LKJ BOOKS

Editing

I want you to know how I work before you hire me, so I will edit a sample of your work for free: up to 1500 words. The sample allows me to know how much work your story will take, so I can tell you when I return it how much it will cost and how long it will take. Please note that I don’t rush my edits and I have more going on than editing books, so this is not an instantaneous process. I will work with deadlines as best as I’m able, but don’t expect a 100K word story to be done in a weekend.

I cannot promise to catch 100% of every proper comma and minute error, no editor can. Even books coming out of large New York traditional publishers and even big digital publishers are missing more and more. Gone are the days of the big name house editor working a labor of love; working closely with an author to meticulously mold and craft the ideal story.

This is what I try to do for you, however. I can promise that I will work my hardest and give you 110% to make your story shine. While I work hard to make sure that all the details (spelling, grammar, punctuation) are as good as possible, I also focus on how the story reads and flows. I will streamline awkward phrases, trim excess words, and tighten passive passages. I want to make sure that your prose does not hinder the unique story you’re telling, while trying to preserve your special authorial Voice.

PRICING: The price for a book needing the “average” amount of work is %0.005/word. This means a story of 50,000 words will cost $250.

If your book requires more work than average, and thus will take longer for me to do, the price scales up depending the amount of work, though never more than $0.01/word. I will be able to tell you how much work the story takes when I see the sample.

If you want me to go over the book a second time, the rate for the second pass is $.001 to $.002 less than the cost of the first pass.

A REQUEST: As much as we may hate to admit it, editors are human! If your book continues sexual violence, extensive torture scenes, or harm against children, please let me know in advance! Stumbling over those in my work can be a little difficult for me. Thank you!

Formatting

Digital Formatting ($15): This will format your book to the standards accepted by most major digital publishing platforms such as Amazon’s KDP. It will be clean and uniform, and it will include a table of contents. It will be returned to you in Microsoft Word file type.

Basic Print/POD Format ($20): This will format your book to the very basic standards accepted for print-on-demand publishing. It will be clean and uniform, and it will be in a Word document or PDF file type.

Advanced Print Format ($50): This will format your book for both publishing needs and aesthetics that are closer to the books you would see on the shelves of your local bookstore. (These formats differ in details, so be aware that the exact formatting will not match all books from traditional publishers.) This will include details like page numbers being off front matter and chapter start pages, as well as decorative touches to the headers fonts, page numbers, and section breaks. This will be returned to you in a PDF that can be used with Amazon’s POD service or Lightning Source/Ingram Spark. Note: All children's/picture books are advanced formats.

Want to see the difference between basic and advanced print format?

Cover Art & Promotional Graphics

Books are made of words, but they can rely heavy on their visual impact as well. We are here to help you with that, from making a great cover to a bookmark to match, I offer a variety of products for anyone needing help with their visual impact.

Custom Digital Cover: $100
Print Cover Add-on or Conversion: $25
Audiobook Cover Add-on or Conversion: $15
Box Set Add-on or Conversion: $25

Notes: All cover art includes up to two figures, either stock image or rendered. Stock images used are included in price. Extra figure fees upon discussion.

If something is marked as having a 'conversion' option, then the conversion means it's an adjustment of cover art that you provide from somewhere else.

Bookmark: $20
Postcard: $20
Business Card: $25
Table Banner: $35
Poster: $35
3D Ebook Reader/Print Book Render: $15
Quote/Teaser Art: $15

Check out my portfolio for previous works.

F.A.Q.

Q: How long does it take for a custom cover or render?
A: That depends on how busy I am at the time, and then the level of complexity as well as your revision requests. I will discuss my calendar/timeframe with you when you contact me, and then as we go along.

Q: How many revisions can I request?
A: For a pre-made, I will change the text to suit what you need. You may ask for a couple simple revisions, but I may not agree to do them. For custom work, I don't have a hard limit set, but if the amount and type of requests begin pushing into roughly equaling the work of doing another cover, I'll let you know and we can discuss settling the project as-is or adding further fees.

Q: What if I decide to cancel?
A: If I haven't begun work or have only done the very rough draft, I will refund your first payment minus the PayPal fees. If I have already done a noted amount of work, then I will not issue a refund but no further payment will be required.

Q: What if I have a really specific idea of what I want, but you aren't sure it's the best approach?
A: We'll talk about it. If you're really set on something that I think won't come out to the standards I have and continue to develop, then I will let you know and you can find a cover artist more suited to your inspiration and mental picture with no hard feelings.

Q: What if I already have a cover image but need text added?
A: I can do that. We'll discuss the custom fee for the work, depending on what you want added and how you want it to look.

Q: What if I already have a digital cover but need a print cover made from it?
A: I can do that too.

Q: What if we finish the project, but I need changes made later on?
A: We can discuss this, but understand that further fees may apply.

Q: What if my print proof's cover doesn't look exactly like it does on my screen?
A: This is pretty much always the way, because what looks one way in physical form is always different than a digital one. If the fixes are minor, I will do them at no extra charge. If they would for some reason require major changes, we'll discuss the custom fee.

Q: Who "owns" the cover art once it's done?
A: You, as the author, will have exclusive rights to use the cover as it is. It's not full ownership because if any stock photos are used, those are on specific license terms. If you sell more than 500,000 copies of a book with a cover that has a stock image on it or you want to have them printed on things for sale, an extended license will need to be bought for each stock photo used.

Q: Is it possible to get the PSD (Photoshop) file?
A: It is possible but for an extra fee, depending on what you want to edit yourself. Remember that all covers out there and on books count toward my reputation as well as yours, so I reserve the right to maintain quality control as much as possible. The fee for an editable PSD ranges from $100 to $500 and is at my discretion.

Q: Do I need to credit you for the cover in my copyright?
A: Yes. Please include "Cover by LKJ Covers (lkjcovers.com)" on your copyright page.

Education

If you're interested in learning how to better self-edit, I have a course you can take! Email me at mia@lkjbooks.com for more information!