storyline arc or plot, for example, then you will need a developmental editor (also called substantive or structural editor) to help you. I don’t offer this service, but I can provide recommendations if you contact me using the form link below. |
A developmental edit is a more expensive service due to the work involved, but it will be beneficial if you’ve hit a roadblock with regards to where you want to take your story or if you need to restructure your chapters to incorporate flashbacks, for example. If any sections need rewriting or restructuring, developmental editing is the level of service you need.
Edited children's fiction novel
Alex provided a great service copyediting my manuscript. She came across as very professional and I felt very comfortable sharing my work with her. I will definitely be using her services again. Five stars!
Nicholas Cariello
Book Editor for Hire
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I am trained in editing and proofreading through the College of Media and Publishing where I qualified with distinction. I have experience working with authors of fiction and non-fiction in many different genres from chick lit to thriller and memoirs to self-help.
See a selection of the books I have worked on and client testimonials here ► I will save you the time of making sure grammar rules are adhered to, learning how to punctuate dialogue, or checking for inconsistencies and errors. As a trained and experienced editor, I will check and amend your manuscript without losing your voice and writing style so you can self-publish or send a sample to an agent/publisher with confidence. |
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It’s difficult to notice mistakes in your own writing because you can’t stand back as a ‘reader’ when you’re so close and involved in the text. I will ensure your manuscript is error-free and written to the highest quality – no job is too small or too large.
Book Editing Rates
The cost for my copy-editing service is discussed on an individual basis as the requirements of each client are different and every job is unique.
My rates are dependent on the following:
I do not carry out the following:
I charge per 1,000 words, not per mistake or by the hour. There is a minimum charge of £50 for all services. Please contact me for a free no-obligation quote. Quotations are valid for 30 days from the date provided.
Once the manuscript has been returned, any additional work required thereafter (copy-editing or proofreading of further changes made by author, etc.) is charged at £25 per hour (minimum charge £25).
How to make payment:
I accept payment by debit card, credit card, PayPal account and bank transfer. Payment is required in advance of the work commencing and within 48 hours of receiving the payment request or invoice. See my Terms and Conditions for more information.
My rates are dependent on the following:
- Subject matter
- Word count
- Required turnaround time
- The amount of copy-editing required (the amount of corrections and amendments required)
- Use of a foreign language in the text (if there are numerous phrases in a foreign language to be checked)
I do not carry out the following:
- I do not copy-edit text that has been written by an author with English as a second language / the text has been translated from a foreign language.
- I do not copy-edit data or text applied to or within photographs, images, illustrations or tables/graphs/charts/etc.
- This service does not involve the formatting or insertion of photographs, images, illustrations or tables/graphs/charts/etc. You can find out how to format images for your ebook at the following Amazon KDP Resources page.
I charge per 1,000 words, not per mistake or by the hour. There is a minimum charge of £50 for all services. Please contact me for a free no-obligation quote. Quotations are valid for 30 days from the date provided.
Once the manuscript has been returned, any additional work required thereafter (copy-editing or proofreading of further changes made by author, etc.) is charged at £25 per hour (minimum charge £25).
How to make payment:
I accept payment by debit card, credit card, PayPal account and bank transfer. Payment is required in advance of the work commencing and within 48 hours of receiving the payment request or invoice. See my Terms and Conditions for more information.
Edited fiction novel
Alex's service and work was as perfect as ever. This is the third project we have worked on together. Alex is a true professional about her trade and I will use her again for many others in the future.
Nick James
Book Editing Process
How I work:
- After I receive the manuscript in a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx file), I apply amendments using the Track Changes function.
- Please see my Proofreading Service page to see an example of a Microsoft Word document amended using Tracked Changes.
- You can see all the changes, including deletions, insertions and formatting corrections, whilst maintaining the original document. This allows you to see the amendments before accepting them. Check out this Microsoft support article on accepting/rejecting amendments in Word.
- I also provide explanations of the changes I have made and offer suggestions using the comment boxes. Check out this Microsoft support article to delete the comments.
- As well as returning the file which shows all the changes, I also provide a final version with all the amendments incorporated and any comments removed so you can use this 'clean' version to amend as appropriate or self-publish/send to publishers/literary agents.
- Once the documents are returned, if the client makes further changes or additions to the edited text or the document as a whole and this results in further errors or discrepancies or more text to edited, these will be classed as out of scope. Therefore, an hourly rate will be charged to amend/work through.
- For help self-publishing your book, check out the following articles:
- 15 Top Book Cover Designers
- How to Write a Back Cover Book Blurb
- How to Get an ISBN
- How to Publish Your Book on Amazon KDP – Ebooks and Paperbacks
- Self-Publishing Resources creating and selling ebooks/print-on-demand books, print-on-demand printing companies and more.
- For information on book promotion and marketing, please check out my following articles:
Edited children's book
Thank you for editing my children's book. You have made it seem nicely polished. I'm really happy with it now it reads well. Can't wait to start sending it off to agents and publishers. Many, many thanks, Alex.
Maria Onyegbule
Contact Book Editing Services
If you would like to get in touch, let me know about your book and which service you're interested in by using the secure Contact Form. You can also use the form to discuss your editorial requirements, request a no-obligation quote or check availability.
Please read my Terms and Conditions if you would like to use my editorial services so you are familiar with how I work and the requirements of both parties. I look forward to hearing from you.
Please read my Terms and Conditions if you would like to use my editorial services so you are familiar with how I work and the requirements of both parties. I look forward to hearing from you.
