Q: What is your refund policy?

A: We do not offer refunds for completed services.

Q: Will I receive my files before paying the final invoice?

A: Final payment is due before the return of edited files. Once the remaining balance has been paid, the files will be sent over to you. Final files are sent the same day as payment.

Q: Am I able to call you or Zoom/FaceTime you?

A: As a one-woman band (currently!) I do not have the ability to take phone calls or video calls. Keeping all communication to email allows me to respond efficiently and keep a detailed record of everything we’ve discussed.

Q: What genres do you edit?

A: All are welcome! Although I reserve the right to politely decline any ‘extreme’ material.

Q: Will my manuscript be safe with you?

A: I keep all my scripts in a password-protected folder, and will never share them with anybody. As an author, I understand how daunting it is to share your work with a stranger. Rest assured, it is in safe hands and I am totally discreet. I am also happy to sign NDAs, for those who need added assurance.

Q: What will I receive?

A: Depends on the service, for line edits you will receive a marked-up document with margin comments, a clean copy, an editorial report, and in some cases a style sheet (this is not always necessary, but in the case of sci-fi or fantasy it is useful to keep track of invented words etc for consistency). Copy edits will receive the same with a shorter editorial report. For a submission package review, you will receive a marked-up copy of your first three chapters, a synopsis and query letter, plus a short report. For proofreading, you will receive a marked-up document. For a manuscript critique, you will receive margin comments giving story impressions, and a report.

Q: Do you do any formatting?

A: I will do some light formatting where necessary, this might include indentation, line spacing, scene breaks, paragraph breaks, line breaks, chapter headings, and page numbering; but I do not format layouts or prepare books for publication on Kindle, etc. Perhaps one day I might offer this as a service, but at present, it is beyond the scope of a small editing business like mine.

Q: I’m not sure what I need, is there any overlap between services?

A: Whilst doing a line edit I will of course correct any mechanical errors that a copy edit would address, though line editing requires me to operate in a different ‘mode’ as it’s a more creative undertaking concerned with style, which is why I do not offer them as a combined service. Particularly books that need a lot of line editing require a separate pass for each.

There is also an overlap between copy editing and proofreading, but proofreading should come at the very end of the process, before typesetting.