novel or short story edit
Sometimes, all you need is a fresh pair of eyes on your novel. I can help with that.
I have more than 20 years’ industry experience, with 10 of those years spent helping emerging writers find success. I’d be delighted to help you make your writing the best it can be.
I believe in making support accessible to emerging authors, so I keep my rates as low as possible. But if they’re out of your range right now, I have an article about how to find a beta reader instead (and the pros and cons of beta readers versus a professional edit).
I offer a FREE, no obligation 15-minute consultation for anyone considering mentoring or editing packages. Click below to set up a time for us to chat.
Rates
I charge a flat rate of £0.025 per word for developmental editing. That works out at £25 per 1,000 words.
When you book a developmental edit with me, this is what you’ll get:
A detailed, professional critique of the key elements of your story, including plot, character, structure, pacing, and anything else that I pick up as I review your manuscript
A full editorial report outlining my findings and my suggestions to guide your next round of revisions
In-text annotations in the body of your manuscript highlighting specific areas of feedback (or things I really like!)
An optional 30-minute support call after you’ve had a chance to go through my report and feedback to discuss any of my suggestions
Please note: a developmental edit is not the same as a copy edit or line edit. Those are edits for further down the line, as they focus on picking up typos, spelling mistakes, or more granular suggestions for improvement. A developmental edit is very much about reviewing the “big picture” of your narrative as a whole: how the story holds together, how the characters evolve, whether the key plot points are landing effectively, whether a third-act plot twist feels cohesive; that sort of thing. If I spot a typo or a grammar mistake, I’ll generally flag it, but you shouldn’t rely on this edit to find and catch errors of this sort.
How long does it take?
Typically, I allow around 10 to 12 weeks to edit a standard 80,000 to 100,000 word novel. This can vary, though, so I may ask you to provide a short excerpt of your novel for a sample edit before we decide to work together – usually around 1,000 words or so. This helps us both decide if we’re a good fit for each other. And if not, no hard feelings! A developmental edit is a big investment for both of us – timewise and financially – so it’s important to be sure.
Please note that I have limited slots available to take on new editing clients, so there may be a wait of several months before a new slot opens up.
How do we get started?
Clicking on the button below will take you to my Enquiry Form – once you’ve filled it in and submitted, I’ll come back to you with next steps.
FAQ
Yes you can. If, for example, you book a 10,000 word package but you only want to send me 8,000 words of your novel, you might choose to include a 1,000 word synopsis and a 1,000 word plot breakdown too. As long as the documents all relate to the same project, I’m more than happy to look at ancillary material as well.
Absolutely! I charge a reduced rate (£0.015 per word) to look at work that’s been rewritten following my developmental edit. You can choose to send me excerpts rather than the full document if there are particular sections you’d like me to focus on specifically. Drop me a line and we’ll take it from there.
Absolutely – for services over £300, I’m happy to discuss a payment plan that suits.
T&Cs are linked in the footer menu.
