Everyone will offer slightly different definitions of each process, but for my purposes they are as follows:
A review of the overall shape of your story, focusing on elements such as plot, pacing, character arcs and motivations, coherence of world-building, and development of themes. Repeated errors or ‘stylistic glitches’ may be flagged, but this is a ‘wide-angle’ view, looking your novel as a whole and how everything fits together. It can be carried out at any point after completing your first draft and before beginning your final round of line edits.
A careful edit of your manuscript, going through line by line and checking for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors; clarity and sense; continuity; and consistency of style and voice. Factual errors may be flagged, but on the whole the focus is on the style and accuracy of language, rather than the content and overarching structure of what you have written. It’s advisable to only get your work copy-edited once you are completely happy with the structural elements of plot, character arcs and overall coherence.
This is the final check before publication. Errors of grammar, spelling and punctuation are corrected, as well as any inconsistencies of formatting, paragraphing, or spacing. Proofreading focusses on accuracy and formatting, and does not comment on content, structure, or elements of style.
This is a more economical option, and therefore provides a less detailed level of editing than the services above. I will flag up any errors noticed during a single read through of your manuscript. The aim is to highlight the sorts of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation that the average, well-informed reader might notice when reading your novel for the first time. I might also comment on any issues of continuity or factual veracity that were immediately apparent. It’s important to note that this service will not pick up on every error, only what is obvious on a first readthrough. If it’s important to you to have an error-free manuscript, then I advise you to consider investing in a full copy-edit or proofread.
It depends very much on the service you require and how busy I am. A full copy-edit can take several weeks, while a manuscript review takes a few days. I will give you an idea of lead time before you make your booking.
I provide copy-editing and proofreading for works of fiction and non-fiction and manuscript reviews for works of fiction only.
For non-fiction I would advise you to have your manuscript reviewed by someone who has some expertise in the field you are writing in. Similarly, the querying process is very different for non-fiction books, and I while I can certainly copy-edit or proofread your submissions package, I would advise you to seek feedback on the actual content from an editor who specialises in non-fiction.
I do not use AI to edit, review, or proofread any of the work you send me. Neither do I edit work that has been created using generative AI platforms. For more details on this, please see my AI policy on the 'About' page.
Costs for each service are calculated according to how long it would take me to complete the work and provide you with clear and coherent feedback. Copy-editing services and manuscript reviews are charged at £35 per hour, proofreading at £30 per hour, and the ‘professional eye’ read through at £25 per hour. These prices are based on the CIEP’s suggested minimum rates.