Copy Editing
Copy Editing Defined
Copy editing is known as the third stage of editing, following a developmental edit and a stylistic edit.
The copy editing stage focuses on improving grammar, spelling, clarity, consistency, and readability. It includes basic fact-checking and ensuring correctness in imagery, tables, graphs.
In other words, the goal of copy editing is the finer details, as opposed to the “big picture” (which takes places during the developmental editing stage) and the sentence structure and overall flow (which takes place during the stylistic editing stage).
However, it is possible to combine the copy editing stage with a stylistic edit. Please contact me anytime for a quote.
Copy Editing Rate and Process
For both fiction and non-fiction, my copy editing rate is $50 CAD per 1,000 words.
This includes
- an email discussion of your editing needs and project specifics,
- one round (three passes) of copy editing, and
- a follow up email discussion regarding any clarifications or questions.
At our agreed upon due date, I will provide you with
- a copy edited document (either a Microsoft Word document with “Track Changes” and comments or a Google document with “Suggested” edits and comments),
- a clean Microsoft Word or Google document,
- a general inclusive language summary,
- a 1-2 page summary of my editing suggestions, and
- a style sheet of my edits.
During my editing process, I adhere to Editors Canada’s Professional Editorial Standards.
For more information on this type of editing, check out my blog articles on How to Choose an Editor and What Types of Editing Services are Available.
Copy Editing Terms and Conditions
- All prices are quotes in CAD.
- Upon receipt of documents, a contract will be sent to the Client, which must be signed prior to commencing work.
- This contract will establish scope of work, expectations, and timelines.
- A 50% deposit must be sent via e-transfer or PayPal prior to the Editor commencing work.
- The remaining 50% will be due within 10 days of completed work and receipt of Editor invoice.
