This holiday season I’m offering up special pricing on developmental editing and a chance to do some good while saving on your edits!
Special Holiday Pricing
Give yourself a treat this holidays! From November 25 through December 30, book my developmental editing services at a reduced rate:
$0.04 $0.035 per word
for developmental editing
This special holiday rate applies to any of my available developmental editing slots through June 2025 as long as you complete your booking with me between November 25 and December 30, 2024.
Payments must be made via Zelle or Wise to receive the full discount.
See full terms & conditions below.
Make a Difference, Get More Off
Save on developmental editing or skilled beta reading when you donate to one or more of the organizations below. Provide proof of your donation(s) when booking and I’ll give you a discount matching the amount of your donation up to $200 USD.
See full terms & conditions below.
Organizations to Support
- Sea Shepherd (this one’s for my mum)
Prefer to donate to another organization with a similar mission? Reach out and let’s discuss!
Let’s get you ready for publication.
How to Book My Services/Redeem These Offers
- Fill out the contact form to tell me a bit about yourself and your manuscript.
- I’ll send you a link to schedule an intro call (if you want!), where we’ll get to know one another and discuss your project.
- I’ll complete a free sample edit (developmental editing only) and provide you with a quote, an estimated time to complete, and tentative delivery date. (To receive the donation discount match, you’ll also provide me with proof of your donation OR tell me how much you plan to donate for an accurate quote. Proof will be required to complete booking.)
- You’ll review the proposal and decide whether you want to partner with me. If all looks good, I’ll send you a contract.
- You’ll sign the contract and pay the 50% retainer fee. (If you are looking for a donation match discount, you’ll also need to provide proof of donation if you haven’t already.) Then I dive into your fictional world and get to work!
This process can take 2–3 weeks to complete (depending on how quick you are to accept the proposal and sign the contract), so I recommend reaching out early to allow enough lead time to book by the end of the promotional period.
Terms and Conditions
The holiday rate special offer and the donation match discount can be combined for greater savings.
The special holiday rate applies only to Developmental Editing services booked between November 25, 2024, and December 30, 2024, for any of of the editor’s available start dates now through June 2025. Subject to editor’s schedule and availability. Cannot be applied to existing contracts.
- The donation match offer applies only to Developmental Editing and Skilled Beta Reading services booked between November 25, 2024, and December 30, 2024, for any of of the editor’s available start dates now through June 2025. Subject to editor’s schedule and availability. Cannot be applied to existing contracts.
- To receive the donation match discount, you must provide proof of a donation made to one or more of the organizations in the list above between November 25, 2024, and December 30, 2024.
The offer expires December 30, 2024, at 11:59 PM U.S. Eastern Time, or when all available slots have been filled.
Booking must be complete by 11:59 PM U.S. Eastern Time on December 30, 2024. (Bookings are considered complete only when the contract has been signed and the 50 percent retainer fee has been paid. If seeking a donation match discount, proof of donation will also be required to complete the booking.)
- All pricing in USD. Payments must be made via Zelle or Wise to receive full discount.
Total savings varies by which service is selected and the amount donated to an appropriate organization, if any.
Promo FAQ
Should I book developmental editing or a beta read?
Developmental editing and beta reading are often confused for one another, but are quite different—thus the different price tags. Most self-publishing authors will hire multiple betas in addition to professional editors. Who you hire and when comes down to where you are in your revision journey and your specific needs.
Beta reading includes one read through with minimal marginal comments. It includes a 2-page note summarizing my perspective as a reader, questions I had, etc. This is ideal for folks looking to get a sense of whether or not their reader is “picking up what they’re putting down,” or if revisions are effective. Beta reading is not a replacement for developmental editing.
Developmental editing includes two slow read throughs with significant note-taking and heavy marginal comments. The editorial report can be anywhere from 10-25 pages long, depending on how much work the manuscript requires. Because of how much more work is involved, this takes about 5x as long as a beta read. Developmental editing should be the first level of your professional editing passes.
Do you work with my genre?
Most of my favorite genres to work with fall under speculative fiction:
✓ Low and high fantasy
✓ Soft, dystopian sci-fi, or parallel worlds
✓ Folklore and mythology retellings
I also consider coming of age, adventure, romance (low– to medium–spice), memoir, travel writing, mystery, horror (for middle grade only), and picture books on a case-by-case basis.
Why should I choose you over other developmental editors?
Choosing who to hand your manuscript over to is a personal decision. I recommend ensuring that who you choose to edit your work understands your genre and shares a similar communication style or can communicate feedback in a way that you’ll best receive it.
You can read about my personal style here.
My manuscript isn’t ready yet. Can I book you in advance and still receive the discount?
That depends on how you work. Let me explain:
I recommend that you have a completed (or near-completed) manuscript that you’ve revised to the best of your ability before working with an editor. (Rough drafts will need more time and therefore cost you more.) That said, some clients are still working on those revisions when they reach out, as they know editors book in advance.
You know best how you work. If you believe you can get your manuscript editor-ready by the time we start, then let’s do this.
What will be my total cost after the discount is applied?
Your total cost will depend on the service selected, your preferred add-ons*, and whether or not you are eligible for a donation match discount.
You can get a general sense of the potential cost by multiplying your word count by my base rate for each service:
- $0.035 (holiday pricing) for developmental editing
- $0.008 for skilled beta reading
For example, calculating the base rate for developmental editing of an 80,000-word manuscript looks like:
80000 x $0.035 = $2,800.00
If you donate to an eligible organization, you can receive an additional discount up to $200.
* Possible add-on options include line editing, virtual chats, etc.
What's your availability?
As of November 25, 2024, I am booking into June 2025 and have the following spots available:
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING
- January: 2 available
- February: 1 available
- March: 1 available
- April: 2 available
- May: 2 available
- June: 2 available
SKILLED BETA READING
- January: BOOKED
- February: 2 available
- March: 1 available
- April: 2 available
- May: 2 available
- June: 2 available
This availability is subject to change as people book slots.
If you would prefer to book now for July–December 2025, let me know your approximate ready date and I’ll take a peek ahead to see if I can make it work and still apply the discount!
* I say approximately because I have an average word count I can edit each month. Exact availability will depend on the length of projects booked.
How do I book with you?
Complete my Contact form to reach out today and make sure to whitelist emails from editsinthemargins.com so your email provider doesn’t accidentally send my response to spam.
If I think I’m a good fit for your needs, I’ll respond with a link to book an intro call and we’ll get going from there.