What is a Line and Copy Edit?
Line editing is a revision of the creative content, writing style and language use at the sentence and paragraph level. The purpose is to address how you communicate your story to your readers. A copy edit is a revision of grammar and punctuation. Style and consistency are also important here. Editors in a copy edit also pinpoint possible copyright infringement and perform a modest fact check.
A line edit should only be done after you are completely satisfied with your story and do not plan on making any more “big picture” changes to it. Line editing focuses on helping you express your ideas clearly. It is called line editing because a line editor will look at the content, style, tone, and consistency of your writing throughout your entire manuscript ‘line by line’. Also known as stylistic editing, line editing is often confused with copy editing. Both of them are important during the editing process. Line editing focuses on content and issues that affect the flow of your sentences, such as redundancy, unnecessary words, sentences, or entire paragraphs, misconstrued sentences (and paragraphs), use of weak verbs or clichés, fact-checking, etcetera. Copy editing, on the other hand, focuses on the mechanics of writing; on correcting grammar and punctuation errors.
What does this service include?
- A full in-depth read through of your manuscript.
- A thorough revision of your manuscript scrutinizing every word, phrase, sentence, paragraph of your book. These revisions will be marked as comments on the margins of your manuscript through Microsoft Word Track Changes.
- A revision of the mechanics of writing, on spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Style and consistency are also important here. These revisions are marked in the text with Microsoft Word Track Changes.
Bonus: Style Spreadsheet
How many line and copy edits do I book per month?
One. I only work on 1 line and copy edit every month. New projects are only accepted at the beginning of every month.
If interested, request an estimate now.
How much does it cost?
Prices are based on a cost per hour basis. If, for example, you request an estimate for a copy edit of a 350 page novel, I will provide you with an approximate charge for the total amount of hours that I assess will be necessary to complete the work. However, this amount can be more or less depending on how much time I actually take to do so. The exact quantity of hours will be given to you in an invoice once work has been completed.
| Type of Service | Rate per hour | Turnaround times |
| Copy Edit | $45 | Agreed upon with author |
| Line Edit | $50 | Agreed upon with author |
| Copy and Line Edit | $55 | Agreed upon with author |
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