EDITING SERVICES

LET’S WORK TOGETHER!

You’ve written (or have just begun writing) that story that’s been eating away at you, keeping you up at night, drawing you away from loved ones. Whether you’re in the beginning stages of this incredible journey or if you’re about to put the last period at the end of your first draft, the one thing you need is an experienced editor to come alongside you and help you through the next few stages of novel publication.

For some, writing is a hobby, but not for you. You want to make a career putting your stories out there, so you’re going to want to make sure they are polished and perfected as much as possible before seeing the light of day. With the influx of self-publishing over the years, you need to make sure your work is the best it can be in order to make a splash in the ocean of newly-minted authors.

My goal as your editor is to help turn your manuscript into an amazing story. I can help you not only clean up grammar and typos, but I’ll work with you in digging into the deeper elements of your story, characters, and themes. My edits always offer detailed notes, and I’m always available to answer any questions and will work with you through the entire process, from beginning to end.

YOUR EXPERIENCED EDITOR

Born in Mountain View, California, in ‘79, I started writing stories at the age of eleven at the behest of my 6th grade writing teacher. Since then, I have accrued decades of writing, editing, and self-publishing experience. I finished writing my first full-length novel at the age of 16, and officially self-published my first book in 2004, when self-publishing was still in its infant stages (commercially speaking). Since then, I have self-published eight novels, a handful of novellas, and a plethora of short stories, blog articles, and flash fiction pieces.

I am the founder and operator of The Crossover Alliance, a small press specializing in Christian Fiction with real-world content. The press has published over a dozen novels, bringing together authors of the science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, horror, and thriller genres. This experimental fiction hybrid thrives today, and I’m proud to say most of my own writing emulates it.

I have been freelance editing for a number of years now, mostly novels, but I have also dived into the editing of murder mystery puzzle boxes. I worked as an in-house editor and writer for Deadbolt Mystery Society—crafting stories and editing puzzle boxes—before moving full-time into the freelance arena. Now I write, edit, and publish for a living.

TESTIMONIALS

  • "David edited my cryptid short story and did amazing work on it! I'm so pleased. His edits were thorough and his delivery was super quick. I was also impressed with his communication. He kept me updated when he was working on the story and when to expect it finished, and that part is a huge deal for me when I'm working with editors."

    Tori V. Rainn - Author of dark fantasy “Curse of the Blacknoc Witch”

  • "David was super easy to work with. He provided a professional and affordable service for the interior design of my novel. He was quick to make requested fixes and had a quick turnaround. I would use David again for my book service needs."

    J.J. Johnson - Author of the Kingdoms of Islandia series

  • "David Alderman is the best kind of editor. He takes a story and improves it in the author's voice. David made my book sound more like me."

    Nathan James Norman - Creator of the award-winning ‘Untold Podcast’

  • "I've gone to David for multiple projects, and with each one, he's been fair and very thorough. He's very professional, and was able to get my edits to me in a timely manner, continually communicating his progress and any issues that occurred with my manuscript. Definitely recommend David for any project."

    Jelani-Akin Parham - author of “The Experimental Bug: Brilliant”

PROJECTS I’VE WORKED ON

I edit most everything, but have extensive experience in:

science fiction, fantasy, YA, mystery, thriller, romance, horror, adventure, Christian fiction, and most non-fiction.

I have specialized experience in editing Christian Fiction, especially if you’re writing a story that tries to balance faith with real-world content such as cursing, drug use, sexual content, violence, etc. I also specialize in editing Christian Fiction that is mixed with any of these other genres, such as horror, thriller, science fiction, etc. If these specific qualifications apply to your book and you want me to focus on them throughout the editing process, please let me know when you request my services.

WHAT I EDIT

EDITORIAL SERVICES

I OFFER MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EDITING, EACH OF THEM WITH THEIR OWN PLACE IN THE ROADMAP OF YOUR BOOK’S CREATION.

MANUSCRIPT OVERVIEW | $400

Still in the beginning stages of writing and developing your story? Stuck with how the book is turning out? Something feel off, or your characters aren’t fitting in the right places? With a Manuscript Overview, I will read your book in whatever stage it’s in and compile an evaluation of known issues. This will include giving you feedback on story structure and basic plot elements, light character development, and an analysis of the overall direction of your book. This service is great for books that are over 10,000 words, as that is enough story material to gauge the direction your story is headed in.

Things I look at in a Manuscript Overview:

This is not an edit, persay, but more an evaluation of the beginning (or entirety) of your book. This service will give you a clear diagnosis of what issues are present in your book thus far, with suggestions as to how to alleviate said issues moving forward. This is a great service to take advantage of before heading into the actual editing process, especially if you’re still in the beginning draft stages of your story.

*The $400 price is for a 10,000 word manuscript. For manuscripts with more than 10,000 words, an additional $0.04 per word will be charged.

1st CHAPTER CRITIQUE | $150

Your first chapter is one of the most important in your book. The beginning chapter is the first impression readers, agents, publishers, and anyone else looking at your story is going to get of not only your book, but also your writing as a whole. You’re going to want that first chapter to be the very best it can be.

This service includes a developmental edit and a copy edit of your first chapter (or first 5,000 words), along with a brief written assessment detailing the story, characters, grammar, and overall structure of your story so far.

DEVELOPMENTAL EDITS | $7.50/PAGE

Developmental edits are the deepest and most in-depth of the editing process. With this service (which includes a full copy edit and proofread), I will make a detailed run-through of your book, focusing on plot holes, character consistency, stable world-building, story flow, author voice, and much more. A detailed evaluation will be offered at the end of the editing process that will break down the known issues and will offer suggestions for possible revisions.

Things I look at in a developmental edit:

Story Structure - The whole point of your book is the story, right? I’ll review your story from start to finish and find any inconsistencies or elements that distract, detour, or degrade the story you’re trying to tell.

Character Development - I’ll evaluate your characters, making sure their behaviors are consistent with their background and the story. I’ll also make sure they are fleshed out to bring their full presence to life within your story and that readers understand their motivations and hidden (and not so hidden) intentions.

World Building - I’ll help make sure your creation - your world - is crafted in a way that pulls your reader in and establishes the environmental, political, and economical elements to your world.

Evaluation - At the very end of your developmental edit, you will receive a written evaluation covering the major highlights of my edits, including detailed explanations of your book’s plot, world building, character consistency, and author voice.

COPY EDITS | $4.50/PAGE

Once you have a developmental edit to clean up the book’s overall structure, it’s time to dig into the sub-structure. Copy Editing is a very focused service that involves evaluating your manuscript for correct grammar, word usage, paragraph and sentence structure. Then I dive into the deeper issues such as readability, author voice, your book’s overall style, pacing, and storytelling.

Things I focus on in a Copy Edit:

Grammar - The basics of editing, grammar mistakes are the most common found in rough drafts. I will scour your story for comma placement, noun and verb use, dangling participles, and many other staples of grammatical structure.

Word Usage - Have you ever wanted to say something in your writing but haven’t been able to conjure the proper word(s) for it? I’ll help you find the right word where one of lesser meaning or quality is standing in its place.

Sentence Structure - Many novel drafts are rife with awkward wording, fragmented lines, and run-on sentences. I’ll go through and evaluate each sentence of your book, looking for ways to say more with less, and make sure your paragraphs and sentences are conveying the story you want them to.

Style, Pacing, Storytelling - The overall structure of your book is a sum of all of its parts, including paragraph, sentence, and word structure, writing style, and overall storytelling methods. These things will be looked at in regards to how they all come together to bring an easy, entertaining flow to the story and characters.

Author Voice - Your author voice is a combination of your personal perspective, the vocabulary and tone you use in your writing, and the overall themes you convey in your book. I’ll help make sure your author voice is both clear and consistent.

Readability - You want your book to first and foremost have a nice, easy reading flow. Jilted dialogue, extraneous vocabulary, and clunky word placement slows down the readability of your book, so these things will be found and addressed.

This package combines my Developmental Editing and Copy Editing services into one seamless project.

My focus will be on:

grammar, word usage, author voice, style, pacing, storytelling, readability, sentence structure—PLUS—story, characters, world-building, plot holes, and so much more. This package also includes an evaluation that will detail major highlights of my edits and explain many of my suggestions.

DEVELOPMENTAL + COPY EDITS | $10/PAGE

Proofreading involves thoroughly checking your manuscript for typos, misspellings, punctuation, corrupt formatting, and anything else relating to the cosmetic structure of your writing. This is the last set of editorial eyes on your book before publication.

Things I focus on in a Proofread:

Misspellings - Even authors occasionally misspell a word (or two), especially when caught up in the excitement of writing. Your manuscript will be scanned for misspelled words, with appropriate corrections being made.

Typos - It’s not uncommon for a random keystroke or inattentive writer to create a typo in the manuscript. Your manuscript will be checked for keystroke mistakes, extra letters, and otherwise unwelcome marks.

Punctuation - There are times incorrect punctuation rears its ugly head. Your manuscript will be checked for reverse quote marks, elongated ellipses, extra periods, and other various punctuation faux paus.

Formatting Errors- While scanning your document for misspellings, typos, and punctuation, I’ll also search for corrupt formatting. It is not uncommon for files that have been shared from one computer to the next to harbor corrupt formatting marks. These will be purged with a clean manuscript returned to you at the end of the proofreading process.

PROOFREADING | $2.50/PAGE

This package includes all of the above editorial services at a discounted price, all done in stages to help bring your novel to its full potential. I’ll take you step-by-step through the editorial roadmap from manuscript overview to proofreading, taking the time to help you craft your story to publication. This service is not an overnight project, and ample time must be given to take you through each of the different stages of the editorial process, with additional time accounted for in regards to your own revisions. This service is for manuscripts of ANY size.

Things you get with the Complete Editorial Package:

Full Editing Spectrum - You will receive each one of the above editing services, in order, in their own phases. Meaning, we’ll start with a manuscript overview, and once that is turned in to you and any changes you’d like to make are made, we’ll move on to the developmental edit. From there, we’ll get into copy edits, and then a final proofread.

Phone Consultations - You’ll receive five (60 minute) phone calls with me - 1 per editorial phase - to verbally discuss any questions or concerns you have throughout the process.

Manuscript Formatting - In addition to the editing services, you’ll also receive your final book in paperback, hardcover, and digital formats if you desire.

FULL EDITORIAL PACKAGE | $3000/MANUSCRIPT

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT EDITORIAL SERVICES:

I use Microsoft Word and its TRACK CHANGES feature throughout the proofreading process, that way you can see each and every change being proposed. Making the suggested changes on your end are as easy as clicking ‘ACCEPT ALL,’ or you have the option to go through each correction and decide which ones you do or don’t want to make. The freedom is yours. It is, after all, your baby. If you do not have Microsoft Word, I can send you a PDF of the suggested corrections and notes for you to review/work from.

Secured payment is made through Paypal - half up front, half on delivery of finished project. If you pay the full amount up front, you will receive a 5% discount off the total price.

For reference: 1 page = 250 words
I round up to the nearest half page. For example: If a page is 275 words, I count it as 1.5 pages and charge accordingly.

I do not offer free revisions, but do discount them. If I send you edits back and you would like me to review your manuscript/story again with your changes, I will do so at 50% the cost of the original edit.

I do not offer refunds because of the time and effort on my part to edit your materials. I will do my best to make sure you are satisfied with the process, but in the end, my edits are mostly editorial suggestions, and you are free to make use of them or ignore them completely. If you have concerns regarding certain editorial issues that may crop up during the process, please communicate these with me beforehand and we will work them out ahead of time.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING

$100 DIGITAL | $200 PAPERBACK & HARDCOVER | $250 BOTH

Once the editing process is finished, the next stage is formatting to get it ready for paperback, hardcover, and digital distribution. This process can sometimes be frustrating for authors, as there are multiple platforms to publish your book on (especially digitally), and sometimes those paths aren’t the clearest. With this service, I will format your manuscript (in Microsoft Word initially) for digital and/or physical formats to be published on multiple platforms.

This service includes:

Unlimited Revisions to make sure your files are easy to read and exactly the way you want them

Microsoft Word DOC and PDF files for paperback/hardcover

EPUB file for digital editions

RESUME SERVICES | $200 / RESUME

Need help constructing or improving upon your job resume? I’ll help you craft a winning showcase of your skills and talents that will help potential employers and career prospects see you for what you bring to the table. My resume services include a completely-from-scratch resume (with a few questions answered by you) or a revision of a resume you already have written.

This service includes:

A one and two-page resume crafted from scratch from information you provide

or

A one and two-page resume edited/revised from what you submit to me

REQUEST SERVICES

Ready for me to partner with you on your project?

To hire me for any of my services, please fill out the form. At the same time, email dna@davidnalderman.com with your book or resume attached as a Word Doc (or similar). Address the email to David Alderman. I will be in touch with you within 24 hours with a PayPal invoice to the email address you provide. Once the first half of the project (or the entire payment) is sent, I’ll start on your editing request.

Also use this form if you simply have questions regarding my services.

*Please add [dna@davidnalderman.com] to your list of safe email addresses, just to make sure my email reply doesn’t wind up in your junk mail.