Still Waters Editing
Editing and Proofreading Services
About Me
Hi, I'm Isabell! I earned a bachelor’s degree in English and also completed certification programs in ESL and proofreading. I’m also an award-winning indie YA author, published under the pen name Isa Briarwood (IsaBriarwood.com). I have edited and proofread for years at this point, and have worked on resumes, college papers, manuscripts, websites, and blogs. I enjoy working on book manuscripts the most, and I love what I do!I make changes based on the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) and I’m most adept with U.S. English spelling, although I’m familiar with British spelling also. I generally work with Microsoft Word, utilizing the Track Changes function. Alternatively, I can write notes directly on the document by using iAnnotate. I’m also fine with any in-house style guides.I’m able to offer you quality editing or proofreading, and will work exceptionally hard to help you reach your writing goals. I promise to take the time needed to work collaboratively with you to make sure I fully understand all your desires and needs. It’s important to me that this is a positive experience for you. I won’t just find and correct mistakes; I’ll also let you know where you shine.
Services
Line Editing:
Line editing happens after a developmental or structural edit and it is an extensive review. I work on Voice (word choice), and Style (phrasing), making sure the dialogue is consistent and believable for the character, the hooks at the beginning and end of each chapter, wordiness, overused dialogue tags, bad writing habits (similar sentence structure, sentences all starting with the same word, filler words like “just”, “really”, and “etc”), repetition, clarity, flow, pacing, and POV.Copy Editing:
This is often confused with proofreading. With copyediting, I’ll work on grammar, punctuation, spelling, fact-checking, double-checking the table of contents, footnotes, the bibliography; double-checking consistency with actions, fix echo words (when you use the same word repeatedly), ensuring the timeline is accurate, and checking that chapters and pages are correctly numbered.Proofreading:
This is the last stage before a piece of content goes live. If I run across a glaring error that a previous editor missed, I’ll flag it for you. Other than that, proofreading covers typos, double words (the the, and and), grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting issues. If I’ve done line editing or copy editing for you, then please choose someone else to do the proofreading. It would be too easy for me to miss something if I’ve gone over your document or manuscript once already. You will need fresh eyes to do the final proofreading in that case.
Prices
Line Editing:
For projects of 5,000 words or more: $0.03 per word.
For projects with fewer than 5,000 words: $0.035 per word.
Turnaround time: Approximately 20,000 words per week.Copy Editing:
For projects of 5,000 words or more: $0.02 per word.
For projects with fewer than 5,000 words: $0.025 per word.
Turnaround time: Approximately 25,000 words per week.Proofreading:
For projects of 5,000 words or more: $0.012 per word.
For projects with fewer than 5,000 words, $0.015 per word.
Turnaround time: Approximately 25,000 words per week.For large projects, I require a 50% deposit, with the balance paid to me after I’ve completed your project.
Testimonials
“Isabell! I finally had the time to read through your notes on my manuscript. Thank you so much! I really appreciate your expertise and willingness to explain. I am so much smarter for having read your notes, and a better writer!”
– Mary Lamphere, author“Insightful and incisive, Isabell has got the goods, both as a story editor and a proofreader. Her revisions and suggestions are always clear, sensible, and correct.”
– Atthys Gage, author
Thank You
I look forward to working with you!