Edits I offer

I do a ton of freelance editing on Reedsy. See my reviews there. If you have found me here, I can work with you here–as long as I’ve never worked with you there. Once you contact me on Reedsy all editing must be done over there as you are their client once you go on their platform. I cannot take Reedsy clients off of their platform. But if you found me here first, I’m happy to work with you here. Please email me at prices@ParaklesisPress.com and tell me the following about your project:

  • audience age
  • genre
  • word count
  • how many books have your written before
  • are you planning to self pub or do you want to find a traditional publisher
  • what kind of edit you want (see a list of what I offer in my edits and my price ranges below)

And then please attach a sample chapter or you complete picture book to the email, I will get back to you within 48 hours with an offer or with a request for more info.

Editorial assessment

This assessment includes a broad look at the book with particular interest in:

  1. plot
  2. character
  3. concept
  4. theme
  5. voice
  6. pacing
  7. illustration opportunities
  8. marketability
  9. next steps

This assessment comes as a report from me on topics 1-7 and a phone call to discuss topics 8 and 9. It does not come with any actual editing of the work itself. And it doesn’t offer any brainstorming or any suggestions about how you might fix plot issues that may need fixing. It merely tells you where you are hitting industry standards and where your work is not meeting industry standards and it offers an opinion on what you should do if you want to self-publish or traditionally publish. It tells you what edits you will need to buy going forward and what those edits are likely to cost you, so you can decide if you what direction you want to pursue with this project.

starting at 189 for a picture book and starting at 389 for a novel of 100 pages

Developmental Edit

This edit includes a broad look at the book with particular interest in:

  1. plot
  2. character
  3. concept
  4. theme
  5. voice
  6. pacing/page breaks
  7. illustration opportunities
  8. marketability
  9. next steps
  • For this edit, I make comments in the text as I read, and I also write up a report on topics 1-7 and a we have a phone call to discuss topics 8 and 9. In the report, I brainstorm plot and character issues I’ve found and I may suggest moving scenes, cutting scenes, or adding scenes. I also will give examples of how to fix voice issues I find.
  • One of the main take-aways from this edit is an understanding of industry standards. This edit will help you know if you can sell this book to a publisher–what it might take to make it saleable–or if you should self-publish and what you can expect from the self-publishing experience. And you will walk away with a better understanding of the cost, in time and money, for you to pursue publication.

starting at 329 for a picture book and starting at 539 for a novel of 100 pages

Detailed Copyedit

I make a lot of comments in Track Changes, but I also go into the actual copy and make the changes I’m asking for. You will have the freedom to reject my copyedits and do your own revision, or you may like my copyedits and just keep them.

  1. I cut weak words
  2. I look places to add in specific nouns and verbs
  3. I look for places to add in sensory detail
  4. I look for places to add in figures of speech
  5. I remark on character lacking motivation
  6. I look at description to see if it’s laid out logically
  7. I remark on items not having downstream effect
  8. I remark on a need for foreshadowing coincidental events
  9. I cut ham sandwich (minutiae or stage direction)
  10. I fix moving body parts (she clutched/her fingers clutched)
  11. I fix MRUs (motivation/reaction units)
  12. I catch continuity errors
  13. I catch timeline errors
  14. I fix dialogue tags and action beats
  15. I fix confusing sentences
  16. I cut repeated thoughts
  17. I cut repeated words
  18. For rhyming picture books, I fix rhyme and meter
  19. I fix pov breaks
  20. I fix tense shifts
  21. I fix grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors as I go (but I do not guarantee a perfect book–I don’t read the book backward to catch all errors)

starting at 389 for a prose picture books and starting at 739 for a novel of 100 pages

Copyedits on rhyming picture books cost a fortune–just a friendly FYI for you. Sorry. They are super time consuming. They can go for anywhere between 400 and 2000 dollars.

I am willing to give sample copyedits on jobs that are priced at higher than 500 dollars.

Standard Copyedit

I make a lot of comments in Track Changes, but I also go into the actual copy and make the changes I’m asking for. You will have the freedom to reject my copyedits and do your own revision, or you may like my copyedits and just keep them.

In the copy edit

  1. I fix MRUs (motivation/reaction units)
  2. I catch continuity errors
  3. I catch timeline errors
  4. I fix dialogue tags and action beats
  5. I fix confusing sentences
  6. I cut repeated thoughts
  7. I cut repeated words
  8. for rhyming picture books I remark on places where rhyme or meter is off, but I don’t fix rhyme and meter
  9. I fix pov breaks
  10. I fix tense shifts
  11. I fix grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors as I go (but I do not guarantee a perfect book–I don’t read the book backward to catch all errors)

starting at 179 for a prose picture books and starting at 539 for a novel of 100 pages

Package Deal

If you buy a developmental and a copyedit together, I can offer a 33% reduction on the developmental edit.

To do the package deal, you would submit the book and I’d do the developmental edit first. Then you would do the edits (look at my suggestions and do the big picture revision) and then you would send the book back to me and I’d do the copyedit.

These edit prices do not include any back-and-forth editing between the edits. But I do answer questions during our phone calls. I am dedicated to ensuring that you understand the edits and have a roadmap for moving forward.

I’m sorry the edits are so expensive. I’m a good editor, but, unfortunately, I am not fast (I’m like my friend Pooh Bear–I’m a bear of very little brain and I have to think, think, think when I edit).