“The teaching of craft can be done without damage to a writer’s original voice or artistic self-esteem.”
― Pat Schneider (the 4th precept of the AWA Method)
The primary purpose of the Substantive Edit is to investigate a novel or memoir as a story and address the story-telling elements. This includes any aspects of the writer’s craft that should be addressed, fundamental structural and story elements needing revisiting, and any other features that should be addressed before submitting the manuscript to agents and publishers.
PROCESS: Before we begin, we would be happy to discuss your needs and expectations in a no-obligation telephone or zoom room chat at your convenience.
Once we have a clear picture of each other’s expectations, please email a WORD copy of your manuscript and include a list of any questions you would like us to answer in the Substantive Edit. Be as specific as possible about which aspects of your manuscript excite you the most and where you are feeling reticent.
When your mentor has completed the review, a Substantive Edit is prepared that focuses on the strengths of the manuscript and makes recommendations on what would make the manuscript stronger. We are available to meet in person if you live within a reasonable driving distance. Otherwise, our findings, including rewrite recommendations, are emailed in advance, and discussed with you in detail in a supportive, informative 60 minute online zoom or telephone chat format. (your choice)
We offer two types of Substantive Edits:
A METICULOUS SUBSTANTIVE EDIT for $1,260 Click here to learn more
KEY TALKING POINTS TWO PAGE SUMMARY for $560 Click here to learn more
A NOTE ABOUT MANUSCRIPT LENGTH: The fees listed are for manuscripts up to 80,000 words in length. If your manuscript is larger than this, an additional cost of .015 cents/word is applicable. (Example: for a manuscript of 100,000 words the additional cost would be 20,000 x .015 = $300 + HST) We will contact you about the methods available to pay the additional amount should this be necessary.
PLEASE NOTE that a SUBSTANTIVE EDIT does not include PROOFREADING or COPY EDITING.
Although we may identify blatant spelling, punctuation and grammar errors, this is not the purpose of a substantive edit.
When all revisions have been completed, and before submitting manuscripts to agents or publishers, we will strongly recommend that you seek out the services of a proofreader or copy editor if we feel it would be beneficial.