Line Editing
Rate begins at .02 per word and includes copyediting.
I’ll focus on these areas at the paragraph level:
- Awkward sentence construction
- Choppy sentence flow and pacing
- Word repetition and wordiness
- Consistency of spelling, hyphenation, numbers, names, and facts (is your main character a blonde in one chapter and a redhead in another?)
- Showing vs. telling
- Excessive and incorrect dialogue tags
- Adherence to current style manuals (Chicago Manual of Style, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Garner’s Modern American Usage, and more)
- Point of view inconsistencies
- Extraneous language, jargon, and ambiguities
- Overused words and crutch words
- Repetition and redundancies
- Overused adverbs and adjectives
- Punctuation
- Minor fact-checking via Google
This edit does not focus on major plot, characterization, and repetitive point-of-view issues such as head hopping. Pervasive issues of this type should be addressed prior to line editing during a developmental or substantive edit, or I’ll be happy to discuss upgrading your service to a substantive edit if you’d like me to help you work on these issues.
When you’re finished incorporating all edits, you’ll still need proofreading. Please see the Proofreading page for more about this service.
The per-word rate listed is a starting rate. I will individualize your quote based on a manuscript assessment and brief sample edit, so I can determine how long it will take to complete your project. All editing quotes reflect my hourly rate of $50. There is a $75 minimum for all projects.
