Anyone whose writing could be better than it is needs editing. I accept writers at all skill levels, from beginners on their first draft to published writers who need just a little polish to push their newest work into print.
All the coaching editing I do is custom work, tailored to your needs and budget, but the place to begin is always with a diagnostic reading of your manuscript. I need to know your strengths and weaknesses, and you need to know if I'm the right editor for you. So I'll read your manuscript carefully and send you a two or three page report on what works and what needs work. (If you'd like to see some sample diagnostic reading reports, click here.) The cost for a diagnostic reading report is $2 per double-spaced, single-sided page (about 250 words). If your manuscript is less than 150 pages, it will be billed at the $80 rate -- e-mail me at dave@davekingedits.com with details about your manuscript and I'll give you an estimate.
After the diagnostic reading, you may want and need anything from a bit of line-editing to a thorough collaboration or even ghost writing. It depends on you, your book, and, of course, your editing budget. If you want me to, I'll stay with you, not only through the revising process, but through your search for an agent and publisher. My rate for additional work is $80/hr. (I always use a letter of agreement for large projects and will not exceed my estimate without your permission.)
With line-editing, I use a coaching method that most writers prefer since they learn so much in the course of the work. I edit the first fifty pages and send them to you. You then input my changes (keeping only the ones you like, of course) and edit pages 51-100 yourself, trying to do what I did. You send me a clean copy, I edit 51-100, send them back, then you edit 101-150. And so we proceed, with you working fifty pages ahead of me throughout the book. This back-and-forth approach lets you experiment with your style and receive feedback, helping you to hone your writing skills in ways you can apply to all your writing.
If you'd like to submit a manuscript, please mail or ship it to 209 March Rd. (Ashfield), Shelburne Falls, MA, 01370 with a check and a cover letter that tells me when and how you prefer to be contacted. You can also e-mail your manuscript and pay the reading fee through Paypal. I work on projects as I receive them, so my workload determines how soon you will receive your diagnostic reading report. If you're in a hurry, just e-mail me and I'll let you know when I have a free space in my schedule. I'd also appreciate knowing how you heard about Dave King Editorial Services.