Editorial services
What editing can do
The editorial process is an essential part of creating a book which can speak to its readers. Editing doesn’t mean criticising the author’s writing: it means helping to get the structure and wording right, so that the meaning and spirit of the book shine through clearly.
I have a great deal of experience in editing all types of writing – both fiction and non-fiction – and at all levels of detail. I pay particular attention to the overall structure of the work, as once the right structure is in place, the story-telling will flow. Analysis of the structure of a first draft really helps the author to take their work up to the next level.
Whether you have completed a first draft and are wondering what to do with it, or whether you have a finished manuscript and are ready to submit it to an agent or publisher, or go down the self-publishing route, the editing process will strengthen your work and equip you to take the next step forward.
With a background in news journalism and factual research, I have the skills needed to help authors who are writing, or plan to write, non-fiction books. In several cases, I have worked with authors who are experts in their particular field, to plan out their book and structure their arguments before starting to write. Two stand-out successes here have been the books by entrepreneur Julian Richer, founder of Richer Sounds: The Richer Way, a business bestseller for two decades, and his new, outspoken book The Ethical Capitalist, a Financial Times book of the month, both published by Penguin Random House.
My aim always in editing is to bring out the author’s meaning and ensure the writing makes that vital connection with the reader.
Services and fees
‘Try before you buy’. For all these services, I offer assessment or editing of your first 10 pages for free, so you can see if my approach suits you.
When you take up one of these services, I also suggest starting with a phone call or email exchange where possible, so that I know what you’d like to get from the editing process.
Overall assessment of draft
Fiction: analysis of structure, plot, narrative drive, characters and dialogue, writing style, factual accuracy (where appropriate).
Non-fiction: analysis of structure and argument, writing style.
I produce a written feedback report with proposals for changes. This service is most useful for a first or early draft, where the writer is intending to move forward to a new draft.
Completing the first full draft of a book is a huge achievement. But speaking from my own writing experience, there will always be more work to do: every text benefits from a rewrite. So there is no point in spending money on copy editing and proofreading if the text is going to be redrafted.
Cost: £4 per 1000 words (50% up front).
Copy editing and proofreading
Focusing on: grammar and spelling; style and sentence structure, fact checking, continuity
I use track changes to produce a clean, corrected text plus a text with changes showing, so the writer can choose to incorporate these or not.
This service is most appropriate for a manuscript which has been well worked and needs a further check and polish before moving on to publication or submission to an agent.
Cost: £4.50 per 1000 words (50% up front).
The editorial process is an essential part of creating a book which can speak to its readers. Editing doesn’t mean criticising the author’s writing: it means helping to get the structure and wording right, so that the meaning and spirit of the book shine through clearly.
I have a great deal of experience in editing all types of writing – both fiction and non-fiction – and at all levels of detail. I pay particular attention to the overall structure of the work, as once the right structure is in place, the story-telling will flow. Analysis of the structure of a first draft really helps the author to take their work up to the next level.
Whether you have completed a first draft and are wondering what to do with it, or whether you have a finished manuscript and are ready to submit it to an agent or publisher, or go down the self-publishing route, the editing process will strengthen your work and equip you to take the next step forward.
With a background in news journalism and factual research, I have the skills needed to help authors who are writing, or plan to write, non-fiction books. In several cases, I have worked with authors who are experts in their particular field, to plan out their book and structure their arguments before starting to write. Two stand-out successes here have been the books by entrepreneur Julian Richer, founder of Richer Sounds: The Richer Way, a business bestseller for two decades, and his new, outspoken book The Ethical Capitalist, a Financial Times book of the month, both published by Penguin Random House.
My aim always in editing is to bring out the author’s meaning and ensure the writing makes that vital connection with the reader.
Services and fees
‘Try before you buy’. For all these services, I offer assessment or editing of your first 10 pages for free, so you can see if my approach suits you.
When you take up one of these services, I also suggest starting with a phone call or email exchange where possible, so that I know what you’d like to get from the editing process.
Overall assessment of draft
Fiction: analysis of structure, plot, narrative drive, characters and dialogue, writing style, factual accuracy (where appropriate).
Non-fiction: analysis of structure and argument, writing style.
I produce a written feedback report with proposals for changes. This service is most useful for a first or early draft, where the writer is intending to move forward to a new draft.
Completing the first full draft of a book is a huge achievement. But speaking from my own writing experience, there will always be more work to do: every text benefits from a rewrite. So there is no point in spending money on copy editing and proofreading if the text is going to be redrafted.
Cost: £4 per 1000 words (50% up front).
Copy editing and proofreading
Focusing on: grammar and spelling; style and sentence structure, fact checking, continuity
I use track changes to produce a clean, corrected text plus a text with changes showing, so the writer can choose to incorporate these or not.
This service is most appropriate for a manuscript which has been well worked and needs a further check and polish before moving on to publication or submission to an agent.
Cost: £4.50 per 1000 words (50% up front).
‘Kate gave me great support and help to bring my novel Centre of the Universe to publication. She has an eagle eye for typos and perfected my text and grammar (not to mention my occasional French). Her unwavering support and encouragement was invaluable to me and certainly spurred me on.’
Bryan Andrews, author of Centre of the Universe, published 2019
'The feedback Kate gave me on my manuscript for Girl in the Red Cheongsam has helped me to gain greater control over the pace, ebb and flow of my novel. It was wonderful to have support from such an experienced mentor.'
Sarah King
‘Without the diligence and dedication of Kate Miller greatly assisting with the text there would be no book’. Julian Richer, founder of Richer Sounds.
Bryan Andrews, author of Centre of the Universe, published 2019
'The feedback Kate gave me on my manuscript for Girl in the Red Cheongsam has helped me to gain greater control over the pace, ebb and flow of my novel. It was wonderful to have support from such an experienced mentor.'
Sarah King
‘Without the diligence and dedication of Kate Miller greatly assisting with the text there would be no book’. Julian Richer, founder of Richer Sounds.
