Copy Editing

We’ve all had that moment. After working endlessly to craft characters with deep emotions, a plot with exciting twists, and a setting that feels so real we could step right into it, we finally hand our precious creation over to a friend to read. We hold our breath as they look at it, hoping they’ll be hooked by our beginning and fall in love with our main character. Then they say something like, “Zucchini is spelled with one ‘n,’ not two.”

Our readers can’t appreciate our stories when they’re distracted by missing words or ambiguous phrasing. That goes not just for friends, but for customers, agents, and publishers too. Having your work professionally copy edited not only allows readers to see through your prose and appreciate your story, but also tells everyone who reads your work that you are a professional.

Plus, every writer needs another trusted eye on their story. By the time you’re finished revising your story, there’s a strong chance it will contain mistakes and contradictions you meant to edit or remove. Hiring a copy editor helps you catch those embarrassing blemishes before they make it to print.

Our copy editors work at three levels: light edit, medium edit, and heavy edit. Regardless of the level they are working at, they always mark their changes so you can roll them back if you need to. You have the final say on your piece.

Light Edit

Your copy editor will address mechanical items such as punctuation, spelling, and grammar, and they’ll also ensure consistency in word usage, references, and visual style.* They will draw your attention to passages that might be unclear or awkward, but they will not provide suggestions or modify your text.

Medium Edit

In addition to all the mechanical items in a light edit, your copy editor will provide suggestions for improving questionable passages. These may include, but are not limited to, ways to reduce redundancy, tidy up wordy passages, strengthen the consistency of word usage and text formatting, and check your work against an agreed-upon style guide. They’ll also reword and make small changes as necessary.

Heavy Edit

In addition to the work in light and medium edits, your copy editor will smooth over disruptions in point of view, improve the pacing of passages, and strengthen characterization to enhance the overall form of your narration. This will also involve pointing out and changing any consistency issues with characters, themes, or plots, as well as problematic messages.* In the course of their work, your copy editor will query their changes but also reword sentences, rearrange paragraphs, or mark content for deletion as needed.

Price and Timeline

Depending on the specifics of your piece, copy editing takes roughly two weeks for a short story and eight weeks for a novel. To get an exact price and timeline for your piece, submit our request a quote form. We’ll get back to you soon.

Ready for the Next Step?

Request a Copy Editing Quote

Refund Policy

If you notify us of your desire to cancel before we have invested time in editing your work, you will receive a full refund. Otherwise, you will receive a refund minus charges for time already invested.