Proofreading – $.005/word (so $250 for 50,000 words):
When I proofread, I am checking for the basic grammatical errors: typos, misspellings, obvious errors such as mistaken names or places, and so on. Things on the Line editing list that are so awkward or confusing that they must be addressed will be commented on during proofreading.
Line editing (aka copy editing) – $.007/word (so $350 for 50,000 words):
My line editing is a much more intense form of proofreading. In addition to the things I do in a proofread, I check for things like lack of conjunctions (In a fiction book, if you say things like: I do not know that man instead of I don’t know that man, it sounds much too stuffy. So I would comment that “do not” could be turned into “don’t” for example.), point-of-view problems, and word choice, as well the following:
– Repeated use of a select word or phrase within a sentence or a few paragraphs
Ex 1: The repeated “kick” in this sentence: She had given up the idea of a night of romance, but for him to basically kick her out after kissing her like she was the only woman he’d ever wanted was a kick to the gut.
Ex 2: Multiple sentences within a paragraph that begin with the word “He.” He pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her gently instead of delving into the passion they’d shared before. He lightly traced her lips with his tongue until she parted them. He tasted her, inhaled her scent, and absorbed her warmth. He stepped back and guided her into the elevator when it opened. He pushed the button for the fourth floor and leaned back against the railing, pulling her with him. He searched her eyes, seeking out any doubt she might be hiding, but she closed the gap between them and pressed her mouth into his before he could get a read on what she was feeling. Like the kiss at the party, the kiss was on the verge of exploding. I would make a suggestion, changing several of the sentences so they vary enough to be more interesting and not so “listy-listy.”
– Dangling modifiers
Ex: Touching his chest now, warmth radiated through her entire body. That is considered a dangling modifier because touching his chest now refers to the subject of the sentence, which in this case is warmth. If I saw this, I would point it out and suggest something like: As she touched his chest now, warmth radiated through her entire body.)
– Odd placement of or awkward-sounding phrases/sentences
Ex 1: She held his gaze. “But I so enjoy it, Harry.” She responded with the sarcastic bite she’d had since he’d met her. My suggestion would be that She responded with the sarcastic bite she’d had since he’d met her. seems to be introducing the dialogue, so it might work better as: She held his gaze and responded with the sarcastic bite she’d had since he’d met her. “But I so enjoy it, Harry.” or that you could also turn it into a dialogue tag: She held his gaze. “But I so enjoy it, Harry,” she responded with the sarcastic bite she’d had since he’d met her.
Ex 2: Several tense moments passed before he steered the conversation to Jessica’s first week of school, and the girl worked her magic by melting everyone’s hearts at the table. This sounds like she melt’s everyone’s hearts there at the table. So instead, I would suggest something like: Several tense moments passed before he steered the conversation to Jessica’s first week of school, and the girl worked her magic by melting the hearts of everyone at the table.
Ex 3: His breath left him in a rush and his shoulders sagged, suddenly exhausted. This sounds awkward because it makes it seem like his shoulders were suddenly exhausted. Instead, I would suggest: His breath left him in a rush and his shoulders sagged. He was suddenly exhausted.
Ex 4: “A friend of mine’s daughter just started lessons.” The first bit of that sounds awkward, so I would suggest: “The daughter of a friend of mine just started lessons.”
Final read-through – $50-$100:
Once you have received my edits (whether proofread or line edit), have made any corrections, and believe you’re ready to publish, I will read back through it for anything that might have been missed or errors that might have been made during your edits. If there are fewer than ten errors, it is $50. If it requires much more work and more than ten errors, it is $100.
If you would like, you may send me a five-page sample to read through, and I can work it to show you what I would change as a proofread and as a line edit. Then you can decide which you would like me to do for your manuscript.