Prices for My Services
“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” – Ben Franklin
My specialty is storytelling. My passion is to help others tell their stories, especially those who wish to leave a tangible legacy to their families. They want their readers to know them better, to understand their struggles and their choices in the midst of a rapidly disappearing era.
I’m not the coach for those seeking to write the Great American Novel or expect to become the next Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. If you are expecting to make a significant income from the sale of your books, you are most likely to be disappointed.
Special Offer to New Authors
I will coach your writing up to 10,000 words of content, edit your initial draft, format the final draft for digital or print publication, provide a standard, simple front and back covers, and guide you through the publication process with Amazon KDP (or a similar publishing service) for $350.00.
My service includes:
- Delivery of a Story Guide with questions to prompt memory and identify significant life events, memorable characters, and emotional highs and lows,
- Coaching, encouragement, and improvement suggestions through four (4) 15-minute online conversations during your drafting process,
- Line editing of the completed initial draft for misspellings, grammar, punctuations, inaccuracies, and story impediments that might distract a reader,
- Formatting for eBook and print publishing, including Table of Contents, for publication by Amazon KDP or similar services,
- Design and production of front and back Book Cover using royalty-free photographs, and
- Guiding through the self-publishing process.
Books in excess of 10,000 words will be subject to $0.10 per page surcharge payable prior to editing.
Ala Carte Prices for Services
Depending on the length of your manuscript, its need for editing, the use of media (illustrations, photographs, and other fixed dimension inserts), your choice of eBook or Print, and your cover design, you can expect to pay $1500 to $3500 for a fifty-page book (approximately 20,000 words).
While some editors expect payment in full at the time of contracting, the more sensible approach is to pay as you go. Doing as much of the work as possible will also save you money. For example, the process of preparing and publishing a manuscript as an eBook is relatively simple using the free Amazon-KDP platform.
Using a writing coach and editor can significantly improve the works of most beginners, but they do have a cost. Before engaging a coach/editor, be sure that (1) you and the coach are compatible and (2) the service you will receive is worth its cost.
Copy Editing
Sometimes called “line editing” or “stylistic editing, ” I will create the most readable version of your book, improving clarity, coherency, consistency, and correctness. My edits include spelling. grammar, capitalization, sentence structure, and descriptive inconsistencies.
$0.10 to $0.15 per word up to 10,000 words, depending on genre
$0.08 to $0.12 per word 10,000 to 25,000 words, depending on genre
Negotiable rate above 25,000 words
Proofreading
Proofreading is intended to identify the typos, misspellings, inappropriate capitalization, and punctuation errors that inevitably survive the completed writing process. My process includes an initial AI review of the manuscript, followed by a word-by-word visual review of the manuscript and, finally, listening to an audio version of the document.
$0.03 to $0.08 per word up to 10,000 words depending on subject
$0.02 to $0.06 per word 10,000 to 25,000 words, depending on subject
Negotiable rate above 25,000 words
Fact Chcecking
If you rely on memory to recall facts that impact your storyline, a dedicated fact-checker can potentially save confusion and persoanl embarrassment. I’ll note the factual references in your book, then carefully confirm them via external sources. If I find any inaccuracies, I’ll alert you immediately.
Negotiable, depends on genre, subject, and availability of public information
eBook Formatting
I will format your manuscript into a digital file ready for publishing that meets Amazon KDP publisher’s requirements including proper chapter tagging, a clickable table of contents, and a flexible layout compatible with all e-readers. I’ll include a free eBook cover made from stock images with author’s name and title information.
NOTE: Photographs and other visual images do not work well in eBook formats due to the variable screen sizes used by readers.
$69 for up to 70 pages, excluding Title page and Table of Contents
$99 for 71 to 125 pages, excluding Title page and Table of Contents
$0.07 per page above 125 pages, excluding Title page and Table of Contents.
Visual media will be displayed in inserted sections between chapters to avoid readers’ confusion and interruption of the story’s flow. Each page of visual media will be formatted and inserted at formatter’s discretion. Cost is $1.00 per image.
Print Book Formatting
Formatting a print book is simultaneously more tedious and demanding the formatting a manuscript for an eBook. Every page must be precisely formatted to ensure the text, images, and other elements appear correctly on the printed page. This requires careful attention to margins, page breaks, line spacing, and alignment, as these elements cannot be adjusted once printed. The designer must ensure that the text is legible and aesthetically pleasing across the entire book, which can be challenging with varying content types (e.g., headings, body text, illustrations, charts).
$149 for interior content only (no visual media) for manuscripts up to 25,000 words
$249 for interior content only (no visual media) for manuscripts of 25,001 to 50,000 words (Negotiable for interior content only (no visual media) for manuscripts above 50,000 words)
$10 each for preparation and placement of Illustrations, photographs, maps, and charts (limited to a single page size)
The fixed and unchangeable nature of print book formatting, along with the need for precise control over layout, typography, and physical considerations, makes it a more challenging and time-consuming process than formatting an eBook.
Print Book Front and Back Covers
Most self-published print books have “soft” covers to minimize cost. While I will provide standard front and back covers at no cost, authors may prefer to use professional designers. In such cases, I will provide dimensions and page counts to the designer to ensure a proper fit. A charge of $50 will apply for changes in the cover after final formatting.
