Write and edit
Professional book editing services for your manuscript
Structural editing to fix what the book is doing, line editing to fix how it reads. Your editor reads the whole manuscript before quoting, so you are told what it needs rather than sold a package.
What it is
Two different jobs, often sold as one
Structural editing and line editing solve different problems. Paying for the wrong one is the most common waste in self-publishing.
A structural edit asks whether the book works: where it starts, whose story it is, which chapters are doing nothing, where a reader puts it down. It arrives as a report and a marked-up manuscript, and it usually means rewriting.
A line edit assumes the structure is right and works sentence by sentence on rhythm, clarity and voice. Most manuscripts need both, in that order, and a few only need the second. We read yours first and say which. If you are weighing up the whole budget, our guide to what it costs to publish a book in Australia breaks the editing figures down, and there is more on how we handle fiction publishing if that is your genre.
- A sample edit of 2,000 words before you commit
- The full manuscript read before a price is quoted
- Editorial report plus a tracked-changes manuscript
- A call with your editor after you have read the report
In detail
What an edit actually looks like
Three things that separate a useful edit from a spellcheck with an invoice.
A report that says what to do first
Eight to fifteen pages, ordered by what matters most. Not a list of everything wrong, which is paralysing, but a sequence: fix this, then this, then look at the sentences.
- Structure, pacing and point of view
- Chapters that can be cut or merged
- The two or three problems that keep recurring
Changes you can see and refuse
Everything comes back as tracked changes with margin comments explaining why. You accept, reject or argue with each one. It is your book, and an editor who cannot explain a change has not earned it.
- Tracked changes, never a silently rewritten file
- Comments explain the reasoning, not just the fix
- A style sheet recording every decision made
Australian English, properly
Australian spelling and punctuation conventions, with a style sheet so the choices stay consistent across 400 pages. If your book is aimed at a US readership we will set it up that way instead, and say so.
- Organise, colour, licence and the rest, consistently
- Single quotes, spaced en rules, metric by default
- Dialect and dialogue left alone unless it misfires
How it works
How an edit runs
Four stages, with a sample edit before any money changes hands.
- 01
Sample edit
FreeSend the manuscript. We edit 2,000 words from the middle, not the polished opening, and return it so you can see how your editor works before deciding.
Your part: Send the file and tell us what you think the book needs.
- 02
Full read and fixed quote
Within a weekYour editor reads the whole manuscript, then quotes one figure for the work it actually needs. A book in good shape costs less, and we say so rather than quietly charging the same.
Your part: Read the quote and the scope, and cut anything you do not want.
- 03
Structural edit
3–5 weeksThe report and a marked-up manuscript, followed by a call once you have read both. Then you rewrite, with as long as you need — most authors take four to eight weeks.
Your part: The rewriting. This is the part nobody can do for you.
- 04
Line edit and style sheet
3–4 weeksSentence-level work on the revised manuscript, returned as tracked changes with a style sheet. From here the book is ready for proofreading and typesetting.
Your part: Work through the changes and query anything you disagree with.
You keep your rights
Full copyright and royalties stay with you
Fixed written quotes
The quote you accept is the amount you pay
Australian owned
Local team, AUD pricing, GST invoices
Work you approve
Nothing goes to print without your sign-off
Packages
What editing costs
Editing is the whole of the Manuscript package and the first stage of the other two. The figure below is for a 60,000-word manuscript in reasonable shape; your quote follows the full read.
Manuscript
Get the writing right before you spend anything on design.
for a 60,000-word manuscript
- Written manuscript assessment
- One round of structural editing
- Line edit and final proofread
- Australian spelling and style sheet
- A call with your editor at each stage
Publish
Everything needed to turn a finished manuscript into a book on sale.
for a 60,000-word manuscript
- Everything in Manuscript
- Original cover design, print and ebook
- Typeset interior for paperback and ebook
- ISBN registration and legal deposit
- Retailer and print-on-demand setup
- A printed proof copy before you sign off
- You keep the rights and the royalties
Publish and launch
For authors who want readers to find the book in its first month.
for a 60,000-word manuscript
- Everything in Publish
- A launch plan with dates and owners
- Author website with an email sign-up
- Retailer advertising for the first 90 days
- Review and bookshop outreach
- Monthly sales reporting for six months
Every quote is confirmed after we read your manuscript. Prices in Australian dollars and include GST. Longer books and illustrated books cost more, and we will say so before you commit.
Related services
What usually comes next
Questions authors ask
Book editing: questions authors ask
Editing changes the book; proofreading catches mistakes. A structural edit may move or cut whole chapters, and a line edit rewrites sentences. Proofreading happens last, on the typeset pages, and fixes spelling, punctuation and layout errors. Doing them in the wrong order means paying to proofread text you later rewrite.
Six to ten weeks of our time for a 60,000-word manuscript: three to five weeks for the structural pass, then three to four for the line edit. The gap between them is yours, for rewriting, and most authors take four to eight weeks over it. Longer and more complex books take proportionally longer.
No. A line editor works on clarity and rhythm within your voice, not towards a house style. Everything arrives as tracked changes with a reason attached, so you can reject anything that does not sound like you. If you find yourself rejecting most of it, the pairing is wrong and we will change your editor.
Often yes, but sometimes no. Beta readers tell you where they lost interest, which is genuinely useful. An editor tells you why and what to do about it. If your readers all flagged the same problem and you have already fixed it, a line edit alone may be enough — the free sample and full read will tell us.
We will say so, and we will not take the job. Some manuscripts need another draft before an edit is worth paying for, and the honest recommendation is a manuscript assessment first: a written report for a fraction of the cost, which you take away and act on. Editing a draft that is not ready wastes your money.
Yes. Some authors want the first three chapters edited to a high standard for submissions or a sample, or one problem section looked at. We quote by scope, so a partial edit is a smaller job. We will tell you if the part you have chosen cannot sensibly be edited in isolation.
Still have a question? A real publisher will answer it.
Start your publishing journeyFree, no obligation
Get a free sample edit
Send the manuscript and we will edit 2,000 words from the middle of it, then tell you what the whole book needs and what that would cost.
- A real editor reads it, not a word-count calculator
- 2,000 words edited free, from the middle of the book
- A fixed quote based on the whole manuscript
- We will tell you if it is not ready yet
- 1. You send it
- 2. An editor reads it
- 3. You get a written price