Editing

Tell your story. Sounds simple but in practice, we all need a little help.

Pretty much every educated person can correct typos and syntax, maybe even suggest which bits don't make sense. But a professional editor knows much more than that: when characters should enter the narrative, what builds tension, how to shape dialogue, and where words are missing. A professional and experienced editor knows what's needed. And that knowledge makes all the difference.

From novels through business guides to memoirs and dissertations, Clapham Publishing Services helps authors at the stage that they most need help. From answering a single question through the drafts until it gets its done, we're there, helping to create the best work possible.

Editing

First Stage:

Manuscript Evaluation

There's nothing harder than the first draft. Nothing. Once you're done, you'll want to know if you're going in the right direction. And this is a fair enough concern. There is almost no one who gets the first rough draft published, or even praised. There's a reason why it's called "rough".

You need a book doctor. You need an edit that is honest and constructive while understanding the reality of a rough draft. Clapham Publishing Services offers that.

The editor will look for fundamental issues such as voice, dialogue, pace, characterization, plot and structure. This manuscript evaluation is a whole lot more than correcting grammar and raising queries about unclear sentences. Instead, this big picture analysis will encourage you to see if the manuscript's parts are working in concert, and show what you can do to improve it.

How it works: Once the fee has been paid, an experienced editor will read and comment on your work. You will receive back your work with specific annotations, as well as several pages of written commentary.

Most writers find that this edit builds their confidence and shows them a reasonable path forward. Practical advice and informed feedback assist in producing a better second draft.

The cost: £400 for the first 50,000 words + £50 per additional 10,000 words

"My rough draft was far from what I wanted it to be and once I had the edit from Clapham Publishing Services, I could see how to get the next draft out, significantly improved." - Phil Wolff

"Clapham Publishing Services took my YA thriller and made it thrilling." - Sam Grenfall

First Stage: The Rough Draft

Second Stage:

The Mid-Development Draft

Your work has now been rewritten and probably read by family and friends. It may even have sat in a desk drawer for a while before you dusted it off again. You doubt it's at its polished best, but are at a loss to know what to do next.

The edit of the mid-development draft is both a critical engagement with the work as a whole, as well as an edit at a more detailed level. Dialogue, tone and other language usages are flagged and corrected. In addition, the all-important structure, plotting, characterization and pacing are carefully examined. This edit can be quite dramatic as it might move chapters around, cut characters, or change key moments in the plot. The result is a substantially improved work, so that the best of the book can emerge.

How it works: Submit a 1 page synopsis of your work and your manuscript. Once the fee has been paid, an experienced editor will read and comment on your work. You will receive back your work annotated, as well as several pages of written commentary.

Most writers find that this edit builds their confidence and shows them a reasonable path forward. Practical advice and informed feedback assist in producing a better third draft.

The cost: £0.021 a word; 50% deposit in advance

Second Stage: The Mid-Development Draft

"Massive thanks to Clapham Publishing Services for loving the stories in the first place, and all the hard work and acute editing skills in making them the best they can be." - Sarah Gray

"I got a superb critique of the book, very detailed and insight." - Dr. Andrew Rawlinson

Third Stage:

The Finished Manuscript

The third draft is your final polished draft. Your family and friends have all read it and said that it is delightful and perfect the way it is. It needs nothing more. It's done, cooked to perfection and ready for the wider world. That is the point at which you send it off for a full manuscript edit.

If you intend the rest of the world to to read it, your work has to be read carefully and line-by-line for those pesky grammar and spelling errors, and to catch the typos that have crept into your work. Holes in the plot, errors in logic, sudden changes of voice, pacing, finely-tuned characterisation, missed opportunities to tighten the writing, appropriate chapter lengths, consistency, repetitions, point of view(s), will all be critically examined and queried.

If you are interested in sending your work out to a publisher or an agent, or are thinking of self-publishing, this is an important final step to ensure your work is as polished as it could be.

Most writers find that this edit builds their confidence and shows them a reasonable path forward. Practical advice and informed feedback assist in producing a better read for publication or for attracting an agent.

The cost: £0.021 a word; 50% deposit in advance

"The editor's skill, hard work and patience has honed my novel and made it publishable. It was later translated in to German." - Sylvia Vetta

Third Stage: The Finished Manuscript

Final Stage:

Proposals and Pitches

Don't know how to pitch your book to a publisher or agent? Clapham Publishing Services will help you write a winning book proposal and/or book pitch that will knock the socks off everyone who reads it.

The cost: Exact pricing varies depending on the project and we tailor it to your goal. A quote is available upon request.

Final Stage