There are many types of editing, and each type requires different amounts of time and effort. On this page we attempt to describe the various types (or stages) of editing, from the simplest to the most complex. Moon & Star can provide any or all of these types of editing at reasonable rates.

Proofreading

Proofreading is a thorough check of your written material to ensure that words are spelled correctly and that punctuation and verb tense follow the rules of English grammar.

Proofreading is billed on a per manuscript page basis (250 words per page).

Style editing

Style editing includes proofreading and checks for the consistency of verb tenses throughout the document, and that paragraph breaks and sentence structure makes sense within the context of the document. Style editing also ensures that the document has a consistent voice from start to finish. The manuscript is marked up, either by hand or electronically, but the changes are not permanent.

Style editing is billed on a per manuscript page basis (250 words per page).

Copy Editing

Copy editing includes both proofreading and style editing, and includes fact checking, where applicable.

Copy editing is billed on a per-word basis.

Rewriting

Rewriting a document is not actually part of the editing process. It is part of the writing process. Sometimes during a rewrite, you might be able to use significant portions of the original document without too many changes. But it is a much more involved and time-consuming process, sometimes taking as long as if the document were being written from scratch. This is particularly true if the writer doing the rewrite has to also engage in extensive fact-checking and research.

Rewriting work is billed at the same rate as writing work.