These services are intended for prose manuscripts including articles for publication and e-books which do not have references within the text or require thesis and dissertation guidelines. WriterAid services also include adaptation of novel to screenplay; ghostwriting; and screenplay or treatment development as well as Synopsis and Query Letter consultation. Contact Edit1@WriterAid.com for a referral if your project includes academic research or references.

     WriterAid's editor is Lawrence Geddie, writer and former professor of Composition, English Literature and Drama. He welcomes manuscripts and screenplays in every genre which will benefit by polishing, tightening and a "third eye."  All grammar and wording errors can either be fixed in "Clean Copy" or corrections and improved wording suggestions made in WORD "Comments" depending on both the editing style you prefer and your word usage in the material you submit for a pricing quotation.

◊ Overview of WriterAid Editing ◊  □  To receive quote, SEND your entire manuscript  (or first five pages with Total ms Word Count). □ Next, PAY in full --- or 50% agreed billing --- using PayPal or by Check, M.O., or Wire Transfer.  □ Your project will be PROOFREAD and EDITED, then returned in both Clean Copy and Compare.

◊ FEE STRUCTURE:

     Experienced native English writers are normally charged $4 per "average MS Word page" (i.e. 250 words per page) for the first 100 pages, with the rate decreasing by one dollar per page after page 100 and by two dollars per page after page 200.

     Less experienced and ESL writers are normally charged $5 or possibly a bit more per 250 word page (only if the wording must be reconstructed in almost all sentences) and manuscripts may be in Word .doc or .docx, Final Draft .fd or Rich Text .rtf format. Here there are also decreasing rates after the first 100 pages. The fee determination is made at the time your ms pages are sent for a fee quote; at that point the average error rate in your pages will be evaluated. Again, In the case of projects averaging more than 12 English errors per page, the $5 rate may go a bit higher per page due to the time required to correct or add Comments for each non-grammatical usage.

◊ EDITING OPTIONS:

     Your pages may optionally be edited using either (a) "Clean Copy" editing, in which Lawrence goes through and makes needed changes and polishes directly into your manuscript with an eye on consistency in your style and themes. The editing changes in this case may be quickly viewed in MS WORD's "Compare and Merge" tool or by a tiled side-by-side comparison to your original. Clean Copy is recommended for most manuscripts, but especially for highly erroneous documents or if you are under time pressure (See SAMPLE EDIT here); or (b) the MS WORD "Comments" method in which you may either agree with or disregard suggested changes and make all actual changes to your project yourself. It should be understood that the Word Comments method is a good deal more time-consuming to finalize once your work is returned, particularly for less experienced or ESL authors.

     For both novelists and screenwriters, a 1 or 2 page Synopsis is helpful if sent along with your manuscripts. This chapter or sequence plot-character narrative gives WriterAid a clear view of the overall project and will ensure that the editing process will be focused on your specific highlights and themes.

◊ SECURITY:

     Your intellectual property is automatically considered as copyrighted material, even should this be only unstated Common Law copyright. Your writing is treated as confidential and never divulged or seen by any party other than your WriterAid editor.

◊ STARTING YOUR WriterAid PROJECT:

     WriterAid pricing, other than custom adaptation or ghostwritten projects, is based on the number of words to be proofread and polished rather than the number of pages, as your original pages may include a good deal of blank space. To begin, please send your manuscript for pricing and/or perform a total word count and divide by 250 (average words per "MS WORD" page) to determine how many editable "Word" pages your project has. At that point the Fee Structure above will help in determining approximate total cost unless submitting a highly erroneous ESL or other manuscript which must be viewed to determine the rate and approximate completion time. Go to Discounts below to see incentives for continued projects with WriterAid. All overnight or "rush" edits will incur an agreed increase in the fee. Projects may be emailed as attachments or mailed on CD/Floppy Disk. Those with projects over 50 pages may make two 50% payments at the beginning and end of the editing process. Please email WriterAid to schedule your project for editing or with any question you may have about the service. Payments may be made by PayPal.com for credit/debit card or Wire Transfer unless you prefer to mail Money Order or Personal Check (U.S. clients only).

◊ DISCOUNTS:

     Every other editing project with WriterAid will receive a 10% discount commencing with your second project. To reiterate pricing, the cost of multiple page projects decreases by a dollar per page for editable pages #101-200 and then another dollar per page for page #201 to end. (The total cost, for example, of editing a 400 page novel by an experienced English writer - averaging less than a dozen grammar errors per page - would come to $400 for the first 100 pages; $300 for the second hundred pages; and $400 for the final 200 pages, totaling $1,100 which may be paid in full at commencement of project or in 2 payments of $550 at beginning and completion of the editing process.)