General Information

I applaud all your hard work spent writing a book. I know it can be nerve-wracking to have someone else critique your work, so while I will be honest, I strive to encourage you along the way, acting as a beacon guiding your editing journey.

And since words have the ability to transform lives, you too are a beacon, sharing your message with the world. I want to help ensure that nothing stands in the way of that message by reducing errors and strengthening your content.

Let’s build a partnership to make your book the best it can be in the time allotted.

Genres I edit

I offer both copyediting and substantive (developmental) editing.

Self-Help/How-To Books**

General Informational Books (excluding highly scientific texts)

Religious Guide Books

Memoirs and Biographies

**I specialize in self-help and how-to books. Having studied best practices for that genre, I know the common pitfalls and how to avoid them, and I can offer specific feedback on how to best appeal to your audience.

Resources for you

Visit my writer's resources center for articles and ebooklets focused on helping you.

My resource center offers resources in a variety of categories:

Working with an editor
Self-editing
Style sheets
Self-publishing tips
Fiction writing tips
Nonfiction writing tips
Grammar and punctuation help

Visit Writer's Resources»

Testimonials

5 Stars

I enjoyed my experience working with Katie. As a first time author, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the editing process. I heard horror stories about editors completely changing your words, and writers losing confidence and giving up. I never experienced any of these working with Katie. In reality, she motivated me to think deeper and create a product that my readers will find valuable. I’m passionate about helping social service professionals and the notes Katie provided pushed me to create a product that will make a difference. If you’re looking for an editor that will challenge you to become a better writer while giving your manuscript the transformation it needs, I HIGHLY recommend you work with Katie.

Sabrina Self-help book

5 Stars

Katie easily absorbed My book’s main ides and then added ideas that I didn’t think about. That says a lot about how she works.

She didn’t just give me grammar and spelling advice. She did much more by suggesting paragraph movements and sentence structure as well as suggesting erudite ideas to enhance and add clarity to the book.

This was more of a consulting relationship than pure editing.

I will use her again!

Kevin Smith Self-help book

5 Stars

Katie was so easy to work with! She completed the work exactly as she described and made some excellent suggestions and observations. I would highly recommend her.

Janice Lamy Self-help book

5 stars

If one could give higher than a 5-star rating, then I would for Katie Chambers. Katie was excellent to work with throughout the entire editing process. All of her edits, revisions, and suggestions made so much sense, especially with me being a first-time writer. She was always timely and delivered well ahead of the deadlines. I would highly recommend her for any editing and writing project.

Zach Ribble Religious Book

4 Stars

Katie was great to work with. I learned a lot thought this process and she was very helpful as I was unfamiliar with this industry. Edits were extremely helpful in getting my thoughts out on the page in a concise manner.

Stephen Self-help book

5 Stars

Katie did a brilliant job of taking a rookie writer through the editing process. I’ll be collaborating with her on any books, etc that I write. She is a valuable partner in the process.

Bill Gilliland Self-help book

5 Stars

Katie greatly exceeded my expectations as an editor. Her sharp eye for small errors and her ability to give the book a 10,000-foot view with regard to the general organization of the material were critical for me in putting out the best book possible on my topic. I always felt like she was in my corner and was invested in our ability together to produce a quality book. I’ll certainly be reaching out to her again.

Cindy Telisak Religious book

5 Stars

Launching my first book was so nerve racking! Katie had helpful advice and was very encouraging; this made me feel I was on the right path. She was very patient and helpful with me, even through the multiple edits, which is part of her process anyways. She was a pleasure to work with!

Cathy Nonfiction Book

5 Stars

Katie was easy to work with. She honored our agreed upon deadlines and made adjustments as needed. Her comments and edits helped me clarify the content of the manuscript and ultimately made it a better book. Katie revised my biographical information and provided three different versions of various lengths. She wrote the book description which went through several review cycles before providing three different version of various lengths. l’ll gladly work with her again and am happy to recommend her services to others.

Pam Northrup Religious Book

5 Stars

Katie helped me in a very crucial moment of my book production. I was in the middle of editing with another editor when they stated book was ready. I felt it needed more. When I first communicated how I felt with Katie she was very understanding. She patiently explained her process and asked questions that I was not asked before. Being a first time author there are lots of things one can miss. I felt that she picked up the pieces of where I was at and she patiently helped in molding my manuscript. Also I was at times stuck in knowing what I wanted to say but having a hard time using the right words. She also patiently helped me overcome these obstacles without taking away my voice but rather helping me clarify. I am so happy with her service on so many levels! Highly, highly recommend her.

Neal Linares Memoir

5 Stars

Katie was a thorough and EASY editor to work with! Her edits made a huge difference for my book (which is now ranking #1 in Modern Philosophy and College Student Life!) and she was able to work under my tight deadline. I especially love her method of editing where she sends the book in chunks. It’s EXTREMELY effective and really speeds up the process and makes it feel more collaborative. Thanks, Katie!

Danielle Diamond Self-help book

4.85 (Skills, Quality, Cooperation, Communication, Deadline=5; availability=4)

Katie is top-notch! She has an eye for detail, but also has the ability to zoom out and see edits on a big picture / content level. Efficient, professional, and full of insight! I’ll definitely be collaborating with Katie in the future.

Omer Redden Self-help book

5 Stars

Katie was a professional. It was an honor to work with Katie. We work hand in hand and she offer great advice and suggestions without taking away from my style and or vision. She was on point and true to her delivery time. I definitely recommend Katie’s services.

Eileen Silverberg Self-help book

4.3 (Skills, Quality, Communication, Cooperation= 5, Deadlines=2, Availability=4)

I was very nervous about handing over my personal story to an editor, but very soon in the editing process, Katie surprised me with her first message to me. It was respectful, kind, generous, and I felt confident my book was in the right hands. I have nothing to compare her skillset to as I’m a first-time author. Expectations weren’t really clear and the timeline was not as expected, but I learned to let the process happen the way it needed to and forego expectations/irritations. I could have become angry with the delays, but what good would that do? In the end, I love my book and am honored to have worked with Katie to produce it.

Kellee Pope Memoir

5 Stars

Katie was great to work with for this project. She is knowledgeable and gave great feedback. We communicated clearly and easily with one another. I would definitely work with Katie again.

Jaime Grodberg Self-help book

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Rates and Services

My rates include three passes.

Rates depend on the depth of editing needed. After I complete a free sample (1,300 words or less), I will determine your rate.

COPYEDITING ONLY

Rate: $0.015–$0.025 per word

Deals with word- and sentence-level issues. My copyediting service includes stylistic editing, what some call line editing.

Correct mechanical issues: spelling, capitalization, and punctuation
Correct all errors and infelicities in grammar, syntax, and usage
Rewrite any wordy or awkward sentences according to best writing practices
Check that endnotes and footnotes are correct and consistent
Conduct light fact-checking, names, places, dates (Complete fact-checking is the responsibility of the author.)
Create style sheet to ensure consistency

SUBSTANTIVE EDITING ONLY

Rate: $0.02–$0.04 per word
Deals with big-picture issues. Some refer to this as developmental editing.

I offer three approaches to substantive editing: hands-on, coaching, and blended. With hands-on, I make suggested changes directly to the text whereas with coaching, I mostly leave comments. Blended mixes the two.

Suggesting organizational changes: rearranging sentences, paragraphs and/or chapter order; adding additional headings and subheads to aid the reader; and adding in transitions
Suggesting content changes: deleting repetitive material, adding or querying content to fully explain ideas, and ensuring content meets your readers' needs

COPYEDITING & SUBSTANTIVE EDITING PACKAGE

Rate: $0.025–$0.05 per word

This combines copyediting and substantive editing at a discounted rate. I offer this to help meet authors' budget and deadline needs.

Note 1: while I strive for high quality, combining them is a lot to focus on at once. I do multiple passes and have learned how to appropriately prioritize to ensure a good quality. But you will get an even better quality if you pay for each service separately.