Manuscript Copy Editing

If a story is well-structured and the characters are properly motivated, if the writing has a proper balance between showing and telling, it may be time for a manuscript copy edit. This kind of revision looks at words and sentences and paragraphs.

Are there undue repetitions? Has the writer used strong verbs? Overused adverbs? Are speaker attributions clear and necessary? Is there variety in the sentence construction? Are paragraph breaks in appropriate places for the pace of the story? These issues and more are addressed in a manuscript copy edit.

The fee for manuscript copy editing is $4 per page (using the industry standard of 250 words per page).

As with the other services, please format your manuscript in keeping with that which agents and editors require. Here are the basics:

• 12 point Times New Roman font
• Double spaced
• No extra line between paragraphs
• Margins set at one inch, for both sides and top/bottom
• The beginning of each paragraph indented (a half inch)
• A “slug” included in the header: Author last name / Title / Page number

As with other services, writers should transmit their manuscript electronically using Microsoft Word. Edits will be made using the “Track Changes” feature.

If you’re interested in discussing manuscript copy editing, please contact me by leaving a comment or by emailing me at rluellam at yahoo dot com. Please include your genre and the approximate length of your manuscript.

Advertisement