ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AN EDITOR?

Welcome, fellow traveller! I am a freelance fiction editor offering a range of editorial services—from freebies like my First Chapter Critique, to full on Developmental Edits and Book Proposals. Whether large or small, I treat all my commissions with the same care and enthusiasm.

I am currently also assistant to literary agent Elizabeth Kracht at Kimberley Cameron & Associates Literary Agency in California. She is the author of The Author’s Checklist, and my mentor. Thanks Liz!

HOW CAN AN EDITOR HELP?

An editor can help you identify which aspects of your text might benefit from revision, but a good editor will also want to protect your authorial voice and your special vision. Editing is as much about knowing what to leave alone as it is about initiating changes.

Your editor can advise, highlight problematic areas, suggest solutions, and even strongly recommend a certain course of action—but they are not the Writing Police. The final choice is always going to lie with you, the creator of your world.

MY WORK

I edit commercial fiction—thrillers, crime, murder mysteries (both cozy and otherwise), historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, romance, and memoir—as a freelance. I also work with non-fiction and memoir authors to write or co-create their book proposals.

Writers come to me before they send their manuscripts to agents, in between agents, or to get work done before an agent shops it. The aim is to get a manuscript as close to publishing standard as possible before it even sees the inside of a publishing house.

A lot of my work has been with American authors—(this website is spelled and punctuated in US English)—but I’m from the UK, meaning I am familiar with the requirements of both US and British English, and their associated style guides.

  • My job as an editor is to assess the overall health of a text, highlight areas that could benefit from revision, identify solid strategies to realise those improvements, and explain the reasoning behind my recommendations.

    There are many areas of life in which good enough is good enough, but there is no point in sending a manuscript to an agent if you know there are issues still to be resolved. An agent is not going to have a long chat with you about the development of your project: that is your editor’s job. The word potential is not relevant when you are trying to get an agent interested in your book—it should have already realized its potential, otherwise you may as well not submit it.

    An agent is looking for a manuscript that needs as little revision as possible. Agents reject manuscripts for countless reasons, some of which are to do with personal preference, but there are many common factors in manuscript rejection which a good editor will be trying to help their author avoid. Some of these are to do with structure, some with content, and some with presentation.

    An agent may occasionally send a note saying that they were just not gripped by the story, or that the author could benefit from a professional edit, but it’s rare to get much feedback. (Hence the young Stephen King’s excitement when he started to get comments on his rejection letters!) So an editor’s job is to anticipate not only what will help the book be the best version of itself but also what could cause an agent to reject it, as there will not usually be a second chance to submit it with the same agent.

SERVICES

DEVELOPMENTAL EDIT

Strengthen the roots of your story with a thorough analysis of the different elements that feed them—includes specific comments alongside your text, and an editorial letter grouping advice on both macro and micro issues under clear general headings.

LINE EDIT

Focuses on immersive storytelling to reveal the natural texture of your authorial voice—including disciplines such as removing obstacles to free-flowing text, keeping POV characters in their own lanes, tightening up dialogue, and assigning word count wisely.

FORMATTING

Puts every piece of text exactly where it’s meant to be, taking presentation to a standard ready for an agent or acquisitions editor. Proper formatting means your manuscript not only looks good, but is free from hidden technical problems.

FREE FIRST CHAPTER CRITIQUE

Right from the word GO, your first chapter pulls some serious weight, what with world-building, introducing main characters, establishing POV and kick-starting the action, so get a second opinion on the frontline of your offering with this free service.

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

See your chapters displayed in miniature, like beads on a string—useful for synopses, book proposals, or simply getting distance on your story. Customize number of lines in each summary according to what you’re going to use it for, from a few lines to a page and a half.

BOOK PROPOSAL

If you have written a memoir or a non-fiction book (or have prepared sample chapters in the hope of securing an advance ahead of writing the rest), you need to accompany it with a proposal demonstrating your book has a place in the market and you are the best person to write it.

BRITISH DIALOGUE AUTHENTICATION

Add distinctiveness to your British characters with realistic vocabulary and jargon specific to their region and age group—including different levels of formality/informality to apply depending on who they’re talking to. Have it written into your text, or presented like a style sheet.

COACHING

Tackle whatever is getting in the way of you completing your fiction manuscript with one-on-one coaching.

BESPOKE

Sometimes what you need doesn’t fit into the parameters of a normal editorial job. With this super-adaptable option, you can order red herrings, plot complication, new depths of depravity for your bad guys, a report on your text through a certain lens—you choose.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

I offer a free initial consultation on Zoom—or alternative video chat app—where we can discuss your project and which services may be most appropriate for you.

During our initial consultation we will talk about:

  • Your plans for your manuscript

  • If edits have already been done

  • Whether there are any deadlines

  • How much time you can assign to revisions

Once we have had our chat, if you decide to go forward we exchange emails or calls until we agree on the parameters of the job, and a price. I then send a formal email stating what work will be done—a brief, if you like—and a quote. Once you have agreed in writing, we are good to go.

  • Jan 24th 2024 BRIEF / Developmental Edit and Formatting

    JOEY HARRISON Take No Prisoners – Fiction – 83,998 words 303 pages

    Hi Joey

    After our consultation today, I am undertaking a developmental edit for your novel Take No Prisoners. This will include detailed notes on the manuscript in the Review section, and an editorial letter containing developmental, structural, and copy editing comments. The only changes I will make directly to the text are copy editing issues that are either correct or not, for example: typos, and obvious things like missing punctuation. As your novel is currently on seven different documents, in various states of formatting, you have also asked me to put these together to form one, correctly formatted document to continue work on.

    The manuscript critique costs $6.00 per page/$0.024 per word, whichever is more, so your critique will come to $2,015.00, to be paid in advance. Please find your invoice attached—all you need to do is click on the link and you will be directed to the Stripe website where you can pay using a credit or debit card.

    (Although Joey’s novel is 303 pages meaning his price would normally be $1,818.00, his wordcount is 83,998 which means the manuscript will take longer to read and has more content than the average 250 words per page, so his actual price is $2,015.00)

    Formatting prices vary depending on what I find, but will range from $600 to $1,100. I will give you an estimate for the formatting once I have glanced through your manuscript. I’ll send you an estimate by email in the next couple of days. Then you will get a separate invoice for the formatting right at the end of my work. *There will be a discount for the formatting as you are having a developmental edit with me.

    Looking forward to getting started on your manuscript!

    Best wishes

    Kate Hirons

  • In the interests of fair pricing, your document should be submitted in the following format:

    Times New Roman, with 1-inch borders, 12-point font size and double-spaced text.

    If the manuscript arrives in a different condition, it will be reformatted to meet those specifications. (You will lose nothing by this as it is the standard agency format.)

    I invoice via Stripe, which means clients get an invoice email with a secure link to the Stripe website where payment can be made using a credit or debit card. My clients have told me it is absolutely straightforward. A receipt is then sent by email. I do not charge tax on top of the fee.

    NOTE: A lot of the fees are quoted in US dollars, but I can quote in GBP if needed on the day in question.

    Developmental Edit—$6.00 per page or $0.026 per word, whichever is greater (or equivalent in GBP agreed during consultation)

    Line Edit—$5.75 per page or $0.024 per word, whichever is greater (or equivalent in GBP agreed during consultation)

    Formatting—I charge between $600 and $1,100 per manuscript, depending on length of manuscript and how much work has to be done: this will be agreed after I see your manuscript.

    First Chapter Critique—FREE

    Chapter Summaries—to be decided according to length of manuscript, number of lines needed per chapter summary, and how many chapters there are.

    Book Proposal—depending on length and density of manuscript, and whether meaningful research and editorial contributions have already been made by the client, $2,000–$3,000.

    Coaching—$65/£50 per hour.

    British Dialogue Authentication—to be agreed during consultation when I see the extent of work needed and length of manuscript.

    Bespoke—the price depends on the type of job, to be agreed during consultation.

  • As I am an entry-level member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), I am bound by its code of practice—this code also includes some responsibilities for the client to be aware of, so it’s advisable to read it before we make a final agreement.

    The Editor is required to—

    —accurately represent their skills

    —state the terms of the contract clearly and comprehensively

    —agree upon a clear and adequate brief with the client

    —respond promptly to emails from the client

    —give progress reports, if appropriate and agreed upon

    —present the finished work in a professional manner consistent with normal trade practices

    —get the client’s agreement when deciding what to name revised digital material

    —virus check any digital work just before it is sent to the client

    —keep confidential all matters to do with unpublished material: the editor, in fulfilling their editorial obligation, is acting as the client’s representative and so may not discuss details with a third party without express authorisation of the client

    —keep records of all conversations with the client

    —archive any original materials safely

    —continually upgrade their editorial knowledge

    —be familiar with current legislation relating to libel, copyright, plagiarism, reproduction of copyright material etc

     

    The Client agrees to—

    —make every effort to provide a clear brief for the editor, either in writing or by spoken agreement that has been written down by the editor and double-checked by the client before work starts

    —pay the agreed fee: although the editor has the right to ask for the entire fee in advance, the client can also try to negotiate payment in stages if necessary

    —pay on time: non-payment or late payment can be subject to interest and compensation, as is the statutory right of the editor

    —give some consideration to what level of copyediting they require (technical, structural, or developmental) before they brief the editor; the editor can also help them decide by more fully explaining during the briefing

    —virus check any digital material sent to the editor just before sending

    —hand in their text in the right format

NOTE: If you don’t mind telling me about your book before the consultation, you could fill out the manuscript questionnaire below

FAQs

  • —Anyone who is not entirely sure what service they need.

    —Anyone who wants to do a little research before commiting to an edit.

    —Anyone who has finished their self-editing and wants a fresh pair of eyes.

    —Anyone who has never used an editor before, and is curious to know what editing can offer them.

  • —Writers who have got an outline done and want developmental advice before they spend time writing it up.

    —Writers who have finished their first draft and want an editor to look at what they’ve done before they go any further, figuring it will save them time in the long run.

    —Writers who have taken their manuscript as far as they can on their own and would like a professional take on it before trying to find an agent.

    —Writers who have shopped their manuscript without success and are now prepared to make changes, but may have run out of energy or don’t know where to start.

    —Writers who have been offered a contract with an agent if they can reduce their word count significantly, or make changes that seem overwhelming and difficult to define.

    —Writers who have put aside a manuscript that wasn’t working to get on with something new, but know it has potential and don’t want to let it go without a fight.

    —Writers who are already published and prolific but are in the habit of getting feedback at a certain stage in their process.

    —Writers who don’t want to do the boring stuff like formatting and chapter summaries because they are too busy doing what they really love—writing!

    —Writers who want to learn how to avoid the pitfalls of commercial fiction, and bring out the best in their work.

  • There’s no way to tell how much work you will need to do before seeing your manuscript, but the initial consultation will let us talk about how revision you’ve already done and how much time you can assign to it.

    You may also have a deadline, whether self-imposed or from your agent, and so there may have to be a pragmatic discussion about how much you think you can accomplish before handing the finished piece in.

  • I specialize in commercial fiction, sometimes with a literary slant, with experience in murder mysteries (cozy and otherwise), fantasy, romances, thrillers, crime, narrative non-fiction and memoir.

    I also work with writers of non-fiction and memoir on book proposals—either coaching them through the process, or writing the proposal from scratch.

  • —Manuscripts should be presented in Word, Times New Roman, type size 12, double spaced. If the manuscript arrives in a different form it will be reformatted according to this standard in the interests of fair pricing, as I assess cost by page as well as wordcount.

    If you are someone who likes to use another format and you don’t know how to convert it to Word, I can do that for you but I will charge a little extra as often the conersion messes with the formatting of the document and means more work. (If you work in Libre Office I will not charge you for converting the file as it only takes a moment to do.)

    Publishers like to receive Word documents or a PDF, so you won’t lose anything by getting it into the right format.

TESTIMONIALS

  • Kate is a skilled and enthusiastic coach. With her encouragement and expertise, I restructured my memoir with a new beginning and implemented a braided narrative I would not have been able to attempt without her. She is prompt, falls in love with the work she agrees to take on and fights for it to completion.

    Previously I’d received a lot of weak advice that pointed to general issues and offered no path forward. Kate dissected everything and was there to support me in piecing everything together again. I owe the successful completion of my current draft to her. I have been blown away by her support.

    —Paige Lammers, author of Field Horse, currently being shopped

  • Kate is that divinely arranged rescue mission you’ve been praying for as you agonise over your manuscript. Kate immersed herself in the world of my novel. As a fantasy writer, I was delighted by how familiar she became with my characters, social structure and environment. As a skilled and resourceful coach, Kate guided me through the knots and inconsistencies of my plots, making fantastic suggestions (and gently steering me away from some desperate and disastrous moves). With her feedback on the long picture of my trilogy, and her detailed developmental edits to my first novel’s MS, I feel absolutely confident of my story now. I look forward to a long and successful relationship with you, Kate, because I really do feel like I’ve been given the best editor for my work.

    —Saraswati Nagpal, author of Draupadi the Fire-born Princess, and Sita: Daughter of the Earth.

  • Kate Hirons helped me tremendously. I’d written my memoir but was at a loss when thinking about my book proposal. You mean, Now I have to write a business plan? This is where Kate comes in. From our initial conversation, she put me at ease by asking necessary and tactical questions about my project and author platform. Gently, she encouraged me to do what I could for my platform right away, before soliciting agents or acquisitions editors. She read my book to write the chapter summaries and the first pass of an overview. Then came her research for marketing and promotion—wow. I was blown away by the amount of information she was able to pull up for the various sections of my proposal. And she works quickly. From our beginning conversation to the last bullet of her formatting, I felt like I was in sure hands. A genuinely kind person, remarkable researcher, and consummate professional, Kate will work with you and your project until it sings.

    —S. Asher Sund, author of The Terminal Situation and memoir Before Our Bodies, currently being shopped.

  • What shall I say about Kate? First that she is a fantastic human being. She’s kind, considerate of others’ feelings, and never ever uttered any harsh criticism about my work. She understood my journey and encouraged me all the way through.

    When an agent critiqued me as “telling more than showing”, Kate created a report on “show don't tell” that included the underlying theory and practical tips. When my first developmental editor sent me back to her for a second developmental edit, she not only did that but also provided line-editing, chapter summaries, some copy editing, and formatting.

    So my final words should not surprise you—she is a gem. Treasure her!

    —Vee Kumari, actor, scriptwriter for Yatra: Journey, and author of Dharma: A Rekha Rao Mystery

  • Thank you for the time and attention you lavished on Ice. Your educated feedback on various issues and points helped me decide how to better complete the work. I made careful notes of all your editorial suggestions and have implemented them, especially the improvements to chapter beginnings and endings. The manuscript is now much better shaped and organized, and its content clearer.

    You have helped me finally reach this turning point in my writing efforts, and I will always be grateful to you - and wish you the very best in your own promising career of editing and writing!

    —Rebecca Wright Stevens, author of ICE: A Double Homicide in Arctic Alaska, currently being shopped.

  • Kate Hirons is the best! My agent recommended her when she felt there were issues with one of my main characters, a famous British actor. Kate went over my manuscript with a fine-toothed comb. She pointed out that my character, although born in the late nineteenth century, spoke with too much of a Victorian tone for the 1940s when my novel took place. Although I had done my research and watched many movies featuring him, she explained that by then he would have spoken the BBC standard of English. What I used was too outdated.

    As a reader, she also felt my antagonist was too obvious and gave me some interesting suggestions for fixing it. Taking her ideas to heart, I came up with a much more suspenseful ending with a huge surprise which few would see coming.

    Thanks Kate! You were a lifesaver.

    —Elizabeth Crowens, author of Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles (released 2024 by Level Best Books), Silent Meridian, A Pocketful of Lodestones and A War in Too Many Worlds.

HERE FOR THE FREEBIES?

No problem. Sign up for a FREE CONSULTATION or a sample FIRST CHAPTER CRITIQUE with no obligation to take things further, or go to my Facebook page, Kate Hirons Editorial Services, for advice about editing your own work.