Copy and Line Editing


I know what it's like to read a piece fifty times and still miss piddly details like double words or spellcheck pass-overs, to desperately need a second person to look over your work who has an eye for function, flow, and style, not to mention a patient and discerning mind.

For you I will:

  • Edit for style, grammar, sentence structure, flow, impact, punctuation, redundancy, etc.
  • Use track changes so you can follow exactly what I edit.
  • Make site-specific suggestions on character, plot, and potential pitfalls.
  • Contact you with any questions that I might have pertaining to your book.

I read every piece twice. The first pass catches the more egregious errors and disfluencies. The second pass acts as a proof, and I'm better able to comment on story, character, flow, and any other issues you may have. I then provide a summary of the work I've done, and if I think it necessary, a few short suggestions on how you may improve the book.

My standard rate $.01 CAD per word. That's 1 cent Canadian per word. or ~$0.0075 USD.

Genre authors, inquire about my serial rate.


developmental Editing

As a copy and line editor, most clients' books arrive with some polish, and usually a publication date. Larger suggestions, even if warranted, often can't be implemented. Developmental edits, however, are a different scenario, and it's immensely gratifying when a client has the time and the availability to still make their book stronger.

Of course this sometimes comes in the form of You have an issue "here" and you could maybe deal with it like "X." And the client says Yes, it's an issue, but I'll deal with it like "Y". And that's fine. As long as the book is better in the end.

I've returned over 500 edited books, including myriad mysteries, romances, thrillers, and literary pieces. My forte, however, is science fiction and fantasy. These are the genres which I'm most familiar with, and my best selling clients work within.

The process

I read every piece twice, making site-specific comments along the way using track changes, typically about technical issues such as style, sentence flow, sentence impact, pet phrases, repeated words, inconsistencies within the plot, etc.
  • While I'm editing, I'll send you a list of common terms and redundancies that I've compiled over my ten years as a copy and line editor so you can filter through the piece yourself for specificity and detail.
I will send you a detailed report on potential issues like characterization, pacing, tone, language, and any other aspect of your piece that I feel needs addressing.
  • Typically I return a rundown of the book and its potential issues via its characters. Some editors prefer a chapter to chapter review; however, I feel that's not a great metric unless every chapter is a cliffhanger.
  • Furthermore, I find exploring the book via the characters makes it easier to see not what's on the page but what's MISSING, which is usually the hardest part.
  • I feel it's important to note what parts of the book WORK for me the best.
After I return your piece and you make any alterations, I'll review a further ~10,000 words.
  • The impulse of course is to want the whole book read again, but by the third reading that's not productive, while a targeted look at specific sections can hone in to assess alterations.
As an author, I've won local awards. I've been a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest.
If you'd like a sample of my own writing, you can take a look HERE.

Developmental editing Rates & PAYMENT


Rates are $0.025 CAD a word (~$.018 USD)

I live in Canada and invoice in Canadian dollars, which tends to be good value for my American and European clients.

I prefer a 60% retainer, the remainder paid upon delivery.