My Editing Process:
- After you fill out my contact form to request a sample edit, I'll confirm receipt within a business day and ask you to send me your full manuscript so that I can assess the project scope.
- Within four business days, I will send you a 1,000-word sample edit with a project proposal and cost estimate. I will also send you a link to my calendar to book a 30-min call to ask any questions you might have and to make sure it's a good fit for both of us.
- If you decide you would like to move forward, I will send you an editing contract to sign, which puts us on the same page in terms of expectations, timeline, payment deadlines, and an invoice for a 20% booking deposit to secure your spot in my schedule.
- Right before I start editing, I will invoice for 40% of the total fee and the remaining 40% will be due right before I send you the edited manuscript.
- Depending on the length of your manuscript, it will take me usually 2-4 weeks to finish editing your book. To give you an idea, the turnaround for a manuscript of around 50k words would be 1-2 weeks. A manuscript of 100k words would be closer to 4 weeks.
- I most often use the Chicago Manual of Style for fiction editing and the Merriam Webster dictionary (for US spelling).
- Communication: I will follow up with you via email every Friday with an update on my progress, especially for longer projects. You can feel free to email me with any questions.
- You will receive the following files: the edited document in Microsoft Word with Track Changes and comments in the margin. I also provide a clean copy with all changes accepted just for easier reading.
- I also provide you with a style sheet (full one for copyediting and a basic one for proofreading jobs) and an editorial report (with the Copy and Line Editing package).
- You then go through the manuscript and accept/reject my suggestions, then make any minor additions. Send the document back to me and I will check those additions and send you back a cleaned-up version ready for formatting.
- After the edit, I provide a 30-minute Zoom call for you to ask any questions about my edits or next steps for your novel.
“With her enthusiastic interest and support for writers and writing, and her wide knowledge of many genres, Erika always brings special insight to your project. She has a keen eye for sentence structure, word efficiency, and rhythm, and is reliable and easy to work with. |
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