One of the hardest things about publishing a book is getting it proofread and properly edited. It’s a very hard job to do by yourself. The more you work with the text you’ve written, the less visible the mistakes tend to become.

This happens because as an author you will always know what the text is supposed to say. This causes you to overlook typos, missing words, and even unclear sentences. You may find some even in this text, which would be ironic, yet illustrates my point quite well. On top of that, many modern authors have grown reliant on automatic spell-checks and word changers, leading them to be quite poor at spelling. The famous scifi/fantasy author Brandon Sanderson often jokes about his inability to spell very common words, and you can in fact watch his online lectures to see him misspell words at alarming frequency.

While you can always fix the errors as they are pointed out by readers, you don’t really want to endanger your book’s initial release. A badly edited book can seriously hinder its success. 

Without a doubt, one of the most common reviews new authors get for their freshly published books, is that the text isn’t proofread or properly edited. The readers notice it immediately. You may think that the average reader isn’t literate enough to notice the difference in quality, but you’d be surprised. Once they find multiple typos per page, missing scenes and plot holes every other chapter, it’s absolutely obvious that no proper editing or proofreading has been done. And at that point many readers will simply give up on reading further because it’s too difficult to get through the text and actually enjoy it. When that happens, a negative review is likely. And once they leave a review like that, the book is marked forever and many potential readers who were considering purchasing your book will now be scared away.

Unfortunately, good editors don’t come cheap. In-fact, they are probably the biggest expense an author will have to deal with. Prices can vary substantially with basic proofreading often starting at around $3 per 1000 words, moving up to several times that with copy- and content editing. I’ve seen numbers as high as $50-60 for a complete package editing service. Imagine having to shell out several thousand dollars to get your full length novel edited and proofread by a professional.

Most first time writers who are looking to self-publish, will not have that kind of money lying around. And even if they do, it’s a large investment to make, considering that there is no guarantee that the book will be a success and earn that money back. It’s simply very rare for fresh authors to debut with a great book. Writing is not an easy skill to master, and most authors will spend years writing and publishing books until they reach a level where their content starts standing out in quality.

To help authors who cannot afford more expensive services, I have decided to offer this extreme budget service designed to give basic constructive feedback and help smooth out the biggest issues with their books for a very affordable price.

I will read your book manuscript in full, look it over line by line, and do basic proofreading, basic copy editing suggestions, and offer general critique for – $1 / 1000 words

This will not be a full content edit or professional proofreading. Let me just emphasize that. (If you have the budget, I highly recommend you look for a professional editor and proofreader instead. For example, a popular high end choice is scribbr.)

I will not scam you by attempting to claim credentials that I do not have. I will not be changing your “voice”. I won’t be shuffling your sentence structure or nitpicking every bit of grammar. I will point out things I consider clunky, or otherwise problematic, but I’m not going to tell you how to exactly write your book.

I will look for and fix the most simplest of typos, point out missing or excessive words and clunky sentences. I will also critique the whole text. Meaning – I will think about what you’re trying to say, and then give my opinion on it. I will double-check certain facts, make sure the logic and argumentation isn’t obviously faulty, and point out whatever else that catches my attention.

It’s all about finding everything about the book that rubs me the wrong way at first glance, and then letting you know about it, so that you can potentially adjust it before you publish it or send it onwards to other readers.

I will be your advanced Beta Reader.

I won’t be biased like your friends, family or co-workers. I will be honest and harsh.

If you are interested, please fill out the form below and attach your book file (MS word or Open Office file – so that I can add notes and fix minor typos on the fly)

After I give the manuscript a quick look, I’ll contact you by e-mail and confirm the potential price of the service, rounding the word count in your favour. (16 900 words will cost $16 – I’m nice like that)

I’ll also give a quick estimate as to how long it will take. Professional editors take about a day per 10,000 words if you’re their only client but I will generally be quicker. However if I already have other projects on hold, there may be a notable delay. I won’t request payment until we’ve agreed on the timeframe.

I feel most comfortable with fantasy fiction, and I would prefer to avoid any religious texts. I would also recommend not using my service for any health/fitness books as that’s my personal area of expertise and unless you’re writing a heavily referenced book that is based on proven science, I will likely rip it apart.

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