subvertebral edits
Thank you for your interest in working with me!For information on my work and whether we might be a good fit, choose About Me. (I suggest starting here.)
For service rates, condensed terms of service, and contact information, choose Rates & Contact.
For an explanation of what each of those services entails, choose Editing Types.I recommend viewing this site on a computer or a tablet.
about
Hello! Call me Subvertebra, Vert, or the thing crawling under your spine. I’m a disabled queer Native creative, former veterinary professional, [folk]lore enthusiast, and certified weirdo. I would love to help polish your story.I love working with authors who have distinct voices and perspectives to share. I am committed to understanding each author’s vision and goals so we can bring them to fruition and successfully maintain them throughout a project. If you’ve ever hesitated because you feel your ideas are too unconventional, easily misconstrued, or altogether just hard to execute, we might be a good fit for each other.None of the below information is meant as a wish list; it’s designed to give you an overview of my experience. If you’re interested in working together on something outside my usual scope, I would love to hear from you. I am more invested in whether we mesh as people and how our creative processes suit each other than strictly committing to a genre.About me & my usual work:
I’ve worked as a fiction editor intermittently since 2018, and consistently since 2020. I work with adult fiction, and particularly love speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, horror; anything outside the realm of strict realism).
I love moral ambiguity, unusual science and magic, and straight-up bad people. Anything playing with grey areas and blurring the lines of black-and-white thinking is my jam. Is it difficult to gauge whether your antagonist deserves more sympathy than scorn? What about your protagonist? Come closer.
NSFW / R18 work is great and encouraged, including violence, gore, sexual content, and kink.
I am open to working on novels, novellas, short stories, anthologies, comic and graphic novel scripts, and game writing (such as text-heavy visual novels or narrative games). If you have a project type not listed here you’d like to inquire about, please feel free!
I am happy to edit partial manuscripts. If you are interested in this, I ask that you also provide me an outline for the remainder of the story, so I don’t make a suggestion contradicting something important later, or which goes against your overall intent.
Currently, I am most equipped to work on projects around or over 10,000 words, though I am happy to be flexible with shorter works—please don't let this stop you from reaching out! Length “caps” vary based on your deadline, if applicable.
My one “wish list” item is getting to work with other BIPOC creators, but all my white folks out there should still hit me up.
What you can expect from me:
For line and copy edits, I will provide a 1000 word sample edit free of charge to see if we’ll work well together. If you feel a longer edit is needed, either in addition to or in place of the initial 1000 words, I’m happy to discuss specifics with you.
As execution goes, I am super flexible. If you like passing documents back and forth via email, that’s great. If you prefer a real-time collaborative workspace (like Dropbox or Google docs), we can do that, too.
Things I've worked on:
Portfolio (overall site is a WIP)
editing rates
| Type | Cost / 250 words |
|---|---|
| Developmental edit | $7.50 (3¢ / word) |
| Line edit | $7.50 (3¢ / word) |
| Copy edit | $6.25 (2.5¢ / word) |
| Format + proofread | $4.00 (1.16¢ / word)* |
*Most accurately based on overall project length, format(s) needed, whether images are included, etc., which is poorly represented by a per-word price. Please reach out for details!
“terms of service”
Original work only. No fandom work.
I will not edit AI- or machine-generated text. My work will not be used for or in any AI- or machine-generated content of any kind.
If, after a sample edit, we move forward together, I will issue you a contract based on details we will have discussed by that point (such as scope, deadlines, and payment). You may decline at that time with no penalty.
All contracts will include cancellation details for both parties. I reserve the right to partial payment if an author must cancel a project.
bundles
10% discount on 2 services
20% discount on 3+ services
e.g. line edit + copy edit = $12.38 / 250 words
line + copy + formatting = $14.20 / 250 words
If developmental editing is included, discount will be calculated separately to account for manuscript length differences.
Click here for a basic pricing table by project length!
Click here for an interactive rate calculator!May open in the same window, right-click to open in a new tab.
contact
If you are interested in working with me, please email [email protected] with the following information:
Project length
Project genre (and/or a plot summary)
Deadline (if applicable)
Service(s) wanted (tentative is OK!)
If you’d like to work together but the listed prices are beyond your means, I would still love to hear from you. Please email me with the above information and let me know your budget.After I receive your email, I will follow up within 2–3 business days with any further questions, and provide a quote tailored to your project, with no obligation and at no cost to you.
editing types
Many wonderful editors have different definitions, in part or in whole, for their work. These are mine!The services are listed in the order they should occur, with developmental edits coming first, and formatting + proofreading being the final steps.Developmental editing: In a developmental edit, we focus on the manuscript as a whole: your plot, your characters, your world building, and your overarching themes and tone. You provide me your current work, along with any specific questions or concerns you'd like a special eye on. I read everything through, present you with notes on your manuscript's strengths and weaknesses, and provide suggestions for next steps to assemble your bones into a body.Line editing: Line edits come in to spruce up your text once you have a proper skeleton to build off of; how your prose flows is the meat of your project. Here, we'll focus on readability and style. This step is tailored to context, so your sexy fight scenes don't have the exact same cadence as your pensive, broody moments, while still preserving your unique voice as a creator. We'll also ensure you don't have five sentences or paragraphs in a row all starting the same way.Copyediting: Copy editing works on the connective tissue, if you will: spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, and word usage; fact-checking and/or cross-referencing to keep things both accurate and consistent; and preparing or adjusting style sheets. Do you like style sheets? I like style sheets. If you have strong thoughts on what gets to be a proper noun and when, or if you’re intentionally playing fast and loose with grammar, this is where we note it so your personal touches look as intentional to your audience as you intend.Proofreading: Let's call proofreading the skin. This is where we smooth out the final casing and eliminate any remaining typographical errors, inconsistencies, text formatting issues (like stray or missing paragraph indents), or incorrect changes from earlier versions (when available).Formatting: Formatting is cosmetics! The gist is: you tell me if this is digital, physical, or both. If it's physical, we check the requirements for your printer of choice. Then, in both cases, we select a size, pick typefaces, and choose or create any decorations, illustrations, or other visual elements you'd like to include. I take that, make it all pretty, and we're done!
prices by project length
Does not include discounts; please see the interactive rate calculator for more tailored estimates.
| Type | 10k (short story) | 30k (novella) | 80k (novel) | 120k (novel) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developmental edit (3¢ / word) | $300 | $900 | $2,400 | $3,600 |
| Line edit (3¢ / word) | $300 | $900 | $2,400 | $3,600 |
| Copy edit (2.5¢ / word) | $250 | $750 | $2,000 | $3,000 |
Okay, back to the previous page, please!