SERVICES
Not sure what type of editing you need?
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I work in all genres, but have the most experience with Fantasy, YA, LGBTQIA+ Romance, and Thrillers
Manuscript Assessment
Have you finished your first draft and aren’t sure what to do next? Want to know if you’re on the right track in terms of plot, characters, tone, and other big-picture aspects? When doing a manuscript assessment I’ll read your book wearing two hats—both a reader’s and an editor’s—and provide both broad and specific feedback describing what’s working, what’s not, and examples of each to help guide you in your next draft. $12 per 1,000 words
Line Editing
Line editing addresses tone, syntax, flow, style, and word choice to help you make sure every word is as powerful and vivid as possible. Sometimes a long, rambling sentence does the story and the reader a disservice and needs to be revised – other times it’s illustrative of a character’s state of mind. (One reason AI isn’t ready to replace human editors!) Repetition might be for effect, or might be an oversight. “Tight” language feels better to the reader, even if they don’t know why, so phrases like “She looked down at the ground” will be flagged for redundancy. A character who “walked slowly” might be creeping, moping, meandering, or sauntering – how do you want your reader to envision the scene? Line editing can help! $20–$30 per 1,000 words
Copyediting
You’re confident that your manuscript is solid – the plot is cohesive, your voice is distinct, your characters are vibrant and three-dimensional. Now how about that grammar and punctuation? The part of your brain that creates worlds, adventures, conspiracies, and passionate romances is not the same part that remembers where the apostrophes go, if you spelled your character’s name Fishburg or Fishberg, or whether Chad put his wallet in his pocket or on the table. That’s the job of a copy editor. I will correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, capitalization, sentence structure, dialogue tags, and word usage (just to name a few!), and leave comments and suggestions regarding clarity, consistency, continuity, and style. $15–$25 per 1,000 words
The 10,000-Word Edit
You know your book needs professional editing but your bank account is making unhappy noises about it? This option takes more time and effort on your part, but can save you money in the long run.
I’ll perform a detailed copyedit and critique of just ten thousand words. This provides you with clear examples of your habitual typos, grammatical errors, or other issues – which you can then search through the rest of your manuscript for and fix yourself. A lighter copy edit and/or proofreading is advisable before you click the “publish” button, if you can swing it, but you could save some significant cash by doing some solid cleanup ahead of time. $200
Proofreading
Proofreading is ideal for work that’s been reviewed and revised previously, or any other document that just needs a fresh pair of eyes to do a final check for errant formatting, misspellings, simple grammatical errors, or misplaced punctuation marks that evaded the eyes of the writer and/or editor who has been working with it intensely. This is the least expensive option, involves the least intervention, and usually occurs after formatting and before going to print (or e-print, as the case may be). $12–$14 per 1,000 words
“I have enjoyed working with Robin every step of the way. She wields a mastery of the English language that really helps an author say what they are trying to say. Her feedback was invaluable in the process of taking my story from manuscript to finished novel. I highly recommend Robin to any author serious about publishing their work!“
“I was impressed by a sample copy-edit from Robin, but our timelines didn’t mesh. Instead, I hired her for the final proofread and am so glad I did. She caught issues of language consistency, punctuation, and grammar that both the copy-editor and I missed.
She delivered well before the promised deadline, responded quickly to my emails, and at all times behaved like a true professional. She made the book so much better. I hope to use her again for my next project.”
“Working with Robin was a pleasure. She approaches your work with respect and dedication, helps you to understand why certain things have to be changed, and creates a nice atmosphere in which you feel at ease. I especially recommend her to new authors who work on their debut and I hope to work with her again!”
“Choosing Shadowcat Editing was my best decision as a new author. After Robin completed a sample edit on my debut manuscript, I immediately knew that she was “the one.” Her copy and line edit revisions were absolutely spot on, and I appreciate that she took the time to explain the “why” behind her changes and recommendations. Robin is truly dedicated to helping her client’s manuscripts shine. I look forward to working with Shadowcat Editing on future projects.“
Selected Fiction Portfolio
