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Services and FAQs

“[She] has enabled me to publish my work ...”​​

​—Kathryn Blake, author of Deceive

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What services do I offer and for whom?

I offer a variety of services for the following clients:

  • students and academic researchers – academic proofreading

  • independent authors – proofreading, proof-editing and beta reading

  • businesses and writers – proofreading and proof-editing

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For more details on how I can help you, please see my individual services pages.​

What’​s my turnaround time?

Depending on the length of your document, the editing service required, my current schedule and our agreed-upon time frame, it will usually take about three weeks. But it could take four or five weeks. The time frame for beta reads is about two weeks.

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Please leave plenty of time in your schedule to accommodate this.

How much will it cost? Sample evaluations and sample edits

My pricing is based on the CIEP suggested minimum rates. But because every project is unique, it’s difficult to give an accurate idea of cost without seeing a representative sample of the text.

 

Sample evaluations

I will provide an estimated quote once I have evaluated a sample of the text. The price will depend on the level and extent of the service required.

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Sample edits

If you would like to see an example of my editing technique, please request a sample edit. By editing a short sample of your work, I can figure out exactly how long it will take me to edit your entire text (and therefore the fee) and you can assess my services with a real example (and decide if we are a good fit). I’​ll provide a quote when I return the edited sample. The price will depend on the level and extent of the service required.

 

I charge a nominal fee for sample edits, which would be deducted from the final invoice if you were to proceed with the full edit.

Do you know which level of editing you need?

Do you have any questions about the different levels of editing? If you’​re unsure which level of editing you need, please have a look at my resource on this topic.

What’​s included in my proofreading, proof-editing and beta reading services?

The table below details what’​s included in my proofreading and proof-editing services. My beta reading service is detailed on my beta reading page.

​*This is not always included for students submitting work for assessment because no rewriting can be done by a proofreader on examined texts. However, I may raise specific queries for the student to address.

 

**It is not my responsibility to check for plagiarism, but I will point out if I feel a reference is required or if the style/tone of writing changes so that it stands out.

How do I edit?

I edit in Microsoft Word using Track Changes and Comments. If you prefer, I can also proofread using the Adobe commenting tools on PDF (only available for projects that have already been professionally copy-edited and typeset).

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You will always receive two documents when I have completed an edit: one file that shows the edits/corrections and one ‘clean’ file with the edits accepted. I usually leave my comments in the clean file if there are queries that need to be resolved.

 

For beta reads I use the Comments tool in either Microsoft Word or Adobe.

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You will always receive two documents when I have completed a beta read: one file with my full comments for plot/pacing/character development etc. (story assessment) and one file with my chapter specific comments (which would be within your manuscript).

What project details do I need from you?

Please send me (tori@seymourproofreading.co.uk) the following:

  • genre/subject of your project and the exact word count

  • your schedule/deadline and budget

  • the service you require (beta read, proofread or proof-edit)

  • publishing intentions (if applicable)

  • the format of your file (Word or PDF)

  • a sample (at least 1,000 words) from the second half of your manuscript (proofreading or proof-editing), or the first chapter of your book (beta reading)

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I can then let you know if the work can be fitted into my schedule.

 

If you would prefer not to send a sample until I can confirm availability, then please send details of your work, word count, deadline and budget.

Further questions?

If you haven’t found the answer to your question, please contact me.​

For a list of my training and CPD, please visit my qualifications page.​​​

Victoria did such a good job of preserving my voice ...

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“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Victoria twice now. Once on a beta reading service she completed for me, and the second on a proof-edit for a sci-fi manuscript (c.100k words). Both were excellent services, completed on time and to very professional standards. The proof-edit in particular deserves praise for combining both a copy-edit and proofreading service all in one. Victoria did such a good job of preserving my voice and writing flow that I could barely tell what parts had been changed until I checked the edited version. The thousands of grammar, spelling and editing improvements she’d made were seamless. I would wholeheartedly recommend Victoria, and I look forward to working with her again in the future.”

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—BW, author

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