Why choose me?

I’ve been a professional genre fiction writer, with six books published by the ‘Big Five’ in the US and UK, along with a number of short stories and a variety of self-published releases, and I’ve also been a trade journalist, both full-time and freelance, since 1999. I began offering editing services in 2012 and I’ve since worked on hundreds of short stories, novels, articles, non-fiction books and academic texts for writers in all genres and of all levels of ability, in US, UK, Canadian and Australian English.

I’ve been both editor and edited, so I fully understand what’s useful and what’s not, and how to frame advice and criticism in a way that’s constructive, helpful, and thorough, yet respects your own voice and individual approach to your work - something no writing aid or AI-driven service, with all its limitations, can do.

“I never thought I’d hear anyone go into such great detail about my writing.” - SA, short story, crime/romance; developmental edit.

“An amazing job (far exceeding my expectations)!” - DQ, novel, SF; developmental edit.

My fees are very reasonable and I always provide an accurate estimate of turnaround time for editorial work because I know that as a writer you don’t want to be left in the dark. I’ve never yet seen a client fail to hit a deadline they were targeting. I’m also happy to perform a free trial edit on a sample of your work in order for you to determine whether I can meet your needs before we begin.

Some of my clients have been published after working with me, some have won awards for their writing, and others have found success self-publishing. I've had traditionally-published clients turn to me because they were unhappy with their publishers’ own editing, and come away delighted with the results, and I've also worked directly with publishers myself on a freelance basis.

“You’ve taken a rough jumble and ironed out the kinks, making it far more professional than it would have ever been on its own.” - SR, novel, fantasy; developmental edit.

“Thanks a ton for giving so much to my story - of your time and talent. The thoroughness of your feedback is impressive and very appreciated!” - UA, short story, family drama; critique.

What work have I done?

Since 2012, I’ve worked on an average of 70-80 pieces per year, ranging from 150,000-word novels through short stories of all lengths all the way down to 150-word flash pieces, in just about every genre going, from romance, mystery and SF/fantasy through to family drama, literary and historical fiction, as well as a range of non-fiction and academic papers and writing. I’ve worked with clients across the full range of experience and ability, from first-timers, to writers for whom English isn’t their first language, to authors with years of experience in the field. I’ve had clients from every continent on Earth (aside from Antarctica; if any polar scientists want to get in touch I’d love to complete the set), although the bulk come from the US, UK or Australia. Some clients write for submission, some to self-publish, some just to hone their craft. To my knowledge, all of the authors I’ve worked with have been very happy with the care and attention I’ve given to their writing, and I’m pleased to say that many have become and continue to become repeat clients. Below are just a handful of examples of my past work, representing a wide range of editorial service types, genres and story lengths.

“I can honestly say it was the best copyedit I've ever had.” - CT, novel, crime; copyedit.

“Fantastic! Thanks so much. I feel my story has become much stronger with your help.” - SC, novel, fantasy; developmental edit.

What can I do and what does it cost?

I offer a variety of editing services from a story critique to a full heavy edit, all priced per-word in US dollars (though I'm happy to convert into most local currencies such as GBP or EUR - just ask), giving you a cost and an expected maximum completion time up-front. I’m happy to edit any kind of material, fiction or non-fiction, from short stories to novels to articles to academic papers, adapting to your individual requirements to suit. I'm also happy to carry out a free sample edit before you book me for work if you want to have a longer, more concrete example of what to expect, and to have absolute confidence in what I offer; do feel free to ask for one.

• In a critique or editorial review I’ll go through your story and provide a full report analyzing it in terms of its characters, plot, structure, pacing, style, etc. I’ll also break it down scene by scene or chapter by chapter, looking at every aspect of the narrative and suggesting possible fixes for any problems I uncover and improvements you could make, without touching on the technical, grammatical side of things. An editorial review is typically an early-draft step, where you want to identify and correct any weaknesses - or missed opportunities - in the bigger picture character and story elements, before diving into finer corrections and copyediting to create a final draft.

  A critique/editorial review costs $30 plus 0.6 cents per word. That’s $45 for a 2,500 word short story, $330 for a 50,000 word novel, and $510 for an 80,000 word novel. While the time involved varies according to the amount of work required and the length of the report, you can expect it to take on average a day or two for a short story, up to two weeks for a full-length novel. If I’ve already reviewed a story once and you want me to go through a second draft, I typically charge subsequent drafts at half the normal rate as I don’t need to repeat things already covered in the first.

• I can copyedit, line edit or proofread your manuscript. These three terms cover much the same type of work and vary only by the degree of correction you're looking for, with line editing being the broadest (watching for phrasing issues as well as strict technical corrections) and proofing being the narrowest (making strict corrections only). The overall workload remains much the same, though, and means going through the document itself, fixing typos, repetition, spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors, flagging or correcting factual issues, tweaking for fluency or flow if needed, and returning the edited version to you as a change-tracked .doc/.docx file so you can see what I’ve done where to accept, reject or query edits as needed.

  Copyediting costs $15 plus 0.8 cents per word. That’s $35 for a 2,500 word short story, $415 for a 50,000 word novel, and $655 for an 80,000 word novel. While the time involved varies according to the amount of work required, you can expect it to take on average a couple of days for a short story, up to two weeks or so for a full-length novel.

• A developmental edit means looking at absolutely everything in your story, line by line, scene by scene, and suggesting ways to improve everything from punctuation to word order to a scene’s emotional impact, guiding you through the changes I’d recommend making and highlighting aspects you’ve written well, dealing with any queries or concerns you have, and repeating that same process across as many drafts as it takes to make your story as strong as it can be. A developmental edit is by far the most lengthy and in-depth option on this list, covering as it does everything on both the technical and narrative sides, from basic grammar through story structure to voice, style and language use. Developmental editing is about continuously improving both your story and your writing as a whole, and as such I’ll work with you through as many redrafts and over however long it takes, all as part of the same service. I don’t describe it as mentoring, but in reality that’s precisely what developmental editing has become with some of my clients who have less experience or confidence in their abilities, or who’ve benefited more from having someone to advise them in their writing and publishing path. This service is analogous to what you’d see with a good publisher, from the first draft you’d deliver to your editor through to the final copyedit and checks before production, all in one package.

  A developmental edit costs $30 plus 1.8 cents per word. That’s $75 for a 2,500 word short story, $830 for a 50,000 word novel, and $1,470 for an 80,000 word novel. While the time involved varies according to the amount of work required, you can expect it to take on average ten days for a short story, up to five-six weeks for a full-length novel, with subsequent drafts generally turning around much more quickly as they need less work. On average, most developmental edits past through 2-3 drafts, but there’s no upper limit whatsoever; I’m happy to work on your story until you’re totally happy with it.

“Highly recommend [John] for all your editing needs. I don't know if my book would have made it to print if it not for him.” - KF, novel, fantasy; critique & copyedit.

“An awesome editor.” - JH, novel, romance; copyedit.

How do you hire me to edit your work?

Email me at johnrickards.editing@gmail.com with queries or work requests. I invoice up-front via PayPal (though I'm flexible on payment method if there’s any issue with that - just say; PP’s ease of use and buyer protection I like for clients’ peace of mind, but there are plenty of alternatives). On occasion a client will book a heavier degree of editing than their work turns out to need. When that happens, I simply refund the original payment down to whatever level is suitable. You therefore never need to worry about being charged for work a story simply doesn’t require. I’m a professional; I want to help make your work as good as it can be, not to treat clients like cash cows.

While work commitments will mean that projected completion times may vary up or down from the rough averages given above, I always provide a start date and likely turnaround time before any job is booked and on the very rare occasions the situation changes before or during a piece of work, I’ll always keep you updated and informed - though I can count the number of times illness etc. has actually affected an original turnaround estimate on the fingers of one hand. If you provide me with a short sample from the story you want me to look at, I can provide a more accurate work time estimate. And again, if you want to be sure I can do the job you want and would like me to test edit that short sample for free, I’m happy to do that too. I want you to feel totally confident about putting your work in my hands and that I can help you make it as good as it can be.

“Your edits/suggestions feel spot on every time, and I’m so grateful for your help and guidance.” - EL, novel, family drama; critique.

“You are very quick to see what needs work... I’ve had trouble with the tone, content, and structure of this ending for eternity.” - JP, short story, crime/horror; developmental edit.

Again, email me to book a slot or with any queries you have. No level of writing experience is too great or too small, no genre or type of work is off the table, and while I’m very professional, I’m also very approachable; just get in touch. I want to help you make the most of your writing.

Client quotes above are taken from email replies/social media I’ve had after carrying out work; one thing I’m far too British to do is ask anyone for endorsements or promotional quotes. As they’re largely from personal correspondence, and while I doubt the clients in question would mind being quoted in this way, I’ve therefore kept to initials for privacy.