Congratulations! You’ve written your book, edited it to death, and just know after all the sweat, blood, and tears, you’re ready to publish. But are you?
Proofreading is the last step to catch any mistakes missed in previous rounds of editing and helps prevent discovering errors waiting to pounce after you hit publish.
The areas covered are spelling, punctuation, grammar, formatting, and word usage.
HOW IT WORKS
- Send me an email with your finished manuscript (see Format your document) stating the genre, word count and the language (American, British or Canadian English) for your document.
- I’ll review it, then reply with a quote and a date by which I can complete your proofread.
- Confirm your acceptance and the currency you will pay with. We accept British pounds (GBP), US Dollars (USD), or Euros (EUR). I’ll send you a contract detailing the agreed terms. Once signed, I will send you an invoice.
- Pay the invoice via Bank / Wire Transfer.
- I work through your document using track changes and using Word’s “Comment” feature for additional notes, then return it to you.
- That’s it, we’re done. I will keep your documents for one month in case of a query.
- Note: The retention does not include making further edits.
“Working with Tim Seabrook and Fifth Ring Press on the proofread of my trilogy was the kind of experience every author hopes for. His eye is remarkable — he caught subtle continuity issues across the manuscript that I’d hoped no one would notice, along with the small mechanical inconsistencies that are so easy to miss in a book of this length.
What sets Tim apart is everything he provides alongside the corrections. The annotated manuscript made his queries clear and easy to act on, the detailed style sheet became an indispensable reference for maintaining consistency, and his list of repeated words helped me polish the prose at a level I wouldn’t have reached on my own. Each of these resources added real value.
Beyond the quality of the work, his turnaround was impressively quick, and he was thorough professional throughout. I always knew exactly where things stood and felt confident the manuscript was in expert hands. I recommend Tim’s proofreading services wholeheartedly and look forward to working with him on future books.” Sherilyn Decter, author.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Format your document
- as a standard Word (.docx) format
- chapter, subtitles and body text in 12pt
- using either Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Arial font
- single or double spaced
How much does it cost?
This is, in part, down to you. Where your manuscript has received a detailed edit, the price will be between £5.00 and £7.00 per thousand words. Documents with little or no editing will be subject to a higher price. I will assess your manuscript and then provide you with a quote.
For payment in US dollars or Euros, I will check and use the stated exchange rate at time of quoting.
The payment method is by Bank / Wire Transfer. Payments are required in full and in advance before work begins.
How long does it take?
Where your manuscript underwent an editing process, you can apply the estimated turnaround times for the word count. However, I need to check the manuscript before committing to a time frame, though I aim to remain within these ranges. In all instances, I agree on a completion date beforehand.
- Up to 20K = 1-5 days.
- 20K to 50K = 5-12 days.
- 50K to 80K = 10-22 days.
- 80K to 100K = 16-30 days.
- 100K to 130K = 25-45 days.
“I had a wonderful experience working with Tim Seabrook on my novel. He brought a careful, professional eye to the manuscript, catching the kinds of small but important errors that are so easy to miss after you’ve been living with a project for a long time. I felt confident the final manuscript was cleaner, stronger, and more polished because of his keen attention to detail. I would happily recommend Tim to any writer looking for a reliable and skilled proofreader.” Kevin T. Johns, author.
I need to cancel my proofreading
Both parties have the right to cancel at any time. If you experience difficult circumstances (serious illness, bereavement, etc), please let me know as soon as possible. Please note, because I schedule my time in advance, cancellation fees may apply.
If you cancel with fourteen (14) days’ or more notice of the start date, I will refund your payment in full.
If you cancel before the start date but with less than fourteen (14) days’ notice, I will deduct a thirty (30) percent cancellation fee from the refund.
If you cancel after the start date, I will deduct for the amount of work done or a thirty (30) percent cancellation fee, whichever is the greater.
I will do my best never to cancel a proofreading arrangement once agreed. However, sometimes life gets in the way. Therefore, I reserve the right to cancel the proofreading at any time. If I do so, then I will refund all monies paid for the specified work within 48 hours of said cancellation.
What I won’t proofread
I prefer fiction, mainly work with Indie authors and currently have no restricted topics. Non-fiction will depend on the subject and on how technical it is. I will decline subjects outside my scope of knowledge.
Fifth Ring Press 