Manuscript Editing at www.Foxesfarm.com.

Often called proofreading or proof reading, manuscript editing is a vital step for any author. Especially so for fairly new or first time authors. A book rife with errors or halting and wandering descriptions will cause a busy agent or editor to overlook an otherwise excellent book and author.

You can try to have a friend or a relative edit your work for you, but there are several problems with this. While they may be a good reader, familiarity with you and your subject matter may cause them to overlook things because they KNOW what words they should be reading. If you are feeling hesitant or shy about your work, you may not want anyone you know to read your book before it is finished. And in extreme cases, disputes between their opinion and yours may mar your relationship.

A second option is to have a stranger edit it. Often an exchange will be made between two first time authors with the agreement that each will edit and possibly review the other's work. Neat idea, and it's free. But think about it. How long did it take to write your book while juggling family, work, etc.? Is it honestly likely that someone in the same position can devote the concentration needed to catch just about everything, and do so in a timely manner?

That leaves a normally necessary evil. Spending money. Also known as making an investment. Send your work to someone who is accustomed to editing manuscripts, and will be doing so as a full time job with concrete deadlines. If you don't like my fees or suggestions, please search the web. While I am quite good at basic line editing, you will find many professional "book doctor" sites with much more experience in major in-depth editing. Mind you, I haven't found a single one to charge as little as I do. Most list basic line editing for $1.00 to $11.00 per page. I charge $.75 per page. Hopefully well within most people's price range. If you are trying to compare prices, the average page has 250 words on it. When comparing with those who charge by the word, $.75 per page divided by 250 words per page equals $.003 per word. There will be a minimum charge of $5.00 if the document to be edited is under 7 pages in length.

If you are concerned about someone stealing your work, there is a simple method of assuring your copyright. Simply mail yourself a copy of your work at each stage, and don't open it. If you have a dispute with someone later, the sealed package with a post office date and stamp on it is your proof of who had the idea first.

Speaking of prices, here are my fees:

Basic Line Editing - $.75 per page. This fee covers spelling, wrong or transposed words, and gross plot inconsistencies. Minimum fee of $5.00. When line editing later revisions, I charge only for the pages that have been changed.

In depth editing - $1.00 to $3.00 per page. This fee covers all of the above, plus an overall review, paragraph tightening and major revisions. Handy for those with a great flow of ideas, but little patience for plodding through the minute details.

I only accept PayPal or C2it payments. Free and secure for you, convenient for me.

Don't forget to submit your manuscript to this site for conversion to an e-book. It's very inexpensive, and a great way to be instantly published. With an intriguing review and a good title, you just might make some money. A check instead of a rejection slip is always nice. Please click here to submit. E-book Submissions

Speaking of rejections, don't even bother sending me any pornography or hate materials. I'm not qualified to review them, you wouldn't like my editing, and I cannot post them to my site. Both because I personally don't want them here, and because I promised the web hosting company that I wouldn't post such things. I'd lose my website or worse. Come to think of it, romance and prose aren't my best subjects either. I've read little in the way of the romance genre in my life, and I have this nagging habit that poetry must have rhyme and meter.

Please send me your manuscript as an e-mail attachment with your desired level of editing indicated. I'll send you a free sample edit of your first 20 pages. There will be 2 copies, one with Microsoft Word's color coded corrections, and one clean copy with all suggested changes incorporated. I'll also include an estimate for in-depth editing. In that return e-mail I will also warn you if I think you would be better served by a more experienced editor who is experienced at massive revisions. Please send it as a Microsoft Word or Rich Text document, double spaced, Arial, 12 point font. If you don't, I'll convert it to such, and the price will be figured on the above format rather than how you've sent it to me.

Here is the above mentioned e-mail address: editor@foxesfarm.com

Hey, it's free! Go ahead and send me your manuscript for a free 20 page sample edit. What have you got to lose?

PS, I only charge $5.00 to convert your manuscript to Microsoft Reader Ebook format. If you have cover art to go with it, that's an additional $5.00. If you'd ever like to self publish 4 or more of your works as e-books, or just don't trust me to do the converting, I have a compilation of 4 books and my own notes on a CD-ROM for $19.99, S&H included. Not that you're ready for that stage yet, but I just thought that I'd mention it while I remember. Plant a little seed in your head, and maybe you can think up a way you could market your own book. CDs only cost about 20 cents to burn these days, and I've found an e-book converter for a pretty cheap outlay, especially if you split the cost with another author. Or skip buying this CD, and click here to have it converted by me for $5.00, then you can distribute copies on CDs or as e-mail attachments.

If you are reading this page to learn how to edit books at home yourself, I'm offering a self published book for $20.00 a copy. This book covers everything I've learned while starting up and operating an internet based manuscript editing business. Some of the subjects covered include equipment and software selection, payment systems, strategies for contacting authors, the decisions made during the design of this website, researching the competition, advertising costs and strategies, and market fluctuations. Things you really need to know if you are planning to edit books from your home. This book also has an additional sales commissions opportunity as outlined in the Books From The FoxesFarm Page. Come to think of it, this book would be pretty handy for most people starting an internet based business. Several of the same equipment and advertising strategies would be helpful to any new web based business. I must admit, I do love scheduling my work around my life instead of the other way around.