Editing Services

Basic Information

I've always liked learning about others and helping people. At the University of Southern California, I double majored in history and art history and pursued a joint minor in ancient religions and classical languages. During my first semester in college, I was briefly inspired by one of my peers to consider triple majoring but then I recognized doing so would be unwise if I wanted to get any sleep and attend football games. That said, I spent a lot of time during my studies writing academic papers and critiquing other people's work.
Today, editing gives me the chance to do many of the things I enjoy: reading, writing, and helping others. Thank you for stopping by and perhaps considering me for your project. If you have any questions or concerns, I'd be happy to hear from you.
  • Free Sample Edit: If you're considering hiring me for your project, I can do a free sample edit for you. That way you can see the quality of my work, and I can better gauge how much time the project will likely take me to complete. Any excerpt sent to me for free sample editing should be no more than 1,000 words long.
  • Email: The best way to reach me is by emailing veemooteenon@gmail.com. You can expect a reply within twenty-four hours.
  • Years as an Editor: I've been working as a freelance editor for six years.
  • Languages: I can edit US and UK English, but I am a native US English speaker. I have also done the odd job here and there in Canadian English.
  • Writing Style Guides: I am well versed in APA, CMOS, and MLA. If your publisher (or school or professor) has an in-house style guide, I'm happy to follow the customized guide as long as you provide it. I also have working knowledge of AP Style.
  • Editing Methods: Most of my editing is done using Track Changes in Microsoft Word. I am also perfectly comfortable with editing in Adobe using the program's text edit comments. If you have a different preference for the editing method, I'm open to hearing your suggestion.
  • Editing Rates: I charge $5 per 250 words ($0.02 per word) for my editing services, which include both copyediting and proofreading considerations. (The publishing industry standard for a manuscript page is 250 words.) Alternatively, I'm comfortable editing at a rate of $25 per hour and am open to being paid per project.
  • Nondisclosure Agreements: If whatever you want me to review deals with sensitive topics and you'd like me to sign a nondisclosure agreement before any work begins, that's fine. Please provide the relevant paperwork, and I'll promptly fill it out and return it.
  • Profile with the Editorial Freelancers Association
  • Reviews from Kibin clients
  • Google My Business website


What I Edit

  • Academic work: Term papers, theses or dissertations, and scholarly articles intended for publication
  • Nonfiction: Self-help books, how-to manuals, and accounts of religious or spiritual journeys
  • Fiction: Anything goes!
  • Poetry: Free or formal verse poetry
  • Miscellaneous Items: Website content (including articles or blog posts), brochures, convention programs, product descriptions, and pretty much anything else that features writing intended to be read
Put simply, copyediting is a more intense version of proofreading. Copyediting involves reading a written work line by line to check on a number of things, including sentence structure, formatting, grammar, spelling, and intended meaning. And although it doesn't fall strictly within the copyediting umbrella, I will also do general fact-checking when I review your work.
If you say that the Mona Lisa was painted by Picasso, I'll leave a note to tell you it definitely wasn't. Or if you have a character running up a staircase in a one-story house, I'll point out the discrepancy. As a person who cares first and foremost about creating a high-quality end product, I will put forth my best efforts to help polish your writing. Of course, at the end of the day, you are free to accept or reject any of my suggested edits.
Proofreading services traditionally still entail a line-by-line reading of your work, but the assumption is that whatever you've written is already well refined and just about ready to go. Proofreading usually involves carefully reviewing written work to make sure that no little mistakes still exist. Sometimes this means adding a closing quotation mark that has been accidentally left out or correcting one odd instance of the word lead to led.
I provide the best of both worlds when I edit by keeping both copyediting and proofreading considerations in mind. Since I roll copyediting and proofreading into one thorough review of a written work, I will actually read through anything I edit at least twice just to double-check my suggestions. The good news is you only pay one fee for these services.
Note though that I do not specialize in developmental editing. If you're an aspiring writer looking for someone to give you intense feedback on your overall story and how your characters can be further developed, I am not the right person for the job. If you're a student, know that I am more than willing to help you improve your paper, but I will not write it for you.
Will you still do a sample edit if my entire work is less than 1,000 words?
If you are a blogger or an individual who is looking to start a long-term business relationship with me, then yes, I will happily do a sample edit of something that is less than 1,000 words in its entirety. This means that you can send me something such as an entire blog post, and I'll edit it for free so that you can get a feel for my editing style. In this case, please also send me a link to your blog or a project description to give me a better sense of what I may be getting myself involved in overall.
If, however, you've got something such as a paper that's less than 1,000 words in its entirety, you'll just have to take a risk on me and pay the standard rate if you want me to edit it. The good news here is that, unlike other editors, I don't have a minimum fee when taking on a project; instead, I calculate everything based on the rate we agree to before the project begins. It's up to you whether you'd like to pay me per word, per hour, or per project.
How do you figure out the charge if my entire work is less than 250 words?
The standard rate of $5 per 250 words is still applied to your work. Since this rate works out to $0.02 per word, if you have a document that is 75 words long, then it would cost $1.50 to edit.
Are your rates negotiable?
Yes, they are. But only to a certain extent. If you're considering hiring me, please understand that I take my work very seriously and believe in providing a high-quality end product. Having said that, I also firmly believe in being fairly compensated for what I do. This is how I make a living after all.
How do payments work?
Payments can be made electronically via Google Wallet or PayPal. Alternatively, I also accept checks sent via snail mail. If you have a different preferred method of payment, let me know. I will do what I can to accommodate.
Generally, if the estimated cost for a given project is less than $120, then payment will be due upon completion of the job. When I've finished reviewing your work, I'll send it to you along with an invoice.
If the estimated cost for a given project is more than $120, I'll likely ask you to break up the amount due into at least two payments. The first will be an advance of $50 or 20% of the total estimated cost (whichever is higher) as a show of good faith on your part. As such, I will not begin editing your work until I have received the advance.
After that, the rest of the project cost is either due in full after I've completed the project or broken into two more equal payments: one to be made when I'm halfway through the project and the other to be made when I'm done with the whole job.
Regardless of how payments are made, I will always either provide you with a receipt to acknowledge an advance or send you an invoice to reflect the outstanding amount that is due immediately.
Can we talk over the phone?
While I'll be the first to admit that it's very rare for a client to want to talk over the phone, if you wish to speak in real time to address any concerns or go over the feedback that I've provided regarding your work, I am available to speak either over the phone or via a Skype call. Such a meeting is not covered under the basic charge for my editing services though. Phone calls cost $45 for the first thirty minutes and then $8 for each additional chunk of ten minutes.
Can we meet in person?
It's very rare for a client to want to meet in person to discuss editing work that I've done, but I am available to meet people located in Los Angeles County, Orange County, or the Inland Empire. My preference is to get together in either Downtown Los Angeles or the city of Orange.
Note that an in-person meeting is not covered under the standard charge for my editing services. Face-to-face meetings cost $60 per hour.
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