Editing Services Available
Writing Coaching
Manuscript Review
Developmental Editing
Ghostwriting
Line Editing
Proofreading
How it works
- Pick a service: Scan the services below for more detailed information on what you’ll get for your money. Still not sure what kind of editing you need? Let’s talk, I can help you pinpoint where you are in the writing process and what kind of editing will serve you best. Contact me at staysong@gmail.com.
- Send a sample: I offer a free assessment on 5,000 words to every prospective client. But you are also welcome to send me your entire manuscript and/or a synopsis. For higher-level editing jobs, it can be more useful to skim the entire project than to focus on the first few chapters.
- Receive a quote or a referral: Along with your free assessment, I will offer you a quote, contract, and a delivery date. If I don’t have the time or skills to help you make your manuscript the very best it can be, I will refer you to an excellent editor who can help.
- Sign a contract and make a deposit: If you agree to the terms, you’ll send me the signed contract, a 10% deposit, and a copy of your entire manuscript.
- Receive your deliverable: By the agreed upon delivery date, I will send you the deliverable specific to the service you’ve chosen, be it a manuscript review, a marked-up manuscript or proof, etc. At this time, you’ll also pay the remaining balance of your invoice via Paypal.
- Receive follow-up support: I’m available for any questions you have about the deliverables. Developmental Editing services on a full manuscript include an hour of consultation time via chat, phone, or video conference, best used after you review your deliverables. You can also email me questions anytime. Subsequent editing passes will require a new contract and fee.
Editing Services
Writing Coaching
- What is it: This service is for writers who need encouragement, instruction, and feedback while they are drafting or actively revising a manuscript. We will meet periodically, and I will assign you tasks based on a mutual agreement. For example, I might ask you to draft a certain number of words, or do a specific writing exercise, or revise a certain number of pages. At least two days before our meeting, you will send me a document with up to 5,000 words you’ve written or revised since the last meeting. I’ll give you written feedback on the work, and we will discuss your progress and any issues or challenges you face during our meeting.
- Deliverable: Regular session via chat, phone, or video conference where we discuss your progress and I assign your next task. Feedback, in the form of both summary and margin comments, on up to 5,000 words per session.
- Cost: $200/session, first session free
- Turn-around: As agreed (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly)
Developmental Editing Light
- What is it: The developmental edit light is useful for writers who want an overview of the issues in their manuscript without the cost of a detailed developmental edit. It’s a good service to choose if you know your draft needs work but you don’t know exactly what, and you’re prepared to do that work yourself with some guidance.
- Deliverable: A thorough manuscript review detailing what’s working and what needs fixing in terms of story structure, character development, setting, and theme. If necessary, it might also include a detailed review of what’s working and what’s not on a chapter or scene level, with suggestions. This may cover the larger issues mentioned above, as well as more local issues such as dialog, description, action, backstory, pacing, and scene. Usually about 10 pages. May include margin notes on the manuscript. If necessary, a reverse outline might be included, revealing the structure of the manuscript as it stands and highlighting potential structural changes.
- Cost: $0.03/word (about $2400 for an 80,000 word manuscript)
- Turn-around: Varies depending on length of project and my availability; generally 1 month
Detailed Developmental Editing
- What is it: The detailed developmental edit, also known as book-doctoring, is great if you need specific, chapter by chapter, sometimes line-by-line feedback on structural level issues. While the developmental edit light will provide you with information about the issues in your manuscript, developmental editing will pinpoint those issues on the page, in margin comments, and offer specific solutions and possible fixes. You will still revise the manuscript yourself, but with thorough margin notes as your guide.
- Deliverable: A manuscript review and reverse outline as described above, in addition to a marked up digital copy of your manuscript with thorough margin comments pinpointing and describing fixes to the issues detailed in the manuscript review.
- Cost: $0.06/word (about $4800 for an 80,000 word manuscript)
- Turn-around: Varies depending on length of project and my availability; generally 1-3 months
Ghostwriting
- What is it: For this service, I will draft an entire manuscript or portions of a manuscript for you. If you have an idea for a book but don’t have the time or skill to write it yourself, it’s time to hire a ghostwriter. Some writers and publishers also hire ghostwriters to apply developmental editing fixes to an existing manuscript.
- Deliverable: A custom manuscript written to your needs. I can ghostwrite from scratch, or I can rewrite an existing manuscript.
- Cost: $0.10/word (about $8,000 for an 80,000 word manuscript)
- Turn-around: Varies depending on length of project and my availability; generally 3-6 months
Line Editing
- What is it: Line editing is an edit for the stage when your manuscript is structurally sound, meaning no large changes requiring huge cuts or additions will be made, but the paragraph and sentence level writing needs work. A good line edit will make your writing sparkle, improve general flow and clarity, and enhance your voice and style without obscuring it.
- Deliverable: A marked-up digital copy of your manuscript with line-by-line changes improving the flow, clarity, and style of your copy.
- Cost: $0.04/word (about $3200 for an 80,000 word manuscript)
- Turn-around: Varies depending on length of project and my availability; generally 1 month
Copyediting
- What is it: Copyediting can address a range of issues, from the heavier stylistic choices made in line editing to the typos and misspellings fixed in proofreading, and everything in-between. The focus in a copyedit is generally the mechanics of spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, and word usage. A good copyedit will also check for consistency in style choices such as capitalizations, hyphenation, punctuation, numbers, abbreviations, etc.
- Deliverable: A marked-up digital copy of your manuscript with corrections to mechanical issues and style inconsistencies, and queries for anything that can’t be resolved without the author’s input. An accompanying style sheet listing style choices to be followed in the manuscript. For a fiction manuscript, this will include characters, places, and made-up words and concepts, and these items will be corrected for consistency in the manuscript.
- Cost: $0.025/word (About $2000 for an 80,000 word manuscript)
- Turn-around: Varies depending on length of project and my availability; generally 1 month
Proofreading
- What is it: If you’re working with a traditional publisher, they provide an in-house proofreader. But for Indy Authors, it’s crucial to get a final set of eyes on your proof copy to make sure the reader’s experience is seamless. Enter the proofread. Whether you have a physical proof copy, layout pages, or a PDF or other digital format, you need a proofreader to check for last-minute typos, formatting, and consistency errors.
- Deliverable: A marked-up digital or hard copy of your proof with line-by-line corrections to typos, formatting errors and inconsistencies, indisputable grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors, and any other small last-minute changes necessary to produce a clean manuscript.
- Cost: $0.02/word (about $1600 for an 80,000 word manuscript)
- Turn-around: Varies depending on length of project and my availability; generally 1 month
Invest in yourself as a writer
My editing philosophy is instructional. My goal is not just to fix your current manuscript, but to provide you with the knowledge, skills and feedback to be able to improve all your future writing. As a client in good standing, you can always contact me with any follow-up questions or general writing questions you have. I love talking about writing and I’ll be thrilled to continue our conversation after the editing job is finished.
If you’re ready to get started with a free manuscript assessment, send your sample, or the entire manuscript, to staysong@gmail.com.
Questions? Email me! I love answering questions.
staysong@gmail.com
About Me
I love stories, and I have a deep passion for helping writers understand the best way to tell their story. If you have a story you want to write but don’t know how to start, or if you have a draft and don’t know how to shape it into the book you can envision, I can help!
When I work with a client, I look for the elements that are preventing their story from achieving its potential, whether that be plot holes, narrative arc, pacing, character development, or issues with setting or theme. I work with manuscripts at all stages, including pre-draft coaching. I enjoy editing stories in many genres of fiction and non-fiction, but speculative fiction is my favorite genre.
I hold an Editing Certificate from the University of Washington, and I’m currently an MFA Candidate at Northern Michigan University, where I teach English Composition. I’m also an Associate Fiction Editor for Passages North, a literary magazine. When I’m not writing and editing, I’m either swimming in the frigid waters of Lake Superior, or shoveling snow.
Some projects I’ve worked on include:
Light developmental editing on The Immortal Game, a speculative fiction romance novel by Joannah Miley
Developmental Editing and coaching on Night and Day, a fantasy manuscript by Isis Guernsey
Developmental Editing and Ghostwriting on Little Lacey, a speculative fiction middle-grade manuscript by Amanda June Hagarty
Developmental Editing on Windsong II, a sci-fi thriller manuscript by Sabine Sloley
Testimonials
“Selah Tay-Song has one of the finest story minds I’ve met in all my years of publishing. Her fiction engages the reader powerfully and immediately. She is also a fabulous mentor for writers, and one of my trusted sources for story critiques.” – Laurel Leigh, Independent Editor
“Selah’s feedback on my novel The Immortal Game was invaluable. She was able to ask me questions that really got me thinking about where my story was going and then had suggestions on how to get there clearly and cohesively. She did this while always respecting my voice and my creative process.” —Joannah Miley, Author
“I would highly recommend Selah Tay-Song as a fantasy novel editor. I had been through some editors previously, and Selah stood out to me as she really cared about me as a person and my story. She gave me high-quality feedback about my story including sections about character, plot, story-world, theme, information management and more. She spent time understanding my story and supporting me in a kind and helpful way as a young author.” —Isis Guernsey, Author
“Selah Tay-Song has been an invaluable sounding board for my writing for many years. She has an almost uncanny ability to put her finger on a story’s sore spot, no matter how subtle the difficulty. I trust her with my words without reservation.” —Sabine Sloley, Writer & Editor
Editorial Freelancer’s Association Profile
Northwest Editors Guild Association Profile
Resources for Writers
Freebie: Story assessment form
Click here to fill out the free story assessment form.
You can fill out this free story assessment form any time, for any draft, even if you don’t intend to become my client. Your answers may help you gain a more clear understanding of where your story stands. This form is separate from the free, detailed assessment I will provide on your writing sample.