| Services: Fees and Details
Proofreading ($40 per hour)
Copy Editing ($45 per hour)
Comprehensive Editing ($50 per hour)
Logical/philosophical analysis ($60 per hour)
Writing, rewriting, ghost writing ($55 per hour)
Priority or expedited service (add $15 per hour to any of the above-listed hourly fees)
Enhanced priority or expedited service (add $25 per hour to any of the above-listed hourly fees)
Please see descriptions below for details regarding priority service and enhanced priority service.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF SERVICES
EDITING SERVICES:
The basic service level is proofreading: line-by-line correction of text either electronically or on hard copy with proofreader's marks, correcting/improving grammar, spelling, punctuation, some aspects of readability/style and some matters of word usage, at the level of the sentence. This service is $40 per hour. The next level is copy editing: everything included in proofreading (also a line-by-line process), plus brief annotations/comments accompanying more in-depth text analysis aided by a set of abbreviations (see below); also covers style issues such as improving sentence-to-sentence continuity---emphasizing clarity of expression. The fee is $45 an hour. The next level is comprehensive editing: this includes everything mentioned so far, but the notes/comments are more extensive, the analysis/editing involves a holistic approach, and includes attention to argumentative cogency and appropriateness of evidence, organization, general structure and coherence, plus just about any other type of assistance I can offer, including Internet-based or library research (I have access to the Cornell University library system). The fee is $50 per hour. These three editing services provide progressively more comprehensive and in-depth improvement of your work, with progressively more attention paid to readability and style and more extensive revision or rewriting. By design, comprehensive editing provides the highest level of professional/scholarly quality.
In addition to the abovementioned services, comprehensive editing also covers editorial analysis and developmental editing. Prior to or independently of performing editing services, I will read and analyze your nonfiction or fiction document to determine its potential for reaching your target audience or for being published. I will send you a detailed report providing you with the results of such an analysis with a game plan for achieving your goals.
When performing copy editing or comprehensive editing, I use the following abbreviations to supplement the numbered comments attached to your work. With these levels of service, I can make author queries to ensure that corrections and revisions accurately reflect your intentions. Proofreading corrections are mainly confined to those in the first section of the list. Copy editing covers that ground plus the entire second section and, where appropriate, the third section. Comprehensive editing covers the entire list plus other services.
PROBLEMS WITH MECHANICS
AGR-P: Disagreement in number or gender involving pronouns.
AGR-V: Disagreement in number, tense or gender involving verbs.
AMB: Ambiguity caused by sentence structure or word usage.
CAP: Improper capitalization.
CIT: No citation or improper citation of source; provide adequate documentation.
D: Word improperly divided; or word should be divided.
DANG: Dangling phrase or modifier.
FS/CS: Fused sentence or comma splice--two independent clauses inadequately conjoined.
GD: Improper construction with gerund.
INF: Split infinitive.
MOD: Modifier mistake; modifying word or phrase should, or should not, be set off with commas.
MW: Misused word; check usage manual or dictionary.
NQ: Need quotation marks.
NS: Not a (full) sentence.
NW: Not a word.
WO: Word order error
P: Punctuation error.
POSS: Possessive apostrophe needed or missing.
PRO: Pronoun error--you used the wrong case, for example, "her" instead of "she."
Q: Improper use of quotation marks.
RF: Reference unclear; check pronominal antecedent if applicable.
SB: Subjunctive needed or used improperly.
SP: Spelling error; consult a dictionary.
UNP: Unparallel construction.
X: Apparent typographical error.
PROBLEMS WITH STYLE
ACT: Use active voice in this context.
AWK: Awkward sentence construction; ill-sounding language.
CL: Clutter: too many superfluous words; verbose; choose simpler terms.
NC: Sentences or paragraphs here need continuity; your train of thought is difficult to follow.
RP: Repetitious or redundant.
RS: Rambling sentence, lacking coherence or focus.
TL: Sentence too long: divide into shorter sentences.
UNC: Unclear; I don't understand, and I don't think it's my fault.
VA: Vague; be precise; sharpen your language.
WW: Wrong word; choose more appropriate language.
PROBLEMS WITH CONTENT
BX: Be more explicit; spell out your point; explain your assumptions.
BY: Be yourself—use your own words to make your point.
DEF: Define your term or terms.
ILL: Illogical; this claim is inconsistent with or contradicts another claim of yours.
MQ: You have misquoted the author of this passage.
NA: Your point needs more argument; your claim is insufficiently justified.
NT: Not true; implausible.
OTHER SERVICES:
Writing: The creation of a document or part of a document in which I provide original or transformed copy based on the client's specifications and supporting materials or my own research. This service also includes adaptation of copy from one medium (for example an academic journal) to another (for example a professional trade journal) and other degrees of re-writing for a particular purpose. The service fee is $55 per hour.
Logical/Philosophical analysis: My doctoral degree in philosophy from Cornell (a highly-ranked department) and more than 15 years teaching and writing philosophy uniquely qualify me to evaluate the philosophical content or argumentation of your manuscript, analyze the arguments and exposition, provide research assistance and edit/revise the writing. I have not, however, held an academic post since 1993 and do not have time to stay abreast of all developments in the literature. My knowledge and training do, however, enable me to understand philosophical concepts, follow philosophical arguments, and provide useful feedback based on targeted research. I can also analyze arguments and formally show clients their logical structure. The service fee is $60 per hour.
The lines separating the service levels I offer are sometimes a bit blurry. Comprehensive editing can provide you with a pretty thorough overhaul of a document, but at some point extensive editing becomes rewriting. These are judgment calls that I make in consultation with clients. I will never charge you the fee for a particular service level without your acknowledgment and agreement.
Priority or expedited services: My services are in great demand. My schedule typically includes at least 15 jobs but more often 20 or more---sometimes more than two dozen. At times my work load is therefore such that it is extremely difficult to accommodate requests for service that involve little or no prior notice and rapid turnaround---in other words, rush jobs. I typically am unable to schedule work for new clients for up to two weeks from first contact. For situations in which I can accommodate a service request within two weeks only by inconveniencing other clients, there is a $15 per hour additional fee (the fee for priority proofreading is therefore $55 per hour, for copy editing it is $60 per hour, for comprehensive editing it is $65 per hour, for writing services it is $70 per hour and for logical/philosophical analysis it is $75 per hour).
Enhanced priority or expedited services: Demand for my services has become so heavy that I have instituted a pricing tier to accommodate jobs requiring very short timelines---within one week to edit a document that is roughly equivalent in length or complexity to a standard journal article or book chapter or with two days to edit a short document (10 pages or less in length based on 12-point font and double-spaced lines). Enhanced priority service carries an additional $25 per hour fee (the fee for enhanced priority proofreading is therefore $65 per hour, for copy editing it is $70 per hour, for comprehensive editing it is $75 per hour, for writing services it is $80 per hour, and for logical/philosophical analysis it is $85 per hour).
Providing me with advance notice of upcoming work will make it easier for me to begin the work when needed, and in rare cases avoid priority status for a job, but even with advance notice a request to edit a full-length academic paper (roughly at least 25 pages of text that is double-spaced and in 12-point font) within two weeks (8 to 14 days) of my receiving it will be assiged priority status. If the job must be returned within a week, it will be assigned enhanced priority status. A rush job is a rush job, no matter how much notice is involved. Requests to edit shorter documents within four days (96 hours) of my receiving them will also be assigned priority status, while those that must be returned within two days (48 hours) will be assigned enhanced priority status. I will not charge priority service rates without notifying clients before the work commences that it is subject to those rates.
Holidays and holiday rates: I am unavailable to work on the following days/dates of any given year: New Year's Day (January 1), Easter Sunday, Independence Day (July 4), Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November), Christmas Day (December 25), and New Year's Eve after 5:00 p.m. If a client believes it is absolutely necessary for me to work on one of these days in order to meet his or her needs, the fee will be double the priority rate (so, for example, copy editing would be $120 per hour). I am available to work on the following days/dates, but regular priority rates will apply to all clients who require me to work on these days/dates: Memorial Day, July 25 (my birthday!), Labor Day, Christmas Eve (December 24) before 5:00 p.m., and New Year's Eve (December 31) before 5:00 p.m.
Weekends: Although I work on most weekends by choice, I also lead a life that includes household chores, yardwork, and time with family. I therefore assign any job that forces me to work on a weekend to priority status.
PAYMENTS:
I use QuickBooks Pro accounting software. I send invoices via e-mail and accept payments by credit card, direct debit/bank transfer/debit cards (both using standard secure payment pages), or check. I can send PDF copies of invoices before and after payment as well as QuickBooks-generated receipts for those needing them for reimbursement.
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