Editorial Offices

Manuscript Evaluation

A diagnostic read of the whole manuscript, delivered as a single editorial letter. No marks in the manuscript itself. Best when a writer wants to know whether the book is working — and where — before committing to a full edit.

Deliverable

One editorial letter of roughly 4–6 double-spaced pages, in PDF.

Included

Assessment of premise, structure, pacing, character, voice, and prose; a prioritized revision roadmap; one 45-minute follow-up call within 30 days.

Not included

In-manuscript margin comments; line-level rewrites; copyediting; proofreading; a second letter.

Best for

A complete first or second draft when you are deciding what to do next.

Developmental Editing

The deepest edit we offer — a scene-by-scene reading of the manuscript with editorial queries throughout, followed by a long revision letter. For manuscripts that are asking large questions of themselves.

Deliverable

Your manuscript in Microsoft Word with tracked changes and margin comments at the scene, chapter, and section level; plus an editorial letter of roughly 8–12 double-spaced pages, in PDF.

Included

Structural and craft response throughout; one 45-minute call after delivery; 30 days of clarifying questions by email at no additional charge.

Not included

Line-level rewrites paragraph by paragraph; copyediting; proofreading; fact-checking; a second pass after revision (quoted separately).

Best for

A complete draft that needs structural work before it can be polished.

Line Edit

Sentence-by-sentence work on the prose itself — rhythm, clarity, register, image, and the slow business of finding the writer's truest voice on the page. Assumes the structure is settled.

Deliverable

Your manuscript in Microsoft Word with tracked-changes edits to nearly every paragraph and margin queries where alternatives are offered; plus a short editorial note of 600–1,200 words summarizing recurring patterns and stylistic choices.

Included

Paragraph-level revisions; cuts, condensings, and reorderings within passages; suggested rewordings; consistency of voice; 30 days of clarifying questions at no charge.

Not included

Structural changes or chapter reorganization (those belong to developmental editing); grammar-only correction (that's copyediting); proofreading; rewriting in another voice.

Best for

A revised, structurally finished manuscript ready for craft-level attention.

Copyedit

Grammar, syntax, usage, punctuation, and house style applied with a light editorial hand. The manuscript's last serious read before it is typeset.

Deliverable

Your manuscript in Microsoft Word with tracked changes; a one-page style sheet listing spelling, hyphenation, and house decisions made for the book; and a brief cover note.

Included

Correction to Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.) unless you prefer otherwise; consistency of names, dates, and recurring terms; light fact checks where errors are obvious; 30 days of clarifying questions at no charge.

Not included

Rewriting for voice (that's line editing); developmental notes; proofreading after typesetting; comprehensive fact-checking or permissions work.

Best for

A manuscript that is craft-finished and needs grammatical and stylistic uniformity before design.

Proofread

A final, unhurried reading against the typeset page — for the silent errors that survive every prior pass.

Deliverable

An annotated PDF of the typeset manuscript or laid-out galley with corrections marked, plus a short cover note listing recurring issues.

Included

Typographical errors; misspellings; punctuation slips; bad breaks, widows, orphans, and layout snags; running-head and page-number checks; one round of corrections.

Not included

Editorial changes; rephrasing; copyediting (assumed to have been done); style-sheet decisions; design changes.

Best for

The galley stage — after copyediting and typesetting, before publication.