CREATIVE WRITING SUPPORT

Please see the FAQ below if you would like editing or coaching for your creative text, whether that is prose fiction, nonfiction, or a script for stage or screen. Note that poetry editing is only billed by the hour.

My rates are below. Per-word rates assume that the text is written at the level of an English native speaker. This is not to say that it needs to be perfect but, on any given page, basic grammar should not be the biggest issue. If your text needs more help, we may be best to work on a per-hour basis.

Note that I do not offer asynchronous editing where the client hands off the text and I work on it alone. Instead, we meet on Zoom, FaceTime, or even in person and work on the text together; if we are meeting virtually, we work on the text on Google Docs or a similar cloud-based platform where you can see edits as I make them.

The exception to this is purely developmental editing. Likewise, please contact me if you prefer that we work on your text at an hourly rate.

All prices are in USD.

What kinds of editing do you offer?

Live Holistic Editing includes both language-level and developmental editing. I usually work directly with the client while we’re on a Zoom call or in person, usually with the shared text in a Google Doc. This includes what is commonly referred to as language-level editing and includes anything that touches directly on the text itself, sentence by sentence, including copy editing, line editing, and proofreading. In our meetings, I will comment if the narrative voice is consistent, if certain passages are hard to understand, and if there are errors or irregularities in terms of grammar or punctuation. This feedback is conditioned by the choices you have made as a writer. For example, if you are writing a story with a first-person narrator, this narrator may have an unconventional style. By working together, we can adapt to your intentions for the text.

Asynchronous Developmental Editing includes everything that touches on story, theme, or other "big picture" elements. In a story (fictional or nonfictional, prose narrative or script), do the character actions seem compelling? Is how characters speak distinct from each other? In a rhetorical essay, is the theme clear? In a personal essay, it may be a question of how the story elements relate to any rhetorical elements. I give feedback on aspects of the story, from the point of view of a careful reader, noting many of the same elements that the target audience might experience when reading the text. Note that my feedback is made in the form of an email and no notes are made in the body of the text itself.

RATES FOR EDITING OF CREATIVE (NON-ACADEMIC) TEXTS

For live holistic editing of shorter texts, either a short story or an essay, I charge 3.7 cents a word for the first read. (Multiply your word count by $0.037.)

For live holistic editing of texts of 55,000 words or more, I charge 3.3 cents a word for the first read. (Multiply your word count by $0.033.)

For asynchronous developmental editing, I charge two cents a word. (Multiply your word count by $0.02.)