You’re probably here because you’re in one of the following groups of people:
- You’re a bookish person and need someone to proofread your novel or non-fiction book before submitting to agents or editors.
- You’re a student writing assignments or a dissertation, and need someone to make sure you haven’t made any silly mistakes that your caffeine-fuelled, over-tired mind might have caused.
- You’re a professional whose workload is jammed to the max and you need someone to proof your work so you can concentrate on the elements of your job that need your undivided attention.
If you’re one of these people then good news, you’re in the right place!
Guide to Proofreading Charges
Proofreading work is charged at a base rate of £20ph but different types of proofreading tasks will take a different allotment of time to complete.
As a guide:
- a 500-word blog post might take only 20 minutes,
- a 90,000-word novel might take 12-16 hours,
- a dissertation, report or scientific paper of 5,000 words might take 5 hours.
Different projects take different lengths of time depending on the brief and your requirements. For example, if you want full BSI standard proofmarks via pdf, it takes longer than if you want a simple grammar and spelling check for a novel. Some projects require additional checks including fact checking and formatting. All these will add to the project so it is not possible to give a flat fee.
Get In Touch For a Personal Quote
If you’re interesting in my proofreading services, send me an email with Proofreading Enquiry in the subject, and a rough summary of what you need. I always try to reply to emails within 24 hours.
Structural Editing & Creative Coaching
Finishing a novel is hard. If it was easy everyone would be doing it and getting book deals straight off the bat. The mark of a writer is the commitment and perseverance to finish it. If you feel compelled, like the muse is chomping at the bit to flow through you and get the story out, then you are such a one.
I have been writing novels for 20 years but failed to complete any of them up to 2021. I won’t give up and keep on keeping-on. I’ve been through many pitfalls of storytelling, treaded water in my roiling ocean of self-doubt, and I know the myriad reasons the creative person fails to finish.
There are many structured writing courses online that can teach you how to plot, how to write characters, how to develop themes and they are amazing, I advise you to take courses, learn new techniques and make writer friends, but if you have done a plethora of courses and still finding yourself stuck in the mire of creative stagnancy what you might need is coach or a structural editor.
As a structural editor I can help you looking at your first draft and giving you advice on your story, plot, character and themes to help you rewrite into an MS that can then be CopyEdited. Copyediting is what most people understand as just editing but is really a specific and narrow type of correction for grammar, style and consistency to prepare prose for publication. What often happens to new writers is they get feedback from critique partners that is focused mainly on copyediting, when what they really need is structural editing — support with untangling sticky plot points or filling in holes in the story.
Support I can give depends on how you work best, and what your learning languages are. I can give face to face or videocall coaching sessions, provide a full MS appraisal, or work chapter by chapter giving you questions to consider. If want homework and feedback that can also be discussed. If you’re afraid of being overwhelmed by homework we don’t have to work that way. It’s your coaching time and you get decide what you need and how you will get the most out of out time together.
If you want to talk to someone who understands the processes of writing and creative attunement, then contact me to book a free initial consultation to discuss your needs.