Writing tips

The plot
thickens

Choosing
a literary
agent

Query letters

Inspire me!

But they
rejected me!

Pricing tips

Never pay 100% up front for a substantial editing project. For relatively small jobs, such as 1000-5000 words, an editor will expect to be paid in advance. But for larger commissions, work out an incremental payment plan. You may change your mind halfway through a job, or be unsatisfied, or need to cancel for a variety of reasons.

I try to accommodate this wherever possible. So be sure of your budget and be cautious.

Also, don't expect any guarantees. Writing is a very subjective business. A good editor will certainly improve your manuscript and may help make it saleable, but good editing is only part of the deal.

Great books routinely fail. Lousy books fill the bookshelves. Everyone is right. And everyone is wrong.

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Prices

This is the page I hate. I need to set a rate, and you'll want to know exactly what my services costs and factor that into whatever writing budget you have (which, if my own experience is anything to judge by, is not likely to be very big).

So here goes ...

Broadly speaking, I'm looking to make between £10-£12 per hour, which is fairly modest. To make a decent living at that rate means a lot of hours at the keyboard. But that's my problem.

In reality, however, my true rate is generally lower because there are often smaller jobs that I can polish off in between jobs at no extra cost. By this, I mean that I can occasionally work on projects simultaneously (such as when I'm researching on the net and am awaiting results or replies), or when part of my mind is working on copywriting ideas while I'm uploading or downloading files. I get some of my best ideas and inspirations when I'm not even at the keyboard (such as when I'm driving the car or making a cup of tea or something).

It's not all "hands-on".

Put another way, I'm often working on a few projects at once, juggling between them and using the various partitions in my head. So I may not charge at all for ten minutes work here or there if I can write-off the time (pardon the pun).

Does that mean that my work is compromised? You'll have to decide on that when you see the results. But my own feeling is that it's often actually better not to stand too close to a project. You need to get a little distance between yourself and a manuscript, which is often exactly why people choose an editing service. For a more impartial view. Also, a certain amount of writing is inspiration (even though mostly it's just hard slog). And inspiration, by definition, doesn't always come when you want it. So there has to be a certain amount of "thinking" latitude.

Anyway, so much for the sales spiel. Here's a rough breakdown of costs - but remember that all projects are different.

Fiction editing costs around 1p per word up to 1000 words.

This assumes some rewriting and a brief report on the project (probably around 500 words). I estimate about one hour work. If it's a particularly tricky job, I'll advise beforehand. The rate could go to 2p per word, which I think is still pretty good value. To keep your costs down, edit as much as possible before I see the document.

All jobs, incidentally, are spell checked.

For a 50,000 word fiction project, the base cost is still likely to be around 1p per word, but I'll give a more comprehensive report (probably around 2000-4000 words) and will assume a little more direct writing. That kind of job usually takes around 50 hours. I'll spell check and will do what I can to advise on problems, inconsistencies, poor characterisations, etc. And I'll tell you straight if I think you're wasting your money - in which case you may want to try another editor, and/or work on it yourself some more. Make sure you want to hear my opinion. It could be hard.

Some editors are happy to work on anything (and I'm not casting aspersions on anyone by that remark). For myself, I need to enjoy and become involved in a project, and if I feel it's below a certain threshold, I simply won't be able to do a good job and would prefer not to take it on.

You might want to read my page But they rejected me!

I might not want to take on a project simply because I don't have sufficient experience of a genre to be of any use. I've written some sci-fi, for instance, and I've read a fair bit (mostly older stuff; Philip K Dick, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Ray Bradbury, etc), but there are styles within styles, and some sci-fi goes right over my head.

Keep that in mind.

Neither would I be much good with fantasy, largely because I don't understand the conventions. But if you think I've got something to offer, I'll help where I can.

For a 100,000 word project, the rate would usually drop below 1p per word. Yes, a 100,000 word project is twice the work of a 50,000 word project (or often even more work due to reworking threads and inconsistencies which tend to multiply exponentially). But most writers simply won't be able to afford the costs involved, so I try and keep it down to a more acceptable level and burn a little extra midnight oil.

But it's not all bad, from my point of view. It often means enjoying some good writing, and it beats working at the car wash.

For non-fiction, editing costs are generally around 10-20% cheaper - unless I need to do a lot of research. With non-fiction, it's generally a more mechanical process without the need to watch things like plotting and characterisation (although there are other issues to be addressed, not least accuracy).

It would be nice to give a fixed rate. But it simply isn't realistic. As an absolute minimum price, I'd want to earn £10 for any job.

Query letters and synopses

The cost of writing Query Letters is, I'm afraid, higher. Ditto for synopses. These take a lot of thought to get the tone just right. A 1000-word query letter might take 2-3 hours. It needs to be carefully reasoned and 'spun', so I charge 2-3p per word. But if you need something fired off quick, I'll try to help. But I wouldn't recommend it.

My advice is to write your own query letter and spend a few days on it, coming back to it over and over again, each time trying to imagine it as an agent or editor will view it. If you're still stuck, or feel I can add something, let me know.

I would expect to spend around 3 hours writing a query letter. That's not enough, but if you're totally inexperienced or really need the help, I think you'll get your money's worth and will have a reasonably decent missive to send off with your manuscript. Therefore, a 1000 word query letter would cost between £20-£30. A 2000 word synopsis would cost between £40-£60.

The costs would be lower if you simply want your own query letter or synopsis edited, repaired, or improved.

Email me whenever you're ready and I'll do what I can to accommodate you.

Ghostwriting

This is expensive. A 100,000 word novel might take 3 months to write, or 6 months. I'd have to commit a lot of time and energy to a project and would expect to earn around £7500-£15,000.

By most people's standards, that's a lot of money. And it may not be well spent. Selling novels is hard. And risky. I've spent years trying to get that big, or even small, publishing deal. And it could be many years yet before I see it - if I ever see it.

To have a ghostwriter turn your own ideas into a saleable manuscript might be a success, but might be simply money down the drain. And even if you have a terrific idea for a book, you'll want to get the most suitable ghostwriter, or at least a writer you feel you can trust and work with.

So shop around.

Non-fiction projects of an equivalent size are usually cheaper. But each job needs to be looked at individually.

In short, approach ghostwriting with extreme caution. Check the web. Ask around. Be sure of what you want. And check your expectations.

If you still want to talk, email me and I'll see what I can do.