Quotes

The amount of time spent on editing a manuscript depends on the standard of the writing. If it is riddled with typos, spelling and punctuation errors, or not set out clearly, it will take me longer to read and edit. Never send a first draft of a manuscript if you want to save money on the editing process. Use basic formatting, a 12-point font (Times New Roman is good), double line spacing and indent paragraphs. Don’t forget to number pages.

Procedure

To give you an idea of the cost of editing your manuscript (MS), I need to see it. Please send me your MS as a Word document via email. I will do a sample edit to work out a rough estimate of the time it will take to edit the whole MS and provide you with a price range. If you decide to go ahead with my services, I will keep a time sheet so that you are only charged for the hours I work.

Information

Please provide as much information as possible with your request for a quotation so that I understand what your publishing goals are and can advise you accordingly. For example:

Who is your intended audience?

Do you want to publish in hard copy and digital?

Will you pursue a traditional publisher or opt for self publishing?

When do you want your book to be ready?

What is the word count of your manuscript?

Quoting procedure for business publications

Copy editing and proofreading of business documents is charged at an hourly rate. The best way for me to provide you with a quote is to email me the text to be edited as a Word document. To understand the differences between copy editing and proofreading, please read my post What is Editing?

Terms and conditions

The following are the Terms and Conditions for working with Patrice Shaw at PS Editing:

Quoting

– Quotes are valid for 30 days following receipt of your manuscript/document.
– Quotes are based on reading a sample of your work and estimating the number of hours required to complete the work.
– Should the scope of work change during the editing/proofreading process, I reserve the right to update the original quote.

Invoicing and payment

– A 20% deposit of the expected total is to be paid at the commencement of work (excluding appraisals where the full amount is charged up front).
– Services will be charged at a set hourly rate and recorded so that you are only charged for hours worked.
– I will invoice you for each stage of the editing process where applicable e.g. Stage 1 (structural edit); stage 2 (copy edit) etc
– Invoice terms are 14 days.

Content

– I reserve the right to refuse work if I consider the content to be obscene, defamatory, offensive or plagiarised. I am unable to work with material that includes extreme violence and/or cruelty to humans or animals.

Guarantees

– While I endeavour to provide a service that will make your MSS/documents as error-free as possible, I can not guarantee 100% accuracy.
– It is the author’s responsibility to implement changes and review final documents. I can only advise changes.

Confidentiality

– I will keep all MSS, documents and correspondence between us confidential, unless we both agree otherwise.

Accepting terms and conditions

– By instructing me to commence work, either by email or other form of written communication, you are accepting these terms and conditions.