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politemenacephd · 4 months

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Arachnophilia (Part Two)

Drider!Miguel O'Hara x Reader (+18)

Chapter Masterlist 🕷️

You're a new recruit to the spider society, and you've just been sent on your first mission on one condition: Do not contact Miguel's variant in this universe. When your mission goes wrong you break that rule very quickly, desperate for help, only to find that Miguel's variant here is not what you expected. He's stoic but kind, awkward but sincere, and he's also an enormous human-spider hybrid: a drider, both human and arachnid. You decide to continue seeing Miguel in secret, with the rest of the society unaware. You really want to stay friends after all. That is, until Miguel suddenly goes into a rut. Word count: 4410

The moment you entered those woods you regretted your decision.

The trees here were ancient and old, so tall that they blocked out nearly all light from filtering through. As a result the forest floor was lifeless and cold, dark and foreboding. No grass or saplings could thrive here. It felt like you’d entered an eternal twilight.

You crept across the floor and tried your best not to make too much noise. ‘Just- follow the watch’ you whispered to yourself. ‘Follow the watch. You’re fine.’

Your watch let out a little beep as you delved deeper, indicating that you were getting closer to the variant. You could see his marker on the map was just a short walk away now.

The further in you went, the more you felt the hair on your neck stand up. Something here felt horribly wrong, but, what? It was on the tip of your tongue but just out of reach, leaving just a deep sense of foreboding. Something here was wrong. Something, something--

Then you felt it. It clicked, in your mind, and you knew instantly what was wrong.

There was no normal sounds here. No birdsong, no chirps, no scuttling squirrels or bugs flying past. This forest felt empty, almost dead, like a graveyard.

Your steps began to get shorter and shorter.

Was it just you, or did the beeping seem to be getting further and further away? You kept walking and yet it never seemed to get any closer. It didn’t help that the trees all looked the same, making it impossible to tell if you were actually making progress or just walking in the circle. You couldn’t even remember how long you’d been here for.

At a certain point you broke. You came to a stop in a small glade and sank down against one of the trees for support, struggling to calm your nerves.

‘Fuck.’ You cursed beneath your breath and watched it condense in the air. It was cold here, almost too cold. It was supposed to be summer in this universe.

You ran both hands down your face as the boiling feelings of inadequacy and anxiety in your gut began to spill over. You’d made a mistake. You were sure of it now. You’d make a mistake and you’d got yourself lost, and you’d have to portal out of here and go home in disgrace.

‘Shit… I’m sorry’ you mumbled to no one in particular. Your words echoed even when whispered. ‘I’m sorry.’

Then you heard it.

Snap.

A single, heavy snap of a twig, one that echoed through the pines. You froze up like a deer in headlights.

That had to be an animal, right? Right? It was a forest after all.

But, you hadn’t heard or seen a single other animal until now, and that snap had been pretty loud. Could a deer make a snap that loud?

You spun a full circle in the glade. The ground was uneven here and seemed to rise up around you, almost like a natural bowl. You couldn’t see high enough over the ridges to see any threat beyond their line, and the trees were too thick to make out any obvious shapes that were moving.

Another crack rang out, this one closely followed by a sound that was much more unnerving. Something low, deep, groaning and old. Was that a tree creaking?

Another crack rang out. A thud, almost like a log hitting the floor, filled the air and caused a flock of crows to flee from the canopy. You jumped at their incessant cawing. Wait, had they been hiding up there? But from what?

‘Shit—shit—’

You tried to take a defensive stance but tripped, almost falling completely onto your back. Your senses were still burned out.

‘Shit! Shit, shit—’

You staggered backwards. You needed higher ground. You went to spin a web but your mechanism was still jammed from your fight with the vulture, leaving you with no way to easily scale the trees. You tried instead to crawl up them by hand but they were slippery with morning dew. You slid right back down with each frantic attempt.

‘Shit—’

Another thud rang out, and with it an enormous shadow appeared over the ridge to your left. Whatever had been making that noise was coming right for you.

‘SHIT!’

In a panic you scrabbled to hide, opting for the enormous roots of the nearest pine.

‘I need to- portal, shit—’

You scurried and fell into the roots of the tree like a mouse, scrambled to hide behind the wood. You heard the scraping above getting louder.

‘GET AWAY! I'M WARNING YOU!’

A shadow fell across the roots, blocking out the light above. All you could see was red. With a scream you covered your face with your hands.

‘NO—’

‘Hey, hey! Cálmate- ah- calm down, it’s okay. ¿Estas herido? Are you hurt?’

You froze. That voice, it sounded familiar. You shakily began to lower your hands, though you couldn’t bring yourself to open your eyes.

No blow came. You weren’t dragged out by your ankles, nor bitten by some unnatural demon. Instead, you heard that voice again.

‘Are you hurt?’

You blinked, once, then opened your eyes fully.

There he was. That gorgeous face, with that thick brown hair and brown skin and big red eyes. A face you’d recognise anywhere.

‘Miguel’ you whispered.

He was holding the roots aside with his gigantic shoulders, and his eyes were keenly fixed on you. You could only see him from the waist up but he appeared to be shirtless, showing off his rounded chest and bulging abs all coated in thick, dark hair. You noticed that the skin of his arms was decorated in red stripes.

It was Miguel all right, but not your Miguel.

‘Ay, que chula’ he murmured to himself. You didn’t catch his words but you saw well enough his eyes roaming your figure in the dimly lit hole, not to mention the subtle slip of his tongue across his fangs.

‘You… oh, you- you’re Miguel, right?’ you called up. He seemed taken aback that you knew his name.

‘Ah… yes. Who- who are you? How did you find me?’

You squinted a little as you watched him. He looked like Miguel, uncannily so, but something was different. His face wasn’t as cold and drawn. His lips were parted, his brows downturned and his eyes wide. He looked worried. He looked, shy perhaps? Or maybe curious?

You shuffled upward and held out your wrist. You saw him take a glance at your watch.

‘I was um… I’m from a different universe, I was sent by Miguel O’Hara. Another, Miguel O’Hara, that is. I-I know you are one as well. Uh- I’m from the Spider Society, if that helps?’

Luckily this Miguel seemed to recognise what you were talking about. He didn’t seem confused about the idea of multiverse travelling, in fact you saw him give a clear indication of recognition at the word ‘Miguel’. His brows knotted and his lip curled, turning his softness to overt disappointment.

‘My variant. Yes. Of course.’

With a soft grunt Miguel held out his hand. You noted the sharp claws on the tips of his fingers and froze, but just as quickly he retracted them.

‘Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.’

You allowed him to pull you out of the roots and up into the light. On impulse you let out a nervous laugh. ‘Ah- man, I’m- so sorry, I didn’t mean to be so—’ You froze midsentence as you finally looked up.

The upper torso of Miguel was staring down at you, but beneath that was something new entirely. The enormous, fluffy abdomen of a tarantula spider, it’s hide a mixture of black and red. The red tints created a pattern on his back which resembled your boss’s suit, one which matched the red stripes on his arms.

Instinctively you fell backwards again. It wasn’t his body that scared you so much as the sheer size of it.

‘W-Woah, woah—Holy shit, you’re— a-aha, you’re uh- you’re, a--’

‘Wait, don’t- don’t, panic, okay? Stay calm’ he stammered. You could sense he was getting defensive at having been seen, like he expected you to start a fight. You just gaped in surprise.

‘I’m not here to fight’ he barked. ‘I don’t, want to fight you.’ He was trying to sound intimidating but his voice had cracked, which felt strange when his body was already so intimidating on its own.

You slowly raised both hands as a show of good peace. ‘I- I, sorry, I’m not—I’m not here to hurt you, I promise.’

His eyes narrowed a little. You watched his spider legs shuffle as he paced.

‘Then- why are you here?’

You kept your hands raised as you peered up at his face. ‘You… Have, other people come here to hurt you?’ you asked gently.

His eyes widened. Was he surprised at your question, or surprised that you weren’t afraid?

‘Why are you here?’ he repeated. His tone was sharp, like he was trying to be cold, but it just didn’t work. He had none of that ingrained anger your Miguel expressed. He seemed lonely, for lack of a better word.

With hands still raised you shuffled to your feet. ‘I- I fucked up’ you blurted. ‘I’m sorry, I- I was sent here to deal with a bad guy, ah- not you! Not you, you’re not the bad guy, it’s a um- a vulture, I was sent to deal with a vulture but it’s my first job and I got my ass handed to me and… and no one was available to help, so, I thought… Miguel said you were here, and, he- sorry, he said not to trust you, but I just… I thought, I should, see for myself. I thought, maybe you could help.’

As you rambled on about your situation, that cold exterior around him seemed to shift. He seemed to believe your story.

‘I see. So you’re another one of us, I suppose? One of us… broken, half-way creatures?’

You nodded awkwardly. ‘Ah- a new one, yeah. You- know about all of us, spider people then?’

Miguel grunted. ‘I do. Yes. Some of us… certainly come out, better than others, no?’

You looked up and caught his eye. You had to lean to see him, as his shadow eclipsed your body, but strangely he didn’t make you feel small. At least, he didn’t make you feel small in a way that felt bad.

‘Well, that’s up for debate, isn’t it’ you said. ‘We’re… we’re both, strange on the inside, right?’

Miguel grunted again, though this time it sounded more like a faint chuckle.

‘Yes. I suppose you’re right, little spider.’

He took a tentative step closer and you stayed where you were, allowing him to approach. He noted your bruised arm and slightly torn suit, signs of a fight, along with the wince you kept giving as you stood.

‘You’re hurt, little spider’ he noted. You tensed a little as one of his soft forelegs crept out to touch your ribs. It was definitely fluffy up close, like a soft paw with two hooked claws on the end. You felt the black and red fluff brush your skin and shyly stroked it with your finger.

He made no move to jump or hurt you. He was unnerving, yes, but his mannerisms were soft. He gently prodded at your ribs until you winced.

‘You’re definitely hurt.’

Miguel darted his eyes across your face as he took a step back. You could see him shifting two of his spider legs together, but he wasn’t acting on anything yet. He was searching you for consent.

‘I can help’ he murmured. ‘If you- want.’

‘Help?’

‘With the pain.’ Without any further explanation Miguel bent and began to spin a small spool of silk, twisting it tight into a thin sheet. He then raised the spool to his mouth and, to your shock, began to leak a thick green venomous fluid from his fangs. He allowed it to seep in and saturate the thread.

Once the sheet was sufficiently moist, he licked the extra venom away and bluntly handed it out.

‘Here. Press this to your ribs.’

You stared at him, mouth agape. You stared at each other until it became unbearably awkward, until his eyes began to flit from side to side as if confused why you weren’t acting.

‘What… is it?’ you asked to finally break the silence.

He seemed utterly unaware of why this would be strange. ‘It- it’s my venom’ he said, matter-of-factly.

You darted your eyes to the side then back. He realized you needed a bit more information.

‘It- my venom had paralyzing qualities, but in small doses on the skin it can just numb. It’ll numb the pain so you can get home.’

He held it out again, insistently, so insistent in fact that he nudged your chest with his big spider paws. You blanched a little but did instinctively take it.

‘Okay! Ah- alright, I’ll... try it. Just, to be clear if I start feeling lightheaded I will call for back up.’

Miguel tilted his head, perfectly highlighting the muscular curve of his neck. His red eyes glowered. ‘Didn’t you say there was no one available for back up?’

For a moment you paused. Was that a threat? Or was he just so awkward he thought that was normal? You took another glance at the sheet and then at him, and decided, on a whim, to trust him.

You shyly took the sheet and pressed it over your suit, carefully smoothing it out. At first it didn’t do anything, but after a minute or so you began to feel a warmth spreading. Within two minutes you could feel the pain starting to ease. It was numb for sure, as when you touched the spot it just felt spongey with no sensation, but the pain was gone. After four minutes you were painless but still standing.

‘Is it working?’ he asked. You gave a quick nod.

‘Y-Yeah. Yeah! Yeah, it- it’s working. Thank you.’

Miguel bobbed his head. He was so strangely polite, so stilted. ‘Good’ he mumbled. ‘Good. Good.’

‘I… shit, well, I guess I’ll have to head back. I still don’t know what to do though, my- web shooters are jammed.’ You turned and paced a little as you fiddled with your wrist contraptions, something Miguel quickly picked up on.

With your back turned he abruptly approached from behind, leaning in over your shoulder without a word. You froze up at the unexpected touch, as his size set off all of your flight or fight responses. He didn’t seem to notice though.

‘Mm.’

Without asking Miguel raised your wrist to his face. He was scanning the mechanism, his claws prepped to fiddle with the screws and bolts, all while remaining oblivious to your fear.

‘Mm.’ He let out a second grunt before withdrawing, leaving you frozen on the spot. He was too busy working out something in his head to notice.

‘I can help you with this. I can’t leave this spot, I’m afraid, as I will scare too many civilians, but I can help you here.’

You finally shook yourself back to your senses as he spoke. ‘What- what kind of help?’ you asked.

He tilted his head a little, his long legs shifting. ‘I can fix your web shooter, and re-fill it. My webs are… stronger.’

‘I have weak webs?’ you replied drolly.

‘Yes’ he said, blunt and unashamed. He gestured again to your wrists. ‘Almost all of you have web spinnerets too small to produce anything substantial. Yours are held in the wrists, they could never be large enough to produce truly saturated silk.’

‘I… oh. Huh.’

Miguel seemed to finally pick up that your body language was less than ideal as you awkwardly glanced at your wrists.

‘It’s okay’ he said, ‘we’re not all meant to be adapted to the same thing. You have other strengths, I’m sure.’

You awkwardly shrugged, unsure of how to respond. Miguel decided to drop it before he dug himself a deeper hole.

‘Would you- like me to fix it?’ he asked, hand outstretched. You darted your eyes around his body, from his clawed fingers to his face. He seemed trustworthy so far. He certainly couldn’t do anything with your shooter, right? You could still leave, it’d just be awkward. You decided to remove your shooters and place them in his waiting palm.

‘Sure. If that’s okay, I’d appreciate it.’

Miguel nodded.

You followed him through the glade to another tree, one that appeared to have had a desk carved into its side. You sat down on the roots to rest while Miguel sank his abdomen to the floor. You watched as he put on a pair of makeshift glasses and began fiddling with the shooter, carefully prying it open and tweaking it with his claws.

In the ensuing silence you had time to admire this strange man. He looked oddly cute when focused, as he kept licking his fangs or pressing his tongue to his cheek, and he kept leaning forward too far until his glasses slid down his nose. It made you smile.

As time passed, you began to feel your inhibitions lower. You became curious.

‘Do you live out here?’ you asked. Mig grunted, seemingly startled by your interruption of his work.

‘Ah- yes, yes I do.’

‘Do you have a house?’

‘Yes.’

‘Is it- ah, sorry, am I annoying you?’

Miguel glanced over again. His face was unreadable. ‘No’ he said, just as blunt as the others. ‘It’s nice to have company.’

‘Oh, ah- good. I um- I was gonna ask—’

‘You were going to ask where I live? You were- curious, whether I sleep on the floor like an animal, or in a home?’

You were taken aback by how accurately he’d read your mind. You saw the ghost of a smile on his face at your shock.

‘Uh… yeah. I was’ you murmured.

‘Even basal spiders have homes’ he noted. ‘I am no different. I live in a nest I wove myself, close by to here. It’s quiet out here. I get left alone, which is… I suppose, my fate.’

‘Huh. Were you transformed by the same Alchemax incident? With the, splicing?’

‘Yes.’

After his blunt response you gave up on the questions for a bit. You felt a little awkward here still, but Miguel seemed just fine. He seemed much less tense in fact.

‘You’ he said, suddenly turning to glance at you directly. You met his gaze. ‘You. Little spider. Where did you come from then?’

‘Me? Ah… I’m, incredibly generic. Bitten by a radio-active spider, became my universes spider, then- got the call from Miguel, indoctrinated into the wider society a few months ago, and… I, haven’t done much since.’

You felt Miguel’s eyes raking you. ‘You, sound like this displeases you’ he noted.

‘What, being useless? Yeah, a little.’

He slowly turned back to his work as you huffed, lowering your head to your upturned knees. ‘I wouldn’t say useless’ he murmured. ‘Just, not needed.’

‘Aren’t they the same thing?’

‘No. I’d be glad that you’re not in danger. I’d be glad that you’re safe.’

Miguel paused the conversation briefly to focus on your shooter. You saw sparks flying as he bit his tongue, utterly focused on soldering something down. When he pulled back you were waiting with more questions.

‘So… why, aren’t you—’

‘Why am I not in the society?’

‘Aha, yeah. You- cut right too it, again.’

Miguel gently stretched his neck as he thought of a response. You couldn’t help eyeing up the way he arched his powerful back muscles, the gorgeous sight of his sculpted shoulders as they rolled.

‘Spiders are territorial. Especially males. I met the Miguel you referred too a long time ago, and he was- combative, to say the least. I don’t think our DNA could handle having two of us in the same place. We talked, civilly enough, but- in the end he retracted his offer and left.’

‘Huh. That seems- unfair.’

Miguel scoffed. ‘I’m also not, fit for this life though, really. I am- unwieldy.’

‘We have a T-Rex and a horse on staff, we could make accommodations for you’ you insisted.

‘Mm. What about the people?’

‘The people? Again, T-Rex and horse. We have a damn werewolf on site. People could handle a half-spider.’

‘Mm. No. I- scare people.’

‘You don’t scare me.’

Miguel glanced at you from beneath the long strands of hair now hanging across his forehead. His almond eyes were narrowed, his brown skin dancing with reflections from his red eyes.

‘I don’t?’

Out here in the empty woods your senses had recovered enough for you to feel his body shifting. You sensed everything; the rustling of hair on his spider half, the little scrape of his claws on the dirt, the wiggle his lower abdomen did as he stared you down. His size, his claws, the little white flash of a fang behind his full lips.

You just smiled at him. ‘Nah. You seem nice.’

He stared at you blankly. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking, what he could possibly do next.

‘Hmm. Thank you.’

You fell into another silence as he began to feed in new web to the shooter. He’d built an adapter so it could connect to your webs when you fired them, effectively making them stronger. You sighed and watched your breath condense on the air as he worked.

‘You seem- lonely.’

You blanched a little at such a blunt statement, especially with no prior context. You turned and found Miguel staring at you again. ‘I’m- I look lonely?’ you repeated back.

‘Yes.’

It still surprised you, just how blunt he was. He leaned back so you could get a good look at his torso. God, he was pretty. Perhaps prettier than the other Miguel. He was tougher from having to maintain such a large body, covered in rugged scars.

‘What- do you mean by that?’

Miguel blinked. His face remained unreadable. ‘I find it- odd. You seem so- amicable, and you come from a society of thousands. But you look lonely.’

‘Ah. Ahuh.’ You scoffed and shrugged one shoulder, trying to play off what a scathing realization it was. ‘In a society of thousands, how do you get noticed? It’s like being a grain of sand.’

Miguel grunted. He seemed to be thinking something over in his head as he rolled your half-finished shooter.

‘I see you.’

You flitted your eyes back to his face. His expression had changed, just a little. He looked sympathetic. He looked soft.

He didn’t say anything else after that. He returned to your shooter and continued putting it back together with the new webbing inside. You, meanwhile, lulled on the roots and pondered this whole experience.

What a strange man, you thought.

‘Alright. It’s done.’

Miguel blew away the little specks of dirt covering your wrist mechanism before handing it back.

‘Thank you’ you rasped. As you grasped the shooter you noticed how small your hand was against his, with your frail fingers barely reaching the edge of his palm. You tenderly brushed his calloused skin before shyly yanking it away.

‘Thank you, so much.’

Miguel gave you a ghost of a smile. ‘I hope you get home safely, little spider.’

‘Aha, yeah, little. That’s me.’ As you spoke you turned and stood, shifting on the spot. You knew that realistically you needed to leave, but something kept you here. You twisted your neck to see Miguel still watching you, unmoving in the gloom.

‘I, um… Hey, just a thought, but- I could always put in a word for you, at the society. I don’t think people would be scared of you, or- at least not everyone would be. You can’t please everyone but… I’d be there, you know. It, might be nice, having a slightly less angry Miguel around.’

Miguel’s soft smile dipped. He ran a hand across his jaw, his spider abdomen twitching. ‘I told you, little spider. O’Hara’s are… territorial’ he noted coldly.

Your heart sank. You knew what that meant. It meant he couldn’t enter the HQ, and in turn that meant you likely wouldn’t see him again.

He looked so lonely as he gazed off into the distance. His jaw was tense as if to maintain a neutral expression. Was he sad you were leaving? Or was he just sad in general? Whatever it was, you hated the idea of leaving him here alone.

As you procrastinated leaving, you remembered him pointing out how lonely you looked. You were part of a society of thousands, and yet he was right. You were lonely. Perhaps you were just projecting onto him now, and that’s why you didn’t want to leave.

‘It was- nice to meet you, little spider’ Miguel said. It was a solemn farewell. You hadn’t even realized how long you’d been standing in silence.

As you craned your head back to see his face you saw fully the sadness in his eyes. No, you thought. You weren’t projecting at all. You were both lonely.

‘Hey… That whole, territorial thing. It means, you can’t cross paths with him, right?’ you asked. Miguel nodded and turned to the side.

‘But… that doesn’t mean I can’t cross paths with you again.’

It made you jump the way his head snapped towards you. His eyes were wide, his pupils physically dilated.

‘You- what do you mean? You- do you mean, you intend to return? Here? To me?’

He stammered as he spoke, his legs instinctively creeping towards you. You felt your smile widen at his insistent hope. How strangely adorable. Whatever, you thought, consequences be damned. You knew your answer now.

With a final wave you clicked your web shooter into place and began to walk away, though you turned your head halfway to call back five simple words.

‘I’ll see you around, Mig.’

For the first time, Miguel smiled fully. It looked good on his rugged face.

‘Yes. I’ll- I’ll see you around, little spider.’

Link to part three!

#miguel o'hara x you #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara #smut fanfiction #read on ao3 #drider #smut with plot #smut #miguel spiderverse #miguel o'hara fanfiction #miguel o'hara smut #monster human relationship

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thatwritergirlsblog · 11 months

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Types of Editing Services

With the launch of my freelance editing business, Gentle Sea Editing, tomorrow (1 June 2023), I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the different types of editing.

Some of these services are only applicable to creative writing works, but services like copy-editing and proofreading are relevant for any piece of writing.

1. Developmental Editing

A developmental edit evaluates the big picture and addresses issues at story level.

It looks at things like plot structure, character development, pacing, chapter and scene structure, descriptions, adherence to genre expectations, clichés, and overused tropes.

Usually, this type of editing service won’t take the form of actual changes to the manuscript. Rather, it comprises an editorial report addressing the strengths, weaknesses and issues of the work, as well as suggestions. There may also be some margin comments if necessary or if that is the specific editor’s style.

According to the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), the average rate for developmental editing is between $0.03 and $0.039 per word. That means that the developmental edit of a 90 000 word book would cost between $2700 and $3510.

I offer developmental editing services at $0.017 per word. So, the developmental edit of a 90 000 word book would cost $1530.

2. Line Editing

A line edit addresses writing style and craft on a line-by-line level.

It looks at things like voice, language use, word choice, tense, point of view, clarity and readability, filtering, filler words, show vs tell, pacing, and flow.

Usually, this type of edit takes the form of comments in the margin of the manuscript. Because this service involves stylistic changes, most editors won’t just amend the text; they’ll add a comment highlighting an issue and providing suggestions.

According to the EFA, the average rate for line editing is between $0.04 and $0.049 per word. That means that the line edit for a 90 000 word book would cost between $3600 and $4410.

I offer line editing services at $0.025 per word. So, the line edit of a 90 000 word book would cost $2250.

3. Copy-editing

A copy edit focuses on technical errors at word and sentence level.

It looks at things like spelling, punctuation, syntax, grammar, usage, paragraph structure, repeated words, typos, and style inconsistencies.

Usually, this type of edit involves the editor making actual changes to the manuscript and adding comments where necessary. Additionally, most editors will keep a style sheet as they work in order to maintain consistency. I give clients this style sheet along with the edited manuscript. If your editor doesn’t automatically do this, ask them for it. It’ll help you to keep your grammar and usage consistent if you make any subsequent changes, and it will help your proofreader.

According to the EFA, the average rate for copy-editing is between $0.02 and $0.029. That means that the copy edit of a 90 000 word book would cost between $1800 and $2610.

I offer copy-editing services at $0.02 per word. So, the copy edit of a 90 000 word book would cost $1800.

4. Proofreading

A proofread is the final review of a project. It focuses on proper formatting, layout and catching any errors not corrected during the copy edit.

It looks at things like punctuation, spelling, hyphenation, word use consistency, headers, chapter styles, scene breaks, paragraph styles, formatting, typos, repeated words and page layout.

Because the changes are mechanical, the proofreader will usually make them to the manuscript itself without adding comments. However, I would recommend that the proofreader still use Track Changes, so the author can make the final decision on the changes.

According to the EFA, the average rate for proofreading is between $0.02 and $0.029 per word. That means that the proofread of a 90 000 word book would cost between $1800 and $2610.

I offer proofreading services at $0.01 per word. So, the proofread of a 90 000 word book would cost $900.

Let’s face it: Editing is expensive

Each freelance editor decides their own rates, usually with reference to their experience and qualifications. So, you can get editing at cheaper-than-average prices; just make sure that the editor is still adequately qualified and good at their job.

Additionally, most editors offer combos, which allow you to get two or more types of editing at the same time, usually at reduced cost.

I offer a developmental, line and copy edit combo for $0.05 per word, which is 20% cheaper than the individual services combined. (That’s $4500 for 90 000 words.)

I also offer a developmental and line edit combo for $0.036 per word, which is 15% cheaper than the individual services combined. (That’s $3240 for 90 000 words.)

Finally, I offer a line and copy edit combo for $0.038 per word, which is 15% cheaper than the individual services combined. (That’s $3420 for 90 000 words.)

I firmly believe that the same person should not edit and proofread the same manuscript.

Which edits do I need?

Unless you are traditionally published, the editing services you choose is up to you.

If you are publishing a piece of writing, especially commercially, you need at least one type of edit. Trust me, your product won’t be up to scratch if you are the only person who’s looked at it.

I would not recommend skipping the copy edit and proofread.

However, you might decide not to have your work edited developmentally if you have been crafting stories for a long time, and have enlisted critique partners and beta readers.

How do I choose an editor?

If you are having a novel edited, look out for someone with some sort of fiction/creative writing experience. It’s preferable to have an editor who knows something about storytelling and plot structure, especially for a developmental edit.

Try to get an editor who has obtained a qualification in editing itself, not just in the English language or creative writing. Editing is a whole different ball game and it requires specialized training.

Ask for testimonials if you don’t find them on the editor’s website.

Look at the person’s website and any communication you exchange with them. Are there errors and inconsistencies? Decide whether this is someone you would trust with your writing.

Editors should offer a free sample edit. This allows you to submit a small extract for editing in order to assess the editor’s competence and style. You should never have to pay for a sample edit!

If you would like to use Gentle Sea Editing, you can request a quote and a sample edit now.

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