Professional editorial feedback that will give you the power to correct problems within your book - leaving you in control to publish with confidence.

All for only $10/1000 words.

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• Line-by-line copy editing that will allow you to produce an error free manuscript.
• A multi-page copy editor's report that will explain how to lift your book to a publishable quality.
• Detailed copy edit and full editor's report returned within 21 working days.

Copy Editing is Used By the Most Respected Publishers in the World

BubbleCow helped me learn from my mistakes and reined me in where I was over-enthusiastic. I’m a better writer for their advice, and no mistake. They were measured, kind and constructive, basically taking a sewing machine to my work, sorting out all the stitches I had dropped, either in haste or simply through inexperience.

Matt Hill, author of Colin & The Strimmer Men

What The Copy Editing Will include...

Let's face it, all writers get too close to their work. It is part of the process, but also part of the problem.

How many times have you read over your writing, convinced it was ready to go, only to have a close friend spot a glaring mistake in what seems like seconds of reading your book?

Now imagine the horror of submitting this same error ridden book to an agent.

Or... self-publish, only to have reviewers pick up your mistakes.

We CAN help you to avoid this pain.

Let me keep it simple -- our editors will check over your book, correct grammar issues, but also pin point those huge plot holes you missed and that, if left unattended, would trip up unwary readers.

The single most important aspect of our editing service is that we look at each word of your book, AND then provide the clear and actionable guidance you need to fix your book.

I can't emphasize this enough. We want to make sure you learn all the skills you need to not make the same mistakes twice. We want you to be a better writer.

OK, getting down to the nitty gritty...

BubbleCow’s copy editing service has been designed to provide a ‘publisher’ style edit, which leaves your manuscript as close to ‘print ready’ as possible. This sounds a bit like sales blurb, so let me put it into 'real person' speak.

If your book was being prepared for publication by a publishing house, it would pass through a three editing step process - Structural Editing, Stylistic Editing and Copy Editing. Our service combines the three types of edit (Structural, Stylistic and Copy) to provide you with a ‘publisher’ standard in-depth line edit. The edit involves one of our professional and experienced editors reading through your work, line by line, and asking themselves the following questions:

• Is the book’s organization and content suitable for the intended audience, medium, market, and purpose? [Structural]
• How can the book’s meaning be clarified, the flow improved and the language smoothed? [Stylistic]
• Have you ensured the correctness, consistency, accuracy, and completeness of the document? [Copy]

In reality this means that we will not only be looking to correct grammar and punctuation, but also paying attention to the narrative flow, potential plot holes and the overall 'feel' of the book in relation to its genre and readership.

One question we get asked a lot is how do we know what is right and what is wrong?

The answer -- Style Guides.

Style guides are big old books that tell our editors the correct grammar and punctuation.

Depending on the country of publication, the style guide will differ. If you intend to publish in the US, we will use a US style guide. However, if you are preparing your book for the UK, then we will use a UK style guide. We will advise on what we think is the best approach, but it is your choice.

What Your Copy Editing Will Look Like...

Your final report will be made up of two parts.

The first is the Copy Editor's Report. This includes our copy editor's thoughts on your manuscript, ideas about improving your work and any general structural points you should consider. This feedback also includes any points that we feel need particular attention. The aim of this report is to provide a single summary document that you can use as a reference point when applying the feedback. Many writers have told us that they found it very useful to have a summary of the key areas that need attention, especially when the individual comments embedded within the document can number in the high hundreds.

The second part is the in-depth line edit. This is embedded in your original document and can be viewed by opening the document with any good word processing package. Our comments will appear on the right hand side of the text. The copy editor will have read through your work on a line-by-line basis, and added comments and pointers that will improve your text. Though this is not a proofread, any grammar or spelling mistakes we spot will be corrected. The report is designed to allow you to produce a new and better re-write by systematically working through the comments and implementing as you see fit.

Please note that when copy editing we often use a mixture of tracked changes and comments. The reason for this is that much of the editing process requires the editor to make a judgment call. Our editors will suggest the corrections and changes their experience and training tells them will work best in the context of your book. However, you may wish to overrule their judgment. Tracked changes are only used for minor errors.

It is our belief that the report is as much a teaching aid as it is an assessment of your book. We design our feedback to highlight areas in which you can strengthen your writing. We also structure our comments in such a way that you will be shown how to apply the techniques we are suggesting to improve your book.

Download the sample to read in more detail.

Cost of Copy Editing

Copy Editing is traditionally expensive. To be honest there is no reason for this beyond profit. The biggest overhead is the cost of the editor's time. However, since BubbleCow is a specialist editorial company with no real office and overheads (we are all home based workers) we are able to charge less than our competitors, whilst providing a better service.

We charge just $10 per 1000 words.

At BubbleCow we understand that each writer's needs are different, and therefore we have a minimum word count of just 5000 words. This means that you can send a short sample to 'try out' our editing service.

We aim to return the completed edit within 21 working days, if not sooner. Upon payment you will be sent an email with the latest date on which the edit will be returned. However, as a rough rule of thumb you should allow a full calendar month for one of our editors to assess your work.

How It Works

• 1. Hit the HUUUGE button at the top of the page,
• 2. Complete the form and we will send a quote,
• 3. We answer any of your questions and, when you are happy, send out an email invoice to the email you provide,
• 4. You make payment via our secure PayPal server (you can do this with a card and no PayPal account),
• 5. We complete your edit within 21 working days of payment,
• 6. You receive an email with the editor's report and line-by-line edit,
• 7. You send back any feedback or questions and we answer them,
• 8. You re-write and move onto the next step.

Risk Free Submission

We want to make sure that it's BubbleCow that's taking all the risk, not you.

Therefore, we make a simple promise -- If our edit fails to improve your book we will give you your money back.

Questions & Answers

Is copy editing worth the money?

Think of it like this...

Let's say you are submitting your book to an agent or publisher. The publisher is, ultimately, looking for a book that is as close to 'publish ready' as possible. The more work they have to do, the more likely they are to reject. This means that a well edited book can be the difference between a no and a yes. But can you put a price on rejection? Well, I think so. A typical advance can be in the region of $10,000. Are you prepared to risk throwing away 10K for the price of a copy edit?

But what if you are self-publishing? Let's ignore the fact that ALL publishers will have a book copy edited prior to publication and, instead, look at the marketplace. All self-publishing writers will agree that a good Amazon review will sell books. But... bad reviews will cost you sales. How many sales do you think will be lost after your book gets a 1 star review because of a hoard of obvious typos and mistakes? 100? 50? Probably more, but let's be conservative and say 25. Therefore, for each bad review you lose 25 sales, at $10 a book that's $250 -- lost. Surely a $500 copy edit is actually making you money?

Will copy editing really improve my book?

I think it's best to let writers who have been edited by BubbleCow speak in their own words:

I didn't like the thought of some stranger interfering with my book, I was, I admit, a bit precious. However, the process was massively useful - problems were highlighted that I didn't know existed and insightful and creative solutions were offered. I even got praise for the good bits!

Nik Jones, author of 9987, published by Tonto Books.

BubbleCow know the fast-changing literary landscape inside out. The experience and contacts they have will improve any writer’s chances of either a first publication or improved sales and readership.

PR expert, Chris Rickaby.

BubbleCow’s guidance remains the most helpful of all. They have the ability to read your work and come up with a suggestion that leaves you slapping your forehead, thinking “Of course!” Their thoughts have invariably improved my work and needless to say, I shall be Bubblecowing again very soon.

Self-Published writer, Matthew Watkinson..

Will editing take months?

Being honest, some copy editors take months (and months) to edit a book. The problem is often that they are not full-time editors. You will often find that they edit on the side to try and earn some extra cash. At BubbleCow we are all full time editors. Editing is what we do, each working day. It's our job.

It's for this reason that we have a 21 working day turnaround promise. If we edit your book, you will get it back within 21 working days. I promise.