An editing and proofreading blog.

An editing and proofreading blog.

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Austenprose – A Jane Austen Blog

Check out my book review contributions at Austenprose!

Pride and Prejudice: 1995 BBC Miniseries

(According to my 12-year-old)

By Katie Jackson – February 25, 2022

Lyme Park as Pemberley in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice – National Trust Images / Arnhel de Serra

Austen Variations Inspiration

In January 2022, a delightful post on the Austen Variations blog—Joking with Jane — and my daughter! by Christina Morland—inspired me to share my love for Pride and Prejudice with my 12-year-old son. He had been aware for some time that I repeatedly read variations of that story, quite literally day and night, both for my work as an editor as well as for pleasure, and he’d been curious about why I would want to read stories about the same characters over and over again. With no small amount of glee, I announced to him one day that we were going to watch a movie together. <Cue my giggling and enthusiastic applause.>

The Book is Always Better, But . . .

A younger version of myself would have been appalled by the idea of my child watching a film adaptation before reading the book it was based on. But I have discovered that I’m not so pedantic in my older years and realized that my son would benefit from becoming familiar with the characters and storyline before delving into the more challenging language of the book.

While we were working our way through the episodes of my favorite adaptation, the 1995 BBC miniseries—seriously, every P&P variation I read is populated with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth in my imagination—I came upon another delightful post on the Austen Variations blog. This one, Musings with My Mikey by Anngela Schroeder, inspired me to create my own blog post from the notes I’d been keeping of my son’s amusing reactions to his first viewing of Pride and Prejudice.

A 12-year-old’s Perspective

  • About Mr. Darcy: “Oh my gosh, he’s so creepy. He’s always menacingly staring at her.”
  • About Mr. Collins: “Why is he always bragging?!”
  • About Mr. Darcy: “Oh my gosh, he looks like he’s plotting a murder.”
  • About Mr. Collins at the Netherfield ball: “What a creepo. He looks like a 42-year-old dancing with a 12-year-old. What is happening. Is he doing a jig?”
  • About Mr. Darcy at the Netherfield ball: “That was an aggressive bow. Again!”
  • About Elizabeth Bennet dancing with Mr. Darcy at the Netherfield ball: “She’s being very passive-aggressive with him. They’re like dancing with each other while word battling, and she’s loving every minute of it. They’re about to attack each other!”
  • About Mr. Darcy at the Netherfield ball: “There he is with that karate bow.”
  • About Mr. Collins at the Netherfield ball: “He’s like trying to act super smart and prestigious.”
  • About Mr. Collins’s proposal to Elizabeth: “Oh gosh, is he going to pull out a clipboard with bullet points? Oh my gosh, he is! She’s cringing. Arrogant!”
  • When Mr. Darcy encounters Elizabeth at Rosings: “Why do I feel like they could change the peaceful music to scary music and this could become a horror movie?”
  • After Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth: “Now he really looks like he’s going to murder her. What’s he going to do, write an angry letter and show up in the middle of the night and stare at her through the window?”
  • About Elizabeth touring Pemberley: “They’re saying he’s a great guy, and she’s thinking this guy proposed to her by saying it’s embarrassing for him to love a poor woman!”

I am most seriously displeased.

And there you have it, my friends. Some new and sometimes surprising and amusing insights into the love story of our dear couple. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have!

Editing is an Art

By Katie Jackson – April 23, 2020

Good editing, like good writing, is an art.

It is not simply about proper comma placement or catching a typo. It’s so much more complicated than that. Professional editors are constantly improving and learning to master their craft. And, as all artists know, it requires time and dedication. Not dedication to unrealistic perfection, but to excellence.

As the saying goes, “fast, cheap, or good; pick two.”

When you pay an editor, you are paying for their years of experience, dedicated to sharpening their skill and immersing themselves in their niche, so that your finished product is of the highest possible quality. Will you get the best quality if your editor skims over your document? Not likely. Nor would you want them to. You’ve agonized over that manuscript. You deserve your editor’s undivided attention to every detail. Those self-proclaimed editors who are in it for a quick buck only make an acceptable hourly rate by rushing through your project and moving on to the next one. Their exceedingly low rates reflect their need for high volume and almost certainly a higher error rate. A professional editor may charge more, but the timeless value they add to your project with the extreme care they take is more than worth the fair rate they charge for the time and effort they invest to get it absolutely right. Experienced editors also recognize the importance of leaving their authors better than they found them, creating a style sheet and comprehensive editorial report that will serve as an encouraging learning resource to reference repeatedly as you hone your writing craft.

So how do you identify the professional editor who’s right for you?

Ask yourself these questions: are they affiliated with professional editorial organizations? Do they participate in continuing education? Do they have testimonials from authors in your genre? If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you may have found your pre-publication partner. An editor who invests in their business through membership dues and education is far more likely to be passionate about their vocation, and you will benefit from their commitment. An editor, who knows your genre as well as you do, will further enhance your work by providing meaningful feedback.

Your book is your legacy.

Choose to partner with a skilled editor who masters their craft like an artist.

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Why Do Some Editors and Proofreaders Charge Per-Word Rates?

By Katie Jackson – October 26, 2019

Editing and proofreading involve tremendous amounts of concentration. A thorough review of a historical fiction manuscript, in particular, requires extreme focus on every single word, while simultaneously maintaining an awareness of context and time period. Although a seasoned professional will never guarantee perfection—we’re only human, after all—we do strive for error-free excellence. Such attention to detail takes a significant amount of time to accomplish. For that reason, many in the freelance editorial realm will charge a flat, per-word rate.

Benefits of a Per-Word Rate

A flat rate ensures that the client knows up front exactly what the cost of their project will be. There won’t be any last-minute, “this took longer than expected” surprises. The client also benefits from not limiting or rushing their editor with hourly constraints. The editor can spend as much time as needed—within deadlines, of course—carefully and methodically reviewing the manuscript. Furthermore, the document will be that much more polished when an editor or proofreader is able to go through it at a comfortable pace.

Per-Word Rate vs. Hourly Rate

A freelance copyeditor or proofreader can usually review an average of 2,000 words per hour, assuming a well-written and fairly clean manuscript. The pace can be faster or slower, depending on the content. Generally speaking, an hourly rate tends to cost clients more and can be unpredictable. For example, a 100,000-word fiction manuscript at a flat rate of $0.01 per word would cost $1,000 for proofreading. The same manuscript, at the average speed noted above, would take around 50 hours to review. At $30.00 per hour, a fair rate for the expertise of a skilled professional, the cost would be $1,500.

Turnaround Time

It is important to bear in mind that such extreme concentration can only be maintained for a few hours per day without physically and mentally straining the editor. An experienced editor will always attempt to avoid over-promising and under-delivering. Our clients’ success and satisfaction are our top priority.

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