Apply for Full or Partial Financial Assistance
In honor of Patricia McDaid, for her love of books and storytelling, $4,000 has been made available by her husband, Ron, to patron one or two authors who may be unable to accommodate the full investment of a developmental edit up to 95,000 words.
Applications for 2026 will open June 1 and close July 26, 2026, or after 25 submissions have been received.
The final decision regarding who will receive assistance will be made based on a combination of an author’s needs, financial situation, and whether the manuscript fits the types of projects edited by In the Margins.
Applicant(s) selected to receive assistance will be notified via email by September 1, and will be required to submit their completed, formatted manuscript by October 1.
As you prepare to apply . . .
Are we a match? Please be sure you have determined eligibility and compatibility by reading through the following:
- Terms and Conditions (below)
- About Page
- Interview with the Editor
- Credentials
- AI Policy
When the form has been submitted, you should receive a confirmation and copy of your answers.
To avoid missing a response from me, please be certain to whitelist emails from editsinthemargins.com. Read more on how to whitelist an email in each of the most common email providers.
Terms and Conditions
- For the purposes of these Terms and Conditions, “The Editor” refers to In the Margins LLC. “Applicant” refers to any individual who submits an application. “Assistance” refers to full- or partial-financial assistance.
- By entering your information for this application you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.
- Application opens June 1, 2026, and close July 26, 2026, or after 25 applications have been received. Applications may reopen if needed after the initial 25 are reviewed.
- Only one application per person.
- Applicants must be over 18 years old on the date of application submission.
- Assistance is being offered to cover the full or partial cost of developmental editing services from Kayleigh / In the Margins. It cannot be applied to services from other editors, companies or organizations.
- This opportunity is intended for those who may otherwise be unable to cover the full cost of a developmental edit on their own.
- Assistance up to $4,000 USD is available to cover the cost of a project only. The author has no cash or other claim on the remaining amount available if a project estimate is under the available amount.
- Assistance offered will be for the full cost of a developmental edit or, if manuscript exceeds the available funds, for a specific amount off of developmental editing services provided by the Editor. The will be responsible for the total cost of a complete developmental edit minus the prize amount. (To tally the cost of a developmental edit: multiple your manuscript’s final word count by $0.042 and deduct the potential Assistance amount. See developmental editing page for service details.)
- Manuscript must be complete by October 1, 2026, and be in one of the Editor’s preferred genres.
- Within 7 days of being notified of financial acceptance, the Applicant must acknowledge acceptance and sign the editing contract or the offer may be rescinded and given to another author in need.
- Project start date will be in October, November, December 2026, subject to the Editor’s availability. (In the event the Editor is booked further, projects may be scheduled for January or February 2027.)
- Booking is considered complete once the Applicant has submitted a signed contract and, in the event that estimated costs exceed the available Assistance, has paid 50% of the amount over the Assistance offered.
- To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Editor’s liability under or in connection with this Assistance or these terms and conditions shall be limited to the Assistance amount offered.
- Offer is for financial assistance voucher only and is non-negotiable and non-transferable. No cash alternative is available. Assistance may not be used toward a previous or existing contract or split between multiple projects.
- In the event of unforseen circumstances including serious illness, emergency, fire, casualty, strike, act of God or other such causes beyond the control of the Editor, the Editor reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the offer or these terms and conditions, either in whole or in part, with or without notice.
- Assistance awarded is at the sole discretion of the Editor. The Editor’s decision is final and no requests to reconsider or debate the decision will be entered into.