Packages & Pricing
A deep-dive structural edit that strengthens the foundation of your story. This process focuses on big-picture elements like character development, plot arcs, pacing and themes. I’ll help you identify inconsistencies, plot holes and areas that need more depth—ensuring your manuscript’s core is as strong as its potential.
$33 per 1,000 words.
$37 per 1,000 for nonfiction.
A meticulous, sentence-level edit that hones clarity, refines pacing, and strengthens voice and tone. I focus on sentence structure, word choice, rhythm and eliminating repetition—ensuring your prose is smooth, consistent and compelling.
Line editing is the bridge between your raw manuscript and a polished, immersive narrative.
$30 per 1,000 words.
The final pass before publication, focused on catching every last typo, grammatical slip and punctuation error. This stage ensures consistency in formatting, adherence to Chicago style (U.S. publishing industry standard) and a polished, professional finish.
The finest-toothed comb.
$15 per 1,000 words.
For writers who’ve hit a wall or want to sharpen their craft. Through one-on-one feedback, I provide insight into areas for improvement, practical ways to strengthen your writing and a clear path forward in your writing. Think of me as your second opinion, your coach and your constructive critic all in one.
Price dependent upon scope. Includes reading of sample or short story, and 1-hour workshop/coaching session.
My stance on AI in books
Overall: I’m not a Luddite. I use and “play with” AI regularly. It helped me brainstorm the call-to-action buttons on this website, for example. (My brain turns to sludge coming up with ways to say “click here.”) AI has helped me in my language studies, learning to code and has myriad other uses that do good in this world, harming little aside from the environment (a caveat that’s pulling a lot of weight here).
I am anti-AI in art. I’ve used no AI art in creating this website. And I strongly discourage its use when sourcing art for your cover or illustrations. AI art is built on theft, and there’s no softening that (among other concerns and criticisms). I do not condone or work with AI art. Period.
In writing: If you use AI in your writing, let me know when you send your contact form, as well as its scope (the entire book? chapter 5?).
Asking AI to make sure a tech in your sci-fi novel obeys the laws of physics is different than having it write for you. In nonfiction, AI must be fact-checked; copy/pasting what the AI says without double-checking its veracity is irresponsible. If you’ve written your entire book with AI, I wish you well with another editor. I’m a professional editor of people; editing AI is a different beast.
In editing: Most of us are most experienced with AI as an editor. After all, autocorrect has been a facet of texting for more than a decade. We are therefore all experienced with its shortcomings. AI will not notice that you prefer a phrase and reuse it dozens of times throughout a manuscript, or that “Clare” is spelled “Claire” all of chapter 3, as both are correct spellings. It will discourage wordplay, slang, AAVE and foreign languages, because those aren’t “real” words to it.
I do not use AI in my editing, in fact finding that it adds frustrations to my workflow.
This is relatively new technology and my stance may change over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's involved in the free consultation?
Upon filling out my contact form, you will receive an email from me within 48 hours inviting you to send your manuscript. This is so I don’t have your story if I’m booked and can’t tend to it for months. If yes:
Leading up to a 15-minute meeting, I read over your manuscript. This gives me a sense of the scope of the project, whether I think I’m the right editor for you and allows me to set a reasonable deadline if so.
Before the meeting, I send you my edits of 10–20 pages, or a chapter, as well as an editorial letter with overarching advice based on those pages.
During the meeting, I tell you my process and what to expect, answer any questions about my process or aforementioned edits and note any concerns you have to guide my editing of your manuscript, if you’ve decided I’m the editor for you.
If all goes well, this is when I send a contract to your email.
How does the writer's consultation work?
Fill out the contact or free consultation form.
Within 48 hours, I let you know my availability and invite you to send a sample, or, if there is no sample, to tell me about your writing goals and/or your writer’s block.
Reading the sample gives me a sense of the scope and of what you need. We agree on price. I send a contract and we schedule our hour-long meeting.
I edit in a triage manner. The things that will most substantively improve your writing, your characters, your story, so you aren’t overwhelmed by feedback. If the issue is writer’s block, I develop a lesson plan of sorts, including bespoke writing exercises.
I send the edits and an editorial letter with overarching feedback before our meeting, so you can ask clarifying questions if you have them at the meeting.
Meeting: I go over my feedback with examples and answer your questions. May include a writing exercise, reading recommendations or tips and tricks to add to your writer’s toolbox. It depends on what you will most benefit from.
Should I hire an editor before pitching an agent/publisher?
I wouldn’t.
While I’d love to have you, I don’t advise it. One, it’s part of the service the publishing house is providing; and contrary to what some may assume, they don’t expect grammatical perfection in submissions. Also, your future publisher is going to want to know how you naturally write, so they might know what caliber of revision to expect in response to their edits.
This is not the same as turning in a first final draft no one has seen or commented upon. I heartily advise getting feedback before pitching your novel to publishers.
Do you offer editing packages?
Yes. Though there are benefits to having more than one set of eyes on your story, self-publishing authors sometimes find it beneficial to work with one trusted editor across an entire project. And I’m happy to accomodate that.
Familiarity with your story, what areas you’ve reworked, your style, etc., makes ensuing edits take a bit less time than they do when I’m coming in fresh, which is reflected in bundle pricing.
If it’s our first time working together, we can discuss bundle pricing for ensuing edits after successful completion of the first.
Why does the industry favor per-word rates?
- You don’t want me looking at the clock while I ponder a problem section and possible solutions.
- The better an editor is, the faster they are; per-word rates don’t punish an editor for their skill.
- We can focus on what your manuscript needs without concern for budget creep.
What genres do you work with?
Contemporary fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, young adult, mystery, and nonfiction for a general reader. The more advanced the content, the more I suggest also hiring a science editor. I consider fact-checking to be a part of my editing process when handling nonfiction projects.
I do not edit in the self-help, business, or spiritual genres.
How long does editing take?
Upon actually measuring over a span of several novels, I average about 2,000 words per hour—more for a simple proofread, less for a developmental edit with fact-checking. Not including sections that require multiple revisions and other minutiae of the editing process, a 100,000-word novel will take at least 50 hours, or 7 business days. I do take weekends. And I do encourage padding for said minutiae: 10 business days.
Again, more or less depending on scope; this is an approximation.
How does payment work?
Half upfront, half upon completion of work.
This is to protect myself from unscrupulous actors, and is elaborated upon in our contract.
Do you edit British English novels?
Alas, my knowledge of British English extends to adding ‘u’ to “color,” and not using the words “fanny pack.”
I’m happy to work with British writers in writers’ consultations, as the craft is very much the same.
Free Consultation
Tell me about your writing. I’ll get back to you within 48 hours with my availability and a sample request. I do not take on samples if I can’t get it back to you within a reasonable time.
This free sample edit gives us both an idea of what to expect and allows you to make an informed decision in your choice of editor.
Please feel free to elaborate with a synopsis of your novel, any concerns you have going in, any questions, or any other potentially helpful things for me to know before reading.
For writers’ consultations: same initial process (first paragraph). There is no free sample edit as there is only a sample to edit. I detail the process in the response email and the FAQ above.