Professional 'big picture' book editing that will leave your book ready for publication.

Completely confidential 'publisher' quality book editing that will fix your book's flow, scrutinize the structure and dissect the dialogue.

Our brutally honest ‘big picture’ feedback will give you the unbiased advice you need to correct problems, get your book back on track and publish with confidence.

Let’s face it, all writers get too close to their work. It is part of the process, but also part of the problem.

How many times have you read over your writing, convinced it was ready to go, only to have a close friend spot a glaring plot hole in what seems like seconds of reading your book?

Now imagine the horror of self-publishing only to have reviewers pick up your mistakes.

We CAN help you to avoid this pain.

Let me keep it simple. Our editors will check over your book and pinpoint those huge plot holes that, if left unattended, would trip up unwary readers. Not only will we carry out this kind of structural edit, which will help to make your book read better, but we will also check the book flows, assess the readability and look at technical issues such as dialogue.

The single most important aspect of our editing service is that we look at each word of your book, AND then provide the clear and actionable guidance you need to fix your book.

I can’t emphasize this enough. We want to make sure that you learn all the extra skills you need to not make the same mistakes twice. We want you to be a better writer.

A well edited book has no limits

When Mark Sennen approached us to edit Touch, a crime novel based in the UK, we treated his novel as we would any other. We looked closely at the structure and flow and provided the detailed feedback he needed to lift the book to the next level.

Little did we know at the time just where the book would take Mark and his writing career.

Touch rapidly became a best seller, with readers buying more than 5000 copies a month. Before the year was out he had sold more than 50,000 books, making his book a success. In 2012 Amazon recognized Touch as the 7th best selling self-published book of 2012.

Mark will be the first to admit that hard work and a solid marketing plan are essential, but without that initial edit, making Touch a success would have been a real uphill struggle.

Can you risk trying to sell an unedited book, knowing that the rewards for success are so high?

What you get

Our service is unlike any other editing service you will find.

We provide detailed line editing AND an editor's report.

Other companies provide just one of these for the same price as we charge for both.

So why would we offer both?

The answer is because you need both to be able to improve your book. Only by having both line editing and an editor's report can you get the kind of 'publisher standard' edit that will allow you to write better books.

Line Edit

Below is a screen shot of the line edit, as you will see it contains both tracked changes and 'balloon' comments, allowing you to stay in control at all times [Click image to enlarge].

Professional book editing from BubbleCow

Editor's Report

Since reports are long and complicated we can't just show a screenshot, instead we have included a sample of our editing. Just click the button below to download the Word document...

Here's an example of our Editor's Report

Cost of Editing

Our prices are all inclusive, with no hidden extras. They include the editor's report and in-depth edit, plus all support emails, phone calls etc.

Since we provide our service to any writer, no matter where they are based in the world, we can bill in three separate currencies.

US Dollars: $10 per 1000 words.

GB Pounds: £7 per 1000 words.

Euros: E9 per 1000 words.

To work out the cost of your edit, first divide your word count by 1000 and then multiply by your currency. For example, a 50,000 word novel would be (50/1000 * 10) $500.

**Example Editing Costs**
Word Count	$ (US)	£ (UK)	Euro (Europe)
10,000 words	$100	£70	E90
50,000 words	$500	£350	E450
100,000 words	$1000	£700	E900

Commonly asked questions about editing

How long will the edit take?

We aim to return your edited manuscript within 28 working days. However, it all depends on your editor. We pick the best editor for each job and their workload will dictate the turnaround time. What we will do is provide you with a target delivery date.

Will you correct ALL spelling and grammar mistakes?

No! What we will do is remove all the mistakes that we find, but this is not a proofread. In fact, proofreaders are not the same as editors, since it is a very different skill set. In addition, our edit will trigger you to rewrite sections of your book. Even if we did remove all errors it is inevitable that rewrites would add more (human nature and all that). Therefore, we always suggest that a writer carries out a proofread AFTER the edit and rewrites.

Once I have had the book edited will the editor look at the changes?

It depends. We don’t carry out second edits. The reason for this is that we will say everything we can to add value to your book in the first edit. Even with significant rewrites it is probably just not worth you paying for an additional edit from the same editor. This said, we are happy to talk to you and even give general feedback on significant alterations. We see this as a long term partnership.

Do you accept all genres?

No. We accept most fiction genres and all major non-fiction genres. We DON’T accept: Poetry, short stories or highly technical non-fiction.

Do you accept all writers?

No. We accept about 90% of the manuscripts that are submitted. If we feel your work is not yet at a stage were our editing will provide the maximum value we will return the manuscript to you. This most commonly occurs when English is not the writer’s first language.

Do you keep the copyright?

NO! We are simply a service. You pay us, we make your book better. At no point do we take ANY rights. ALL rights remain yours at all times.

I have a question, what should I do?

Go to the contact page and fire us an email.

What people are saying about our editing

Very many thanks for your report.
I feel encouraged to rewrite and you have given me much to think about. Your comments are consistently constructive.
May Bubblecow thrive!
Marshall Coombs, author of Morris Malarky

Thank you for your efforts. Having never done anything like this before I didn’t know what to expect, but I must say I am pleased with the results. I feel your review was well balanced, offering criticism and suggestions where necessary and praise when you felt it was warranted.
Grant Williams, author of If At First

Thank you for your spot-on advice. You found critical gaps in character development and plot that I had a hard time seeing with my author lenses. The novel shines much better now. I also appreciated your willingness to work with my financial situation. By breaking it up I was able to afford your desperately needed services. I am excited to self publish Origins.
Steve Tandberg, author of Origins

I didn’t like the thought of some stranger interfering with my book, I was, I admit, a bit precious. However, the process was massively useful – problems were highlighted that I didn’t know existed and insightful and creative solutions were offered. I even got praise for the good bits!
Nik Jones, author of 9987, published by Tonto Books.

Your edit has allowed me to refine the writing of Brilliant Water further than I could have ever imagined. I can only say, “Thank you. I knew you were the guy for me!” Just amazing, all of your points…”
Jennifer Arfa, author of Brilliant Water

I was very pleased with your edits. I think the following were the biggest pluses for me:

Firstly, the ‘mechanics’; where:

A fresh pair of eyes sees what is actually written, rather than what the author thought he had written (and still sees, even though it isn’t there), Things I just didn’t know (formatting, capitalisation, etc.).

Less quantifiable, but equally important (perhaps more so for the ‘story’); the ‘critical’ perspective, which reacts to things that ‘jolt’, eg: Changes of location without adequate explanation (I know what’s happening, but forget that the reader doesn’t).

Inadequate character description (I have the image in my head, but, as yet, the reader doesn’t).

Too much explanation (I’ve already said it, so don’t labour the point, or perhaps, as you said several times, trust the reader to ‘get it’, and thereby, become more involved).

As a general comment, may I say that I was gratified that you allowed me to be myself; rather than trying to force me into someone else’s compartment/style/…. This, coupled with the encouragement your provided along the way, made the whole experience rather special.
Ian Anderson, author of Knight

BubbleCow know the fast-changing literary landscape inside out. The experience and contacts they have will improve any writer’s chances of either a first publication or improved sales and readership.
PR expert, Chris Rickaby

BubbleCow’s guidance remains the most helpful of all. They have the ability to read your work and come up with a suggestion that leaves you slapping your forehead, thinking “Of course!” Their thoughts have invariably improved my work and needless to say, I shall be Bubblecowing again very soon.
Bestselling self-published writer, Matthew Watkinson.

BubbleCow is an essential service. Every time a writer self-publishes a poorly edited book it furthers the belief that self-published books are simply amateurish, vanity books. We owe it to other members of our community to make sure that our books are the best they can possibly be.
John Gillum, author of Big Bad Dog

I have just read through her overview report (haven’t looked at the actual notes yet and will do later) and I am really encouraged. The editor tells me where I have parts which detract and which are not strong – but my main voice and, incidentally the one I was more convinced by as a writer, she is full of praise for. I think one of the main things I wanted to check by asking for an edit, was whether what I was writing was actually worth it – and whether there was potential or not. The editor really encouraged me by enthusing about one line of the story and then made the enthusing believable by being honest about the parts that didn’t work. That’s an insight I would not be able to have as the writer and I appreciate it deeply.

The editor has made me believe my writing is worth taking the time to edit and hone – which I was doubting before. I am already whirling with ideas about how I might address the weaker parts.
Kate Dibb, author of Memories of a Lost Thesaurus

I have since been fighting with my manuscript to bring it up to scratch – based on your fabulous suggestions. May I take this opportunity to thank you for the fabulous work that you have done. The report and your comments were immensely valuable. I dreaded your “absolutely brutal” feedback but to be honest, all your comments makes perfect sense and they weren’t that brutal after all.
Mike Moreking

Thank you so much for the feedback (What worked and what didn’t). That alone is so valuable to me. I’ve never had any training in writting and I’m Belgian so English is not my native language.
Kris Hermans

Gary and BubbleCow,

Thanks for helping me get my book published. I have had 20,000 downloads in 2 1/2 months and is currently #5 in the UK for sci-fi.

Secrets: The Hero Chronicles is making waves in the UK.

Amazon UK Bestsellers Rank: #188 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)

#5 in Kindle Store > Books > Fiction > Science Fiction
Tim Mettey - Secrets: The Hero Chronicles (Volume 1)