Our creative industries have spent the last year at a standstill, so it makes complete sense to me that writers don’t have big pots of cash to throw at proofreaders. But, it’s time to get things moving, and that’s down to us.
I don’t believe that the only manuscripts to be afforded the luxury of a professional proofreader, should be the ones with massive budgets available to them. Everything hangs on the first impression that you make to an agent or publisher. Everything. And after all that hard graft, don’t you owe it to yourself and your book, to have it checked before you let them see it? So, I’m suggesting that together, you and I make a commitment.
You may think you’ve proofread your work sufficiently yourself, but I guarantee you will have missed things: potentially important things. There are many misconceptions about what proofreaders actually do – most people think we spot typos and tell people off for misusing apostrophes. Well, yes, we do that! But in actual fact, the list of things we look for when reading your manuscript, is extensive and often complex. A good proofreader is trained to question EVERYTHING.
To demonstrate the point just for fun, I’ve written a passage containing errors. See how many you can spot then let me know your result privately, using the contact form. If you’re really in the mood, feel free to also tell me which ones you found. Then I’ll email you back with the answer sheet; if you still feel you don’t need my help, we’ll leave it there, but if it leaves you curious about my costs, this is where my side of the commitment kicks in.
Because I’m passionate about everyone having access to professional editorial services, I am happy to discuss rates on a purely individual basis, along with an option for instalments, to help get the ball rolling again. It means I get to keep my cogs turning, and you can afford to send off a pristine manuscript with no lingering distractions to jolt your reader out of the world you’ve created; all they have to do is relax and enjoy it.
The sample/test is available here – I’d say ‘good luck’, but the truth is, I hope you do really badly at it and decide to call me: 07962 171780, email nic@npedits.co.uk or use the contact form.