I will deliver the best possible version of your manuscript

I will edit your manuscript while retaining your unique tone of voice. The result will be the best possible version of your manuscript. Readability is an essential asset of a good book, and it's delivered through clarity, logic, pace, and cohesion. As an editor, I ensure these essentials are in place. I can play the role of project manager, quality control, or a mixture of the two, and I will treat your work with all the love and care I bring to my own publications. I will also run some fundamental questions past you, such as 'Why should people read your book?', 'What's the story's unique feature/selling point?', and 'How would you summarise your book in 100 words, and then in 10 words?' All these questions nudge at the underlying ones - why are you writing this book, and who will read it? Together, we'll give your work the best possible chance of notching up sales.
I have penned papers, books and blogs on health, nutrition and neurology since 2016 and have worked as a generalist academic editor (for Scribbr and AthenaCheck) for four years. I also edit books, including three travel books for musician Tom Kitching (2021-3) and Prof Michael Crawford's nutrition/brain evolution/mental health epic The Shrinking Brain (2023). In addition, I have edited for corporate blogs and websites since 2015, and before that, I worked as a copy editor and copywriter for clients across diverse sectors. Away from the sciences, I specialise in history, culture and folklore and have researched and written 11 books in those fields.
Away from the world of digital pen and ink, I am a (formerly semi-pro) singer-songwriter with a soft spot for folk-rock and 70s classic rock, and I still play regularly (strings and keys) and post collections to Bandcamp and SoundCloud. I have three grown-up sons, I'm married to the most intelligent and beautiful woman in the world, and I divide my time between urban England and rural Czechia. My worldview is liberal and inclusive, definitely more Guardian than Fox News. Populist fundamentalists should look elsewhere for their editor; everyone else - the world in all its diverse glory - is welcome to share words with me.

Work Terms

I work to Central European time. I will calculate the length of the job based on my editing speed of 2,250 words per hour, which equals 18,000 words over an eight-hour day. I charge standard rates of €0.020 per word for a full structural/clarity and/or development edit, and €0.015 for a standard copy edit and proofread. For a faster turnaround (involving more than eight hours a day), those rates to €0.20 and €0.025, respectively. In all cases, I will offer a second edit of the manuscript for 50% of the standard rates. Further edits will require bespoke arrangements. If the manuscript is very poorly written, I will postpone the edit and discuss options with the author. Payments can be made via BACS or PayPal and should be made within three weeks of my submission of the final manuscript.