Our Services

Services

& Rates

Services

& Rates

Clients may decide ahead of time what type of services they want, or they may follow the recommendations we make after our evaluation of their work. Please see “Evaluations” below for additional guidance.

PROOFREADING

Proofreading is the most basic form of editing, and deals mainly with cosmetic errors. It doesn’t involve reworking the text or delving into content. For a great many writers, this is not enough. If we advise you to let us go beyond proofreading, you are of course free to decline.

Copy Editing

Copy editing deals with grammar, with clarity and flow, with accuracy, vocabulary, and
consistency. Some restructuring at the paragraph level may be involved. Depending on the
quality of the writing, copy editing can be light, heavy, or somewhere in between.

Content editing

Content editing may involve significant restructuring of the material, rewriting, and addition or
removal of text. It goes beyond correction and is a factor in the creative process.

Developmental Editing

Developmental editing is integral to the writing process, providing input on the order in which
facts or story elements are presented and how a work is organized. With fiction, it may involve a critique of elements such as character and dialogue. The editor is a definite participant in the creative process.

Writing

Writing is the composition process itself and usually involves extensive research as well, which constitutes billable time.

PROOFREADING

Proofreading is the most basic form of editing, and deals mainly with cosmetic errors. It doesn’t involve reworking the text or delving into content. For a great many writers, this is not enough. If we advise you to let us go beyond proofreading, you are of course free to decline.

Copy Editing

Copy editing deals with grammar, with clarity and flow, with accuracy, vocabulary, and
consistency. Some restructuring at the paragraph level may be involved. Depending on the quality of the writing, copy editing can be light, heavy, or somewhere in between.

Content editing

Content editing may involve significant restructuring of the material, rewriting, and addition or removal of text. It goes beyond correction and is a factor in the creative process.

Developmental Editing

Developmental editing is integral to the writing process, providing input on the order in which
facts or story elements are presented and how a work is organized. With fiction, it may involve a critique of elements such as character and dialogue. The editor is a definite participant in the creative process.

Writing

Writing is the composition process itself and usually involves extensive research as well, which constitutes billable time.

rates

Because the quality of manuscripts and the complexity of content vary greatly, we charge hourly, rather than by the page, for editing or writing, except with clients who have us on retainer. Though we wish we could keep our rates uniform, we recognize that a large corporate client and an individual or small business may differ greatly in their ability to pay. Hence we provide each client with the best possible individualized estimate.

We require payment for the first hour up front, or initial payment of the agreed retainer, deposited in our PayPal account. Once work begins, we bill a minimum of one hour per job, except in the case of a client on retainer. After the first hour, we calculate by rounding to the nearest quarter hour. For jobs requiring more than four hours of work, we require payment after every four hours and will suspend further work while awaiting payment.

Because we have multiple clients and are always pleased to have more, it is in our best interests to complete our work for you in as few hours as reasonably possible without compromising quality.

EVALUATIONS

Getting started with SPECS costs you nothing…

EVALUATIONS

Getting started with SPECS costs you nothing…

Request a

free evaluation

Request a

free eValuation

If a document is under fifty pages, we ask to see the entire file in order to evaluate it. For documents of more than fifty pages, we ask to see a sample of twenty or more pages, such as a chapter or two from a book. If the document requires end matter, such as endnotes or bibliographic information, we need to see a sample of that as well.

Once we have reviewed the sample, we will respond with our recommendations and a price quote. We reserve the right to turn down projects that do not align with our beliefs and practices.