Frequently Asked Questions
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Getting started is simple. Reach out through my contact form and I’ll walk you through the next steps and answer any questions along the way.
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If you sign up to the six week course, I will provide you with handouts for each session.
Each session will have writing exercises focussing on the particular topic.
Once you’ve completed the exercises, you can then email them to me, and I will review and provide feedback.
You can either have all 6 handouts in one go - or I can stagger them as you complete/get feedback on each session.
If you decide to buy individual sessions, then again, you can send me your completed exercises and I will provide edits and feedback.
I would ask that all docs are sent in Word format with a readable font.
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Collaborative, honest and straightforward.
My clients say I am honest and clear with my feedback. If there’s a problem, I won’t just point it out, I’ll come up with a solution or two for you - I adapt to you and how you work.
See my client testimonials and google reviews to see what people think…
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The simple answer is yes. I ask for a 10% deposit on edits, to hold time in my diary. However, I am very flexible.
I understand writing is not a fixed art - you let me know when you’re ready and I’ll be there.
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I combine a thoughtful and experienced approach with clear communication. I’m honest and straightforward, and easy to talk to.
I will champion your work, and help you become the best writer you can be.
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Every manuscript is different, so I quote each project individually after reading a sample. You'll have a fixed price agreed before I start.
As a guide: developmental editing from £18 per 1,000 words, copy editing from £15 per 1,000 words, and proofreading from £10 per 1,000 words. A manuscript assessment starts at £400 for manuscripts up to 50,000 words, and mentoring is £75 per hour.
For a typical 80,000 word novel, that works out at around £1,440 for a developmental edit, £1,200 for a copy edit, or £800 for a proofread. I take a 10% deposit to hold the dates in my diary.
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Developmental editing looks at the book as a whole: structure, pacing, character, plot. It asks whether the novel works.
Copy editing works line by line: prose, rhythm, repetition, consistency. It asks whether the writing works.
Proofreading is the final check for typos, punctuation and formatting before the manuscript goes out.
They happen in that order, and there is little point proofreading a book whose structure is about to change. If you are not sure where you are, a manuscript assessment will tell you.
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Fourteen days from the agreed start date, which is quicker than most editors can offer.
We agree a date in advance, I take a 10% deposit to hold it in the diary, and your manuscript comes back to you within two weeks. If you need it sooner, a seven day turnaround is usually possible for an additional fee.
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Yes. Send me the first 5,000 to 10,000 words and I'll edit them in full and write you a detailed report, so you can see exactly how I work and what my feedback looks like before committing to anything. It is charged at £45 per hour and usually takes two to four hours.
There is also a free one hour video call after I send your feedback, so we can talk it through properly.
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If you have a complete draft that you are happy with, you are ready. It doesn't need to be polished, and it doesn't need to be perfect. Most of the manuscripts I work on are messy in places, and that is precisely the point.
I think knowing what you need is the key. If the book needs a read-through to check its structure before an edit, then that's what you need. I can help at every stage, I just need to know what stage you're at, so get in touch. I am flexible and approachable, and I understand that sending your work to a stranger is a big step.
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No. That is the one thing I will not do.
My job is to understand your voice and maintain it throughout your novel. I will push you on clarity, on pace, on whether a scene is earning its place, but the voice is yours and it stays yours.
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All of them. I have worked on historical, fantasy, crime, literary, biographical and comedy. Whatever you have written, I have very likely edited something like it.
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Constantly, and they are some of my favourite people to work with.
A first novel is a particular thing. You are learning how to write a book while writing one, which is a bit like learning to swim in open water. Having someone who has been through the process themselves read your draft and tell you honestly what is working is worth a great deal at that stage.
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Yes. The synopsis is the part most writers dread and the part agents read first, which is an unfortunate combination.
I can review your synopsis on its own, or work with you on the whole submission package: synopsis, covering letter and opening chapters. I have a successful template that secured me four book deals, so I know what's needed
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Yes. Whether a book is going to an agent or straight to Amazon, it deserves the same standard of editing, and readers are no more forgiving of a sloppy self-published novel than a publisher would be.
I have also helped authors through the practical side of getting a book onto Kindle, which can be more fiddly than anyone expects.
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I am based in Somerset, and I work with writers across the UK and internationally.
Almost all of my editing work is done remotely, so where you are makes very little difference. If you are local and would rather meet in person to talk a book through, that can usually be arranged.
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No. Every edit is done by me, personally.
There are plenty of tools that will run a manuscript through a model and hand you a report. What they cannot do is tell you that your protagonist stops being interesting in chapter nine, or that the ending you have written is not the ending the book has been promising. That takes a reader who has written novels themselves, and who has read yours properly.
In a world filling up with AI, you will be working with a person.
This matters more than it used to. A growing number of literary agencies now refuse submissions that have been written or edited using AI, among them Greene & Heaton, Blake Friedmann, RCW and A.M. Heath. Several extend that to your cover letter and synopsis as well. If you are planning to submit, an AI-assisted edit could cost you the chance of representation before an agent has read a word.