What We Offer

Whether you're publishing your own work or preparing to submit your manuscript to agents, editors, and publishers, you want your writing to dazzle!

That's where we come in. Our mission is to make you look great! Because we know when that work goes out the door, it will be your writing career at stake and your name people will remember--no one else's.

We offer quality editing services for your:

• Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Articles
• Business communications
• Web site content
• Newsletters
• Videogames
• Technical communications, user guides, and help systems
• Theses and dissertations
• Letters.

We charge industry standard rates.

All work is performed by Writing Show host Paula B. and other highly experienced editors.

How We Work

We take a light-handed approach. We never dictate to you or insist that you do something our way. After all, this is your work; we're your guests. We will query you when we have questions, and we will make suggestions, but the decisions are always yours. (You won't get that guarantee from publishers!)

We do a sample edit of up to five pages before we start. This exercise helps us assess your needs and gives you the opportunity to see how we work.

We consult standard sources such as The Chicago Manual of Style, The Elements of Style, and various dictionaries, but we will also use your custom style guide on request.

We work with a contract that specifies editorial tasks, delivery, price and payment, termination, special instructions, and so on. We ask for 50% of the project price up front, payable via U.S. check, Paypal (where you can use a credit card if you like), or money order. We're happy to arrange payment plans. Minimum order $25.00 U.S.

To inquire about a project or for general questions, please email us at paula@writingshow.com.

Rates

Copyediting, basic: $.02 per word (based on the number of words in your manuscript when we receive it). We query you before making changes or just proceed: it's your choice. Includes correcting and insuring consistency of:

• Grammar
• Spelling
• Capitalization
• Punctuation
• Usage
• Some formatting.

Recommended for work that is pretty clean. Send us your manuscript, and we'll tell you if this is the right level of service for you.

You get:

• A Microsoft Word document marked up using the "Track Changes" and "Insert Comments" features
• Follow-up discussion via email
• Your choice of three of Paula B.'s e-articles on writing
• Marked up paper copy available for an extra fee
• Book-length projects entitle you to free help with query letters!

Copyediting, heavy: $.04 per word (based on the number of words in your manuscript when we receive it). We query you before making changes or just proceed: it's your choice. Includes basic copyediting as detailed above plus editing for flow and consistency as follows:

• Wordiness, awkwardness
• Redundancy
• Transitions
• Paragraphing
• Word, phrase, and sentence flow
• Consistency of names, setting, character traits, plot points in fiction (but no evaulation of plot, character, or other elements of story)

You get:

• A Microsoft Word document marked up using the "Track Changes" and "Insert Comments" features
• Follow-up discussion via email
• Your choice of three of Paula B.'s e-articles on writing
• Marked up paper copy available for an extra fee
• Book-length projects entitle you to free help with query letters!

Recommended when work is coherent but has significant mechanical errors. Send us your manuscript, and we'll tell you if this is the right level of service for you.

Substantive editing: $.05 per word (based on the number of words in your manuscript when we receive it). We query you before making changes or just proceed: it's your choice. Includes copyediting and some rewriting and fact checking as follows:

• Fact checking where easily done
• Rewriting and rearranging to smooth flow, insure consistency of writer's voice, and improve logic.

You get:

• A Microsoft Word document marked up using the "Track Changes" and "Insert Comments" features
• Follow-up discussion via email
• Your choice of three of Paula B.'s e-articles on writing
• Marked up paper copy available for an extra fee
• Book-length projects entitle you to free help with query letters!

Recommended when your content is sound but your execution needs major work. Send us your manuscript, and we'll tell you if this is the right level of service for you.

Developmental editing: Email for a custom quote based on your specific needs. Advice on content, including story, structure, characters, dialogue, logic, and style. Rewriting of selected passages on request.

Recommended for situations in which you're encountering major story or subject matter issues, including structure, characters, plot, dialogue, approach, writer’s voice, and overall appeal of the work.

To inquire about a project or for general questions, please email us at paula@writingshow.com.