If you have a specific question (related to editing services) then please do use the contact form to ask it.
Below are some I’ve been asked in the past along with my answers, just in case you have the same query.
When hiring an editor over the internet, how can I guarantee my manuscript will be treated as confidential and copyright respected?
This is a very valid concern!
I’ve signed NDAs and confidentiality agreements in the past, and am always happy to do this for any author’s manuscript.
That said, any kind of legal protection has its limits for a creative work and there will always need to be a level of trust between author (and publisher) and editor. What I can offer to help engender that is:
1) I’m formally registered (including for tax purposes) as a self-employed editor in Spain and you’ll get my address, phone number and tax ID on my invoice.
2) I’ve been editing professionally since 2017. My portfolio page details published books I’ve edited for authors who have provided the feedback you can see on the testimonials page. This forms a reputable history that you can further research via Google.
How and when do you take payment?
By default I bill the full cost of the edit before starting on it, which is standard practice for freelance editors (because no value can be reclaimed from an unpaid-for edit).
If, however, you wish to split the edit into stages with completion and review of the first before payment of the second, etc., that’s normally no problem at all.
I don’t currently charge a reservation fee when booking an edit into my calendar. I keep in periodic contact with anyone who’s booked me to see whether things are running to schedule and adjust if not. A couple of weeks before the edit is due to start I will confirm it, get an updated word count, and calculate and send an invoice based on that word count.
I prefer payments made by bank transfer to my Spanish bank account, but can also accept payments in British pounds to a UK bank account if required. I don’t typically accept Paypal or similar, but may be able to if whatever additional fees I’m charged for this method are covered by the client.
Why don’t you have a blog/twitter/facebook/instagram/tiktok/etc.?
I have no blog, etc. because they take up a lot of time.
There are plenty of excellent writing help resources out there already, so instead of blogging what will inevitably amount to duplicate information I concentrate all my efforts on providing my clients with editing services specific to their novels.
Are you also a writer?
Yes. I don’t bang on about my writing here because you’re not on this website to read about that, but I will be self-publishing my debut novel “The Lost Piece” in spring 2024 and second one “Ghosts” in autumn 2024. On my author website www.davidimrie.com I will be (as a publicity exercise I’m completely transparent about) blogging every detail, including financial, of my self-publishing journey. You’re very welcome there if you’d like to take a look.