At Exactly Editing, the resounding answer to all these questions is “no”.
I’ve been reading and editing for long enough to know that we can all write well, under the right circumstances. We can all produce writing that others want to read. We can all publish manuscripts, papers, articles and reports that read well, and make your reader want to share your writing with more people.
A good editor can help you with all of these things as you write, and a good editor is also willing to learn from you.
At Exactly Editing, I edit in two ways, essentially answering one (or both) of two questions for the authors/writers I work with:
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Interpersonal and generative (challenging, questioning, brainstorming, supporting and guiding)
Interpersonal and generative (supporting, questioning, modelling, suggesting, building)
Macro (sections, parts, chapters), mid-micro (paragraphs, sentences), and micro (phrases, words, sometimes punctuation) levels of edits
Manuscript assessment is a good option for first time writers, students, young adults and/or those who have a very tight budget. It requires a completed manuscript/piece of long-form writing, which has been drafted and re-drafted a few times - i.e. it needs to be coherent and of fairly high quality already, but it does not need to be absolutely perfect or fully ready to submit to an agent/publisher.
Manuscript assessment includes:
It does not include:
Manuscript assessment carries a set fee, which is based on the length of your manuscript at the start of the reading phase and the type of writing (or genre) you are working on. Fees start at around €700 for 50K (fiction/non-fiction), and €450 for 20K (children’s fiction/non-fiction).
I am a full-time freelance English editor who is obsessed with reading, storytelling and written communication. My clients are mainly academics, fiction and non-fiction writers (including children’s and YA authors), self-publishers, and technical professionals, but I also work with NGOs and commercial clients.
