If you’ve completed a manuscript, fiction or nonfiction, and need a fresh eye to go over it, please consider me.
I have been proofing and editing manuscripts for local and national presses since 1991. I’m familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style, which is a fairly academic style, but I’m happy to modify the rules to suit your needs.
When I copyedit your manuscript, I’ll check your prose for correct grammar and punctuation, fix dangling participial phrases at the beginning of sentences, monitor subject-verb agreement and the use of pronouns (including that/which), and suggest better word choices. If it’s fiction, I tend to do a lighter edit; for nonfiction, I’ll just go ahead and change the word or phrase and see whether you like it. In general, for nonfiction, I’ll complete about 6 pages an hour. The number of pages I can do in an hour varies more with fiction, but I can usually go faster.
When I proof a manuscript, I’ll be looking solely for mistakes: misspellings, missing words, incorrect punctuation, and problems in formatting.
I’m willing to proofread poetry, but I don’t much see the point of copyediting it. All that should have been done when you were putting together the manuscript.
My rate for copyediting is $30 per hour. After you send me your manuscript, I’ll look through it and do a sample edit on three pages to show you what I think your manuscript needs. I’m willing to do a heavy copyedit (which will take longer because I’ll do fewer pages an hour), but if your manuscript needs major rearranging or rewriting, the hourly rate will go up substantially.
My rate for proofreading is $20 per hour.
You can contact me about your manuscript at beth AT bethpartin DOT com.
Testimonials
“Beth Partin, the copyeditor, is great—the best I have ever worked with on a book project.”
Judith Blau, coauthor with Alberto Moncada of Human Rights: A Primer, October 12, 2008
“I just heard from Andreas Schedler, who is currently reviewing the copyedited manuscript. He wanted me to pass on his gratitude to you for your excellent work. Thanks again for making us all look good.”
Karen Williams, project editor, Lynne Rienner Publishers, re Electoral Authoritarianism, January 26, 2006
“Please thank the copyeditor, Beth Partin, for her thorough and sensitive job. As a former copyeditor, I really appreciated the care she took with the manuscript and her helpful suggestions.”
Rachel Klein, author of The Moth Diaries, December 19, 2001
“The author passes on her gratitude for catching so many inconsistencies in terms of site names. I also thank you very much for your time and expertise, and I look forward to working with you again in the near future.”
Sarah Hanson, Fulcrum Publishing, November 22, 1996, re Seasonal Guide: Southern California and Baja
