Midnight Publishing’s Editing Services, Tier 2: Copyediting

With a staff of writers and editors who’ve worked on dozens of topics and manuscripts in our decade-long tenure as Phoenix, Arizona’s premiere book editing and writing company, Midnight Publishing has considerable experience addressing the many varied needs of every book and author to come through our doors. Whether this is your first completed manuscript or your fiftieth, our award-winning editors are passionate about collaborating with authors to publish books that are moving, timely, and convey the author’s desired message in a meaningful way. To accomplish these tasks, we’ve broken down our editing services into three popular tiers that address different (and at times overlapping) goals with the intent of a more refined, compelling and unified manuscript that is ready for publication. Midnight Publishing’s editing packages are as follows:

• Tier 1: Proofreading, starts at $0.025/word
• Tier 2: Copyediting (a developmental editing/line editing hybrid), starts at $0.04/word
• Tier 3: Developmental editing, starts at $0.05/word

What is Copyediting? (And How Midnight Publishing’s Differs From Others)

From the many dozens of authors we’ve worked with over the years, we have identified certain needs that a majority of manuscripts require in the revision process, several of which fall into multiple editing tiers. A typical copyedit in the publishing/editing industry involves a comprehensive revision for sentence structure and flow, fixing punctuation errors, and following a specific style guide, but Midnight Publishing’s copyedit is a hybrid of grammatical revisions and developmental/content editing (albeit at a less intensive level than a developmental edit). Our copyediting service is the most popular editing package Midnight Publishing offers, and is appropriate for both fiction and nonfiction manuscripts.

The Midnight Publishing hybrid copyediting package includes:

1. Analysis of story structure, plot pacing, character development and dialogue, and suggestions for improvements in these areas. This is at a less comprehensive level than a full developmental edit but addresses the main issues that would be evaluated. (These edits are made via comments visible through the Microsoft Word “track changes” feature. Midnight Publishing’s experts are happy to explain and give step-by-step instructions on how to utilize this feature.)
2. Scanning material for plot holes to notify the author of required changes, and/or locating smaller inconsistencies (details such as spelling changes, character appearance details, etc.) and fixing them in manuscript.
3. Creation and application of a personalized style guide for the manuscript in accordance with any desired unique spelling, capitalization and/or punctuation choices that don’t fall under common style guide specifications.
4. Application of an industry-accepted style guide, either Chicago Manual of Style or AP Style, for proper indentation, capitalization, spelling, numbering, citations/reference pages, etc.
5. Detailed revisions of incorrect spelling, punctuation, syntax, and word usage while preserving the author’s intended voice and message to the audience.
6. Reorganization of material/chapter breakdown for improved comprehension and logical order. *This applies to nonfiction titles; regarding fiction reorganization needs, the editor will provide suggestions on how to restructure novel for better tension, pacing, etc. with “track changes” feature.*
7. Analysis and possible revision of tense inconsistencies (present versus past), as well as character point of view inconsistencies and/or author goals for correct POV (first person—“I/me,” limited third person—“he/she”, or omniscient POV—ability to move from several characters’ consciousness/thoughts/feelings without designation via new chapter/section).
8. Possibly rewriting or rearranging sentences for better flow and structure, and replacing repetitive or commonly used words with new ones and/or ones that better illustrate the author’s intended meaning.
9. A five-page summary that expands upon developmental edits and suggested revisions; highlighting strengths of author’s manuscript/writing and areas for improvement, and discusses the next steps required to prepare the book for publication or querying. *A chapter-by-chapter summary is also available for an additional fee.*

When to Choose a Copyedit

Overall, Midnight Publishing’s hybrid copyedit package is the best choice for a writer who feels somewhat confident on their grasp of story-crafting and the structural elements of their book, but who is looking for a relatively comprehensive analysis of these concepts, as well as a copyedit that focuses on grammatical components. Our hybrid copyedit is the perfect choice for an individual who is on the fast-track to publication and feels confident that they can combine both developmental and grammatical revisions into one edit. Midnight Publishing’s writing and editing professionals can and will provide direction on the appropriateness of our hybrid copyedit for a manuscript—if it requires more or less work than the copyedit would provide, we will discuss further options with you.

Midnight Publishing has devoted many years of editing and writing hours to working with authors and preparing their books for publication. It’s our passion, and we have over five million edited words under our belt to prove it! Contact us today to talk about your book needs and get scheduled.