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Precision in Every Detail with Professional Proofreading

We meticulously refine every word, ensuring clarity, consistency, and precision throughout your manuscript.

Our proofreading service focuses on eliminating errors, from grammar and punctuation to spelling and formatting, ensuring your writing is flawless and professional.

The Wicked Ink Editing Approach:

Polished Perfection, Flawlessly Refined

At Wicked Ink, our proofreading service is dedicated to perfecting every detail of your manuscript. We focus on identifying and correcting errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting to ensure your work is error-free and ready for publication. We meticulously review your manuscript to eliminate distractions and preserve the clarity and professionalism of your writing. Whether it's fixing typos, correcting punctuation, or ensuring consistency, we refine your work for a seamless and polished reading experience.

Tailored Proofreading

Every manuscript is unique, and we tailor our proofreading process to suit your specific needs. Our goal is to ensure that your manuscript reads smoothly and is free from mistakes, while keeping your distinct voice intact. From fixing grammatical errors to ensuring consistency in spelling and formatting, we make sure your writing is polished and ready to captivate.

Collaborative Follow-up

Our proofreading process is not just about making corrections; it’s about ensuring you’re fully satisfied with the final product. Once proofreading is complete, we offer a 30-minute virtual call to walk you through our feedback. This allows us to discuss our edits, address any questions, and make sure your manuscript aligns with your vision while benefiting from our professional polish.

Transparent Pricing

At Wicked Ink, we believe in full transparency when it comes to pricing. We offer clear, upfront rates with no hidden fees. Our commitment is to provide you with peace of mind throughout the editing process, so you can focus on your writing while we focus on fine-tuning your work. With our straightforward pricing, you’ll know exactly what to expect as we work together to perfect your manuscript. (Priced at $0.012 / per word)

How We Perfect Your Manuscript:

Error-Free Proofreading

Our proofreading service is dedicated to catching the mistakes that may have been overlooked in earlier stages. We focus solely on correcting errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting to ensure your manuscript is flawless. We do not alter your narrative or style; instead, we carefully review your work for any missed mistakes, providing a final polish to make sure your manuscript is error-free and ready for publication. With our meticulous attention to detail, we ensure every aspect of your manuscript is refined to perfection.

Thorough Consistency Checks

Even after edits, inconsistencies can slip through. Our proofreading service meticulously checks for uniformity in spelling, terminology, and formatting across your manuscript. We ensure everything is consistent—whether it’s character names, hyphenation, or document formatting—so your work is cohesive and professional from start to finish.

Preserving Your Tone and Voice

Proofreading doesn’t change your voice or tone; it simply ensures there are no errors that disrupt your story. We preserve the authenticity of your narrative while correcting minor mistakes like awkward phrasing or inconsistent word usage, ensuring a smooth and professional reading experience. Our goal is to keep your unique style intact while eliminating any distractions.

Flawless Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling

The primary focus of proofreading is perfecting grammar, punctuation, and spelling. We catch the small errors that might have been missed during earlier edits, from misplaced commas to spelling mistakes, ensuring your manuscript meets the highest standards and is completely free of distractions. Our meticulous attention to detail guarantees that every aspect of your manuscript is polished and professional.

Key Areas of Focus in Proofreading

We correct grammar, punctuation, and other missed errors to ensure clarity and maintain the coherence of your narrative.

Grammar and Punctuation:

We ensure your sentences are structurally sound and free of errors, perfecting punctuation to guide your reader through the text with ease. Proper grammar and punctuation ensure clarity, readability, and a smooth flow throughout your manuscript.

Visual Elements:

We ensure that captions, columns, and images are properly aligned and formatted. Proper attention to these elements enhances the overall visual appeal and clarity of your document, making sure that text and visuals complement one another seamlessly.

Consistency and Alignment:

We check for consistency in formatting, date usage, spelling of names, font styles, and capitalization, ensuring everything is in harmony. Consistent elements across your manuscript enhance its professional appearance and make the content easier to follow.

Spelling and Accuracy:

We correct any spelling errors, including typos, and ensure all proper names are spelled consistently. Accuracy in numbers, quotations, and other textual details is essential for a polished, professional manuscript.

Clarity and Organization:

We fine-tune your writing by ensuring that sections, headlines, and numbered lists are clear, correctly ordered, and easy to navigate. This also includes correcting any errors in the table of contents and ensuring a logical flow of information.

Final Formatting and Structure:

From kerning (spacing between letters) to page numbers, we ensure all formatting is flawless. This includes aligning text and visuals properly and ensuring your manuscript’s final structure is visually pleasing and easy to read.

When Should You Consider Proofreading?

After Revisions and Editing:

Following all previous editing stages (developmental, line, and copy), proofreading ensures that no new mistakes have crept in and that your final draft is polished and seamless. This final step guarantees the integrity of your story.

Before Sharing with a Wider Audience:

Whether you're sharing your work with critique partners, submitting to writing contests, or preparing for publication, proofreading ensures your manuscript is error-free and ready for others to read.

Before Submitting to Literary Agents or Publishers:

Ensure your manuscript is free of errors before submitting it for representation or publication. Proofreading guarantees your work meets professional standards and leaves a strong impression.

When Preparing for a Major Submission Opportunity:

If you're submitting your fiction manuscript for a competition, residency, or agent query, proofreading is crucial to ensure your work is as polished and professional as possible, increasing your chances of success.

Before Self-Publishing or Going to Print:

If you're preparing to self-publish or print your book, proofreading ensures that your manuscript is flawless before it’s turned into a final product. Catching any lingering errors at this stage will prevent costly mistakes in your finished book.

Our Proofreading Service: What You’ll Receive

Elevate your manuscript with our expert proofreading, ensuring flawless grammar, punctuation, and consistency for a polished, error-free final product.

🔍 Meticulous Proofreading

Your manuscript will undergo a thorough review by experienced editors who meticulously identify and correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and typographical errors. We go beyond simple corrections, ensuring consistency in language, eliminating awkward phrasing, and refining sentence structure for a smooth, professional finish. Every detail is examined with precision, so your writing remains clear, polished, and publication-ready.

🖋️ Proofreading Markup

Our proofreading process is meticulous and designed to perfect every detail of your manuscript. We provide a fully annotated PDF file with proofreading marks to highlight each correction, ensuring you can easily review and make the changes.

Our proofreaders focus on:

  • Grammar and Punctuation: Correcting any grammatical errors and ensuring punctuation is used correctly to improve clarity.

  • Spelling and Typos: Identifying and correcting any spelling mistakes or typographical errors throughout the manuscript.

  • Consistency: Ensuring uniformity in spelling, capitalization, and formatting for a cohesive and professional final product.

  • Punctuation Clarity: Using proofreading marks to adjust punctuation such as commas, periods, quotation marks, and apostrophes to enhance readability and meaning.

  • Dialogue Mechanics: Ensuring dialogue punctuation and formatting are accurate and follow standard conventions.

  • Continuity of Details: Checking for consistency in character names, locations, timelines, and other key elements to avoid discrepancies or confusion.

📝 Editorial Letter & Style Sheet

Alongside your edited manuscript, you'll receive a comprehensive editorial letter (typically 7–10 pages, depending on your manuscript’s length) & a custom style sheet (typically 3-5 pages).

The editorial letter includes:

  • Gaining valuable insights with a personalized summary that provides a clear roadmap for refining your manuscript.

    • Key improvements made during the proofreading process to enhance clarity, readability, and professionalism.

    • Recurring issues such as grammar mistakes, punctuation inconsistencies, and stylistic errors, helping you recognize patterns in your writing.

    • Actionable suggestions to strengthen sentence structure, word choice, and overall flow while maintaining your unique voice.

    • Notable inconsistencies in formatting, or terminology to ensure cohesion throughout your manuscript.

The style sheet includes:

  • We create a tailored reference guide that ensures consistency in every aspect of your manuscript’s style.

    • Capitalization, punctuation, and grammar rules specific to your manuscript’s needs.

    • Preferred spelling choices (e.g., American vs. British English) to maintain uniformity.

    • Formatting guidelines for headings, subheadings, dialogue, and special text elements.

    • Character names, locations, and terminology tracking to prevent inconsistencies.

📞 Collaborative Follow-Up

We include a 30-minute virtual call to discuss your Editorial Letter and overall feedback. This one-on-one session is your opportunity to:

  • Ask questions about the feedback.

  • Clarify specific points or suggestions.

  • Develop a clear action plan for the next stage of your manuscript.

💰 Cost: $0.012 / per word

📆 Delivery Time: 20 business days

Ensure your manuscript is flawless with our proofreading package, where every sentence is fine-tuned to perfection.

From grammar to consistency, we provide a polished, professional final product ready to captivate your audience.

How to Book Our Proofreading Service

From inquiry to delivery: With our simple 6-step booking process.

  • Submit your Proofreading Quote to get started. An editor will contact you within one business day with a personalized quote. This form allows us to gather key information about your manuscript, including:

    • Genre

    • Word count

    • Your preferred completion date

  • Once you accept the quote, we’ll send you a detailed service agreement outlining:

    • Terms and conditions

    • Agreed-upon timeline

    • Deliverables & scope of work

    • Payment schedule

    Once the service agreement is accepted, we’ll send you a deposit invoice to confirm your booking. A $150 deposit is required, this deposit secures your spot on our editorial calendar and ensures we can begin work on your manuscript as planned.

  • To officially start the editing process, 50% of the total project cost must be paid by the agreed-upon start date.

    Once the payment is processed:

    Submit your manuscript to us the day prior to when your service is to officially begin. The required manuscript file can be submitted via email and is due by 11:59pm MST, prior to the project start date.

    Follow the submission guidelines below:

    • Full Manuscript

    • 1.5 or 2.0 Line Spacing

    • 12 point font - Times New Roman

    • File Type: .docx

    • File Name: “yourname_title”

  • With your manuscript in hand, our experienced editors will:

    • Thoroughly review your work.

    • Provide suggestions, revisions, and detailed feedback on grammar, punctuation, mechanics, overused words, etc.

    • Deliver a tracked document with clear edits, comments, and actionable suggestions.

  • As the editing process nears completion, we will send the final invoice balance. The remaining balance must be paid in full before the project’s delivery date to ensure we can provide all agreed-upon deliverables.

  • After receiving your final payment, we will:

    • Deliver the fully edited manuscript.

    • Provide all additional project deliverables, ready for the next phase of your writing journey.

    • Booking link for your follow-up call.

    • Also a link to fill out a feedback (testimonial) form if you wish.

Still Unsure? Let's Talk Editing!

Book a Discovery Call now to make sure a Proofreading is the "write" choice for you.

Not ready to commit? Submit a Sample Edit and experience our editing expertise firsthand before making your decision!

Learn More About Proofreading

We specialize in the following genres for Proofreading

Action & Adventure | Contemporary | Contemporary Romance | Cozy Mystery | Cozy Romance | Crime | Dark Fantasy | Dark Romance

Dystopian | Fantasy | Historical Fiction | Horror | Literary Fiction | Mystery | New Adult | Paranormal | Psychological | Romance

Science Fiction | Serial Killer | Slasher | Supernatural | Suspense | Thriller | Women’s Fiction | Young Adult

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Our Proofreading service is priced at $0.012 per word, with delivery within 20 business days.

  • Below is an example of a Proofreading Quote price breakdown:

    Booking Date: March 1

    Word Count: 75,000

    Project Start: April 1

    Project Due: May 15

    For a 75,000-word manuscript at $0.012 per word, the total cost is $900. Here’s an example breakdown:

    • Deposit: A $150 deposit is due upon booking, on March 1 to secure your spot.

    • 50% of the remaining balance ($375): Due at the project start, on April 1.

    • Final balance ($375): Due before receiving the completed deliverables, on May 15.

  • Our proofreading service ensures your manuscript is polished to perfection with a comprehensive approach:

    • Meticulous Proofreading: Experienced editors carefully review your manuscript, correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation, and typographical errors. We focus on consistency, clarity, and a smooth, professional finish.

    • Proofreading Markup: We provide a fully annotated PDF with proofreading marks, highlighting all corrections, from punctuation clarity to consistency in spelling, capitalization, and dialogue mechanics.

    • Editorial Letter & Style Sheet: Along with your edited manuscript, you’ll receive a detailed editorial letter offering insights, key improvements, recurring issues, and actionable suggestions. A custom style sheet ensures consistency in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, formatting, and terminology.

    • Collaborative Follow-Up: Enjoy a 30-minute virtual call to review the editorial letter, clarify feedback, and create an action plan for the next stage of your manuscript.

  • Proofreading is the final step in the editing process and should be done once all other stages of editing (developmental, line, and copy) are complete. It’s the perfect time to proofread when:

    • Your manuscript is finalized and no further substantial changes to the content are planned.

    • You’re preparing your work for publication, submission to agents or publishers, or distribution to readers.

    • You want to ensure your manuscript is free from surface-level errors like typos, grammar mistakes, punctuation issues, and formatting inconsistencies.

  • To ensure availability, it’s recommended to book your Proofreading service on average 1–3 months in advance. However, timelines may vary based on our editorial schedule. If you have a specific deadline, contact us early and we can help secure a spot and plan for any additional editing services.

  • Yes! We love working on all fiction genres. If you’re unsure on what we might bring to your work (genre), feel free to contact us to discuss your project or submit for a Sample Edit.

  • After you receive your edited manuscript and deliverables, we suggest reviewing the feedback and then scheduling your included 30-minute virtual call where you can:

    • Ask questions about the feedback.

    • Clarify specific points or suggestions.

  • Yes, of course! We encourage open communication and are happy to answer any questions. This is why we include the 30-minute virtual call. This is your opportunity with us to answer any questions you may have and go over the feedback!

  • Yes, confidentiality is a top priority. Your manuscript will remain secure and private throughout the editing process. If you decide to move forward with us and book a full editing service, part of our service agreement includes a non-disclosure clause. So your work is fully protected.

  • Yes! We offer a Sample Edit, so you can experience how our feedback works and decide if it aligns with your vision before committing to the full editing service.

    You can also download our Proofreading Booklet (Link download) which has more information and a sample of a Proofreading Edit.

  • Yes! Absolutely! We provide a free, no-obligation discovery call where we can answer any questions you may have regarding our services. We’ll go over your goals, answer your questions, provide clarity, and recommend the best editing service for your story.

    You can Book your Discovery Call now.

  • Absolutely! After we send you the deliverables and complete the follow-up call, we'll provide you with a link to a feedback form. We truly value your feedback, as it helps future writers who may want to work with us. As a token of our thanks, we offer a discount code for your next editing service after completing the feedback form. While it's entirely up to you, we encourage you to share your thoughts to help us improve and continue offering the best service possible.

  • You can always reach out to us through our Contact Form and we would be happy to answer your questions.