Editorial Services: FAQ and Rates

What is developmental editing?
My goal is to get your best writing onto the page.
I evaluate the overall concept, delivery, and impact of your manuscript and provide specific feedback on how best to realize your vision and reach your target audience. I look at big picture issues like content, structure, plot, character development, continuity, and style, as well as suggest sentence-level changes to improve clarity and impact.

While I will correct grammar, infelicities, and such in passing, copyediting and proofreading are different steps in the process and often happens after the manuscript is picked up by a publisher.

When should I contact a developmental editor?
Developmental editing can be very useful at any stage of the writing process.
  • Beginning: You've got an idea and want to figure out where to start. I help turn your raw ideas into a writing plan that includes recommendations on organization, format, style, and target audience.
  • Middle: You're well into a project but have gotten stuck. I help you find your way out of the weeds and get back on track.
  • End: You've finished the manuscript and want to submit it to an agent or publishing house. I help you polish the work and create the pitch.

Why should I hire an editor?
If you want to sell your work, you need the honest, careful, and thorough feedback of a professional editor.
If you want to take your writing to the next level, you need an ally who will be with you through the challenges ahead as you become a better writer.

What will it cost?
Initial consultation is free. Once we've agreed on the work to be done, fees can be billed by the hour or at a flat rate. Developmental editing generally runs about $65/hour, at a pace of 1–5 pages/hour.
(A standard page of prose = 250 words. For reference, here are average fees from across the U.S.)

How do we get started?
Email me at LGH (at) lianaholmberg (dot) com. Please include:
  • Description of where you are with the manuscript/project and the kind of help you want from an editor.
  • Your objective for the work, e.g., mainstream publication or self-publishing.
  • Contact information -- phone, email, and best time to reach you. 
I'd also like to see:
  • Manuscript summary.
  • Target audience, genre and market. (Which bookstore shelf would the book belong on? Readers who will like your book will have also liked which books?)
  • Summary of any feedback from readers, other editors, agents or publishers thus far.
  • 5 pages from the work. (Send more if you like.)
I will contact you to discuss what I can offer, and you'll get a sample of the kind of feedback I will provide. Then, if it seems like a good fit, we'll move forward.

Happy writing, and I hope to hear from you soon!
Read an interview I gave
on developmental editing and
how to choose a freelancer.