The sample edit is a chance for me to get to know your work and for you to get to know my editing style. The sample edit helps us figure out if we’re the right writer-editor match.

In a sample edit, I provide comments on the first 10-ish pages of the manuscript. Then, I’ll take a look at the rest of the manuscript and write a short editorial memo detailing my findings and observations.

After that, I’ll prepare a quote for the cost of the project and a proposed timeline.

If you accept my quote, I’ll send you a formal contract and invoice for the deposit to hold your spot in my calendar. Then, the real work begins!

Yes - you are covered by my nondisclosure and confidentiality policy whether you choose me as your editor or not. I will do my best to keep my website and email databases secure and I will never send or show your manuscript to a third party.

The bottom line is that I will protect your work as carefully as I protect my own. I’m here to help writers, not to steal your work.

These meetings are an informal chance for you to talk to me, get to know me and figure out if I’m the right editor or book coach for you.

This call is absolutely, 100% no-obligation! You can hang up on me in the middle of the call (but please don’t, I’m only human after all…). Either way, you never have to hear from me again if you don’t want to.

Hopefully, I’ll earn your business, but if not you’re free to pursue other editors and there is never a charge for these introductory phone calls.

Hiring an editor or book coach is an investment in your writing. I strive to make your investment worthwhile by offering detailed critiques and helpful bonuses.

Editing Costs

Developmental editing costs start at $0.032 per word. Manuscript evaluations start at $0.012 per word.

Those base prices apply to your first 50,000 words. Then, the price per word goes down for the next 50,000.

Then it goes down again for the next 100k and again for the 100k after that.

Why?

Because I love long books. I write long books. And I want other writers to be able to write long books without costs spiraling out of control.

I also offer a 10% discount for repeat customers and a 15% discount for repeat customers when editing a manuscript in a series with the same characters/ world as previous manuscripts they’ve edited with me.

Coaching Costs

I charge a project fee for revision coaching. Costs are based on manuscript length, submission frequency, the state of your manuscript, and your individual coaching needs.

You can expect to invest at least $4800 in revision coaching for a full length manuscript (75,000 words), but I will be able to provide more detail after a discovery call.

Nope, not at all!

I work with authors in several genres, but fantasy is my first and truest love. And the fantasy books I love best are the doorstops, the weighty tomes that make War & Peace look like a novella (okay just kidding that’s an exaggeration).

Let’s just say that I love fat fantasy. And fat historical fiction. And fat anything else, it just doesn’t alliterate as well.

With that said, if your book is over 400,000 words you run into issues of publishability (if that matters to you). And if you’re topping 500,000 words there’s likely some excess for you to trim away.

I prefer to edit in Microsoft Word. If it is impossible for your to send documents via Word (docx), I am also okay with Google Docs.

I do not accept any other document types for editing or coaching (including PDFs).

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do!

Return Customer Discount

If you come back to have me edit another manuscript, you get an automatic 10% discount. If you come back with another book in the same series you get an additional 5% off (total discount of 15%).

Please note: Series means a related book in the same world and/or with the same characters. Olivia has final discretion on what constitutes a series.

The Fat Book Discount

I love fat books. Epic fantasy. Sweeping family sagas. I love them all. I also know how quickly editing costs can spiral out of control.

So, I charge all manuscripts on a decreasing rate scale. The first 50,000 words are charged at my base rate, words 50,001-100,000 are charged at a reduced rate, words 100,001-200,000 are charged at a further reduced rate, words 200,001-300,000 are charged at an even more reduced rate, and words 300,001-400,000 are charged at an even more reduced rate, and so on…

My goal with this discount is to make developmental editing just a little bit more accessible for those of us who love to read & write fat books!

The contract is meant to protect both of us. The contract clearly lays out the terms, costs, and expectations around our editing agreement.

This contract spells out exactly when you’ll deliver the manuscript, when you’ll get it back, what you’ll pay, and when you’ll make payments.

I also outline policies around cancellations and unforeseen obstacles (like what happens if you get sick and can’t turn in your manuscript on time). I also spell out exactly what you’ll be getting with your developmental edit so there are no surprises along the way.

The main difference is in the way we communicate. Email based coaching does not include live, video call meetings. You’ll send me your draft via email, then I’ll send back my feedback along with guidance/ next steps. If you have follow-up questions, you can keep emailing me throughout the month with questions.

Zoom based calling includes live video calls to discuss your writing and next steps. I’ll still provide written comments on your work, but we’ll also meet to talk about them in person. You’ll also be able to send me follow-up questions via email throughout the month.

Why the price difference?

Simple. Meeting on video requires more from me. More time, more energy, more mental real estate. I know that some people need that face-to-face contact, but I had to create a pricing structure that honors the extra effort required on my part.

Offering email-based coaching also gives me an opportunity to provide coaching services at a lower price point and make them available to more people. If you’re flexible about coaching formats (or are as introverted as I am…) then email based coaching is a great option.

Yeah…math isn’t my strong suit either.

Basically, words over 50,000 are charged at a lower rate. The rate keeps decreasing as your word count goes up.

Here’s an example. If your manuscript is 250,000 words, the math works out like this: (50000* .032) + (50000* .016) + (100000* .012) = $3,000.

If I charged every word at the same rate, that same edit would cost you 200000*.016= $4,800.

The fat fantasy discount saves you $1,800.

If you’re a returning customer that price drops to $2,700. Returning with a series, you’re down to $2,550.

If you’re still feeling a little bit of price shock, I’m right there with you. But here’s the thing. If you’ve written a 250,000 word novel, that’s about 500+ pages. You’re asking your readers (who spend good money on your books) to stick with you for that entire time. That’s a pretty big ask. You owe it to them to invest in creating the best book you can and to make sure that your readers get to enjoy all of your hard work!

The blurb/query critique is an added bonus when you hire me to do a developmental edit for your manuscript. I will critique up to 10 double spaced pages. These pages must follow the same formatting guidelines as all other manuscript submissions.