Proofreading Services

About me

As well as being a writer, I am also a qualified proof reader. I obtained my qualification in Spring 2014 from Chapterhouse, however I have been proofreading for over 2 years for a variety of indie authors before passing my course. Alongside this, part of my day job involves proofreading accountancy figure work, legal documents and also correspondence and I’ve been doing this for 8 years and I do all of my own editing and proofreading for my own works too.

Below is a list of my services and charges but if you want to ask me a question, or request an info sheet then please email me: lefitzpatrick@hotmail.co.uk

 

I’m a new indie author and I can’t afford proofreading – how can you help?

 Okay, I’ve been there. You want to make your first book amazing but you’re still a struggling new author and you barely have enough pennies to get a cup of coffee in the morning. Publishing a book can be done for free, but can publishing a good book? The biggest problem I hear readers complaining about when they download indie books is the amount of errors and it not only puts them off the author in question, but it also puts them off other indie authors too.

Although I am a qualified proof reader I still need all the experience I can get and there will be times during the year when I will have free time and you know what they say – the devil makes work for idle hands. So here is the deal: if you are a new author and you are prepared to wait then send me your manuscript and I will proofread it for free.

I know what you’re thinking – what’s the catch? Well there isn’t one. There are no hidden charges, no legal contracts, no signing your soul over to me. The only thing I can’t promise is to meet a deadline because paid work must take a priority. But I will always let you know if I am running late, or can’t pick up your job at a certain time so you don’t waste your time.

I won’t charge you a penny/cent for what I do but what I would ask is that you add me to your various social networks and if, when the money does start rolling in, you would like to make a donation to any of the charities at the bottom of the page then I would be really grateful.

 

But wait, I’m an old indie author and I still don’t have any money – what about me?

 You’re right, it’s not fair to offer this to just newbies. But I’ve got to make a living somehow so here’s what I’m going to do – if you are an existing writer with less than 6 books published (short stories, essays and poems don’t count) and your ranking in Amazon is NOT in the top 30,000 then I will proofread one of your books free of charge. It can be any book you like and the above terms apply.

 

That’s all good but I have deadlines to meet and I’m willing to pay. What are your charges?

 I am happy to negotiate all of my costs but as a guideline I would be looking at charging you as follows:

 £3/$5/€4          per 1,000 words

 I will round down the cost. So if your manuscript is 65,800 words the maximum I will charge you:

 £195/$325/€260

 You will be told the fee and the time scale I can offer you before I take on the work. If I am unable to meet the set deadline for whatever reason I will discount 5,000 words per each day I overrun and inform you as soon as possible of the delay.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to negotiate costs and I’d be more than happy to see if we can come to a fixed fair price.

 

I’m on a strict deadline and I need a fast turnaround – can you help me?

 Please contact me immediately with your word count and your deadline. If I can help I will, however I may have to increase my charges to cover costs. You will be informed of this before I start the job.

 

Other Charges

If you require me to proofread a paper copy of your manuscript then you will either have to provide this to me or I will add an additional printing charge to my above fees. This will be a direct recovery of costs.

Also if you require me to post your manuscript back to you I will also add a postage charge, which again will be a direct recovery of costs and not a Ebay profit making scheme.

I’m afraid these costs are not negotiable but I will always try to do things as cheaply as possible and inform you of the costs in advance.

 

So I’m in – what do I need to do?

First off contact me with your word count, the type of manuscript it is (fact/fiction/essay etc – don’t worry about genre and selling the concept of the work to me – that won’t make any different) and a proposed deadline if you have one. I will then be able to tell you if/when I can pick up your job, how long it will take and of course cost if applicable. Do not send me your manuscript until we have reached an agreement.

 

Contact me: lefitzpatrick@hotmail.co.uk