Book Manuscript Critiquing Service
for Self-Publishers
(Fiction or Nonfiction)

If you're trying to decide whether you have a book worth publishing--and whether it could find a market if professionally edited--I'll read your raw book manuscript in printed form (not electronic) and send a BRIEF written critique by e-mail (see optional service below). This service is available to authors in any country.

FEE: $1 per page
payable in advance

See manuscript formatting and delivery requirements below.

This critique will comment on your book manuscript's readability and interest level, its strengths and weaknesses, general suggestions for how its content or structure might be improved, the amount (and type) of editing your manuscript needs, and my opinion of whether the published book will find a good market or not.

If yours is a how-to book with specific instructions, I'll comment on the clarity of those instructions. If it's a work of fiction, I'll let you know what I think of your plotting, dialogue, character development, etc. (Again, note manuscript format and delivery requirements below, right.)

Optional Service:  Many otherwise capable writers are weak on how to organize or structure a book's content, so if you think your book manuscript may need some rewriting or substantial content editing to be publishable, a more detailed written critical analysis of your book manuscript is available for an additional $2 per page (payable before the written critique is delivered by e-mail).

This more detailed critique will give you detailed page-by-page, chapter-by-chapter suggestions for any rewriting the manuscript needs. For example:

Nonfiction business, self-help, or how-to books might benefit from text changes as well as better chapter titles, headings, or subheadings, or by the addition of sidebars, special tips, quotations, graphic elements, illustrations, checklists, or worksheets.

This "package" also includes a 30-minute follow-up telephone consultation wherein you will get answers to any questions you may have after you've read the written critique.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If for any reason you are not satisfied with the work I do for you, your deposit will be refunded.

Book Manuscript Editing

Because my time for manuscript editing is limited, I am selective in which manuscripts I choose to edit. I prefer topics that are of some personal interest to me, such as small business, self-help or how-to books, medical, financial, or health-related guides, Christian books, and wholesome fiction of all kinds. I will also consider complicated writing/editing jobs (such as training manuals), for which a fee must be negotiated.

Your Editing Options

All editing is done electronically and figured on a per-word basis, so the book manuscript's formatting (single or double-spacing, margins, etc.) is unimportant. Your editing options are:

General Proofreading and Light Copy Editing of Manuscripts to be Self-Published. Includes a check of common errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, incorrect word usages, consistency and continuity problems.

Detailed Line-by-Line Editing, Content Editing, or Rewriting of a Book Manuscript. This kind of editing, which is far more time-consuming than general copy editing, is for both fiction and nonfiction writers who need help not only with grammar, punctuation, and word usage, etc., but also with sentence structure, style, use of dialogue, organization of content, or help in titling chapters, headings, and subheadings. (The less skilled the writer, or the more complicated the job as a whole, the higher the fee.)

If you have a manuscript you wish edited, first query me with information about the book's content and when you need the finished job. If I am interested in the job and can meet your deadline, I'll ask for a few sample pages that I'll use to figure your per-word editing cost. (This fee will vary from writer to writer and book to book, depending on the writer's skill and the type of editing and/or rewriting needed.)

My quote will include a couple of edited pages to illustrate the type and amount of editing your manuscript needs.