Louise Walters Books
How can I help?
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I edit fiction - novels, novellas, and short stories. My preferred genres are literary, contemporary, women's, historical, psychological thrillers, and urban fantasy. I also work on narrative non-fiction and memoirs.
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Prices start at £50.
The services I offer are outlined below, along with my rates. My hourly rates include all admin, setting up of the document (such as ensuring it's laid out correctly), reading and marking up the entire manuscript, making extensive notes, writing reports, and checking over my work. The hourly fee also includes my responses to any follow-up questions post-edit (one round of e-mailed questions and answers). I will work out the fee before commencing the work and ask for full payment up front if the fee is £300 or below. I'll ask for half the payment up front and the other half on completion if the fee is above £300.
Please note, my services have a minimum fee for word counts up to and including 18,000 words. Beyond 18,000 words, the hourly rate applies. ​​
Manuscript assessment: A manuscript assessment is a good place to start if you are new to writing or have not yet experienced editorial input. I'll read the entire manuscript and send back an editorial report of 5000-7000 words highlighting what is and isn't working, and suggesting next steps. I will also leave some mark-up on the manuscript using tracked changes. This service costs £25.00 per hour based on 3000 words per hour. The minimum fee is £150.​
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Developmental edit: This looks at your story structure, and all the other important story-telling elements, such as plot, characterisation, pace, and tension. Obvious typos and other mistakes will be corrected, but the main focus is on the bigger picture - the story's structure and all that goes with that. I will use tracked changes on your manuscript to make suggestions and add comments. I will also provide a set of notes to accompany the edit. The word count for these notes varies, but it will be a minimum of 4000 words. This service costs £35.00 per hour based on 2000 words per hour. The minimum fee is £210.
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​Line edit: This edit is in depth, and usually follows a developmental edit. A line edit looks carefully at every single sentence in the project, ensuring each word is working and doing what you want it to do. This edit also corrects typos and mistakes, and makes suggestions for pace, clarity, and word economy. Most of the work is on the manuscript, using tracked changes, and I will also send a set of notes, again with a minimum of 4000 words. This service costs £35.00 per hour based on 1500 words per hour. The minimum fee is £210.
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Proof-reading: I can proof-read both fiction and non-fiction projects. I have a good eye for detail and always do a thorough job of proof-reading. It's surprising just how many errors stubbornly persist through several rounds of edits. For example, in one of the novels I published at my indie press, we were on the second proof read when we noticed "bridal path" when of course we meant "bridle path". The error had got past the developmental, line, and copy edits, and one proof read, before it was spotted. Never under-estimate the value of a fresh pair of eyes going over your manuscript! This service is great value at £20 per hour based on 2000 words per hour. The minimum fee is £120.
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Agent/publisher submission package - first 10k words, synopsis, and query letter: I'll look at your first three chapters or ten thousand words (whichever is the shorter), your synopsis, and your cover letter. This is the perfect service if you think your project might be ready to submit to agents and publishers. It's also a more affordable alternative to a full editorial report. In my experience, often an assessment of the first three chapters and the synopsis is sufficient for you to be able to apply the advice to the rest of your project. I will mark up all your documents using tracked changes and provide a set of notes of up to around 2000 words. This service is a fixed cost of £250. ​
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First ten pages/3000 words: I can look just at the first ten pages, or up to 3000 words, of your project. This is a useful and affordable alternative to a full manuscript report or the agent/publisher package report. The first ten pages are crucial and very often are enough to gauge the ability of any writer. I will read all ten pages/3000 words (whichever is the shorter), and leave mark-up on them using tracked changes. I will also provide a coverage sheet with "baseline" scores and brief comments on the overall standard of the writing. This is a useful service if you want an objective and no-nonsense opinion of the current standard of your manuscript.
Please be warned: the scores may not be as high as you hope! And I don't provide follow-up for this service, in order to keep the cost as low as possible. This service is a fixed cost of £50.
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Beta-reading: A professional beta read is a useful (and cheaper) alternative to a full manuscript assessment. I will read your project straight through, and afterwards I'll prepare a set of notes of up to 2000 words outlining my thoughts and reactions, and highlighting the project's strengths and weaknesses. As I read I'll be assessing the big issues: structure, plot, pace, tension, and characterisation. There is no mark-up on the manuscript for this service. The fee is £15 per hour based on 3000 words per hour. The minimum fee is £90.
If you would like me to work on your project, or if you have questions about any of my services, please email me on info@louisewaltersbooks.co.uk. If you are uncertain about which service might be right for your project, I can look at a sample of your writing, and a synopsis if you have one, and I'll be able to suggest which service might be the best fit.​
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I'm looking forward to hearing from you! I can also be found at Jericho Writers and Reedsy, so feel free to approach me via those platforms if that would work better for you.
Clients say...
"Louise is a first-rate editor, so passionate and professional about ensuring that the books she edits end up the best they can be. At no point have I felt like my main character's voice has been lost during the editing process.
We've had some lively debates about some of the choices I've made in the story, but Louise's suggested changes are always logical and clearly set out.
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I have worked with her throughout my Wilde Investigations series and the effort she puts into making sure she knows the characters, and that the storylines are consistent across the novels, means she is a tremendous help for me as the author.
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I trust her implicitly and wouldn't hesitate to recommend her editorial services."
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Laura Laakso, author of Fallible Justice, published by Bloodhound Books 2024, and originally by Louise Walters Books in 2018.
"Louise Walters has been my editor since I wrote my first book, and she has just completed the structural edit of my sixth book. Four of these books became Amazon bestsellers and collectively have thousands of five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. I could never have achieved this without Louise’s exceptional input. Her reports are always detailed and packed with advice on how I can improve my plots, storylines, characters and prose.
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I think the key to finding the perfect editor boils down to trust. I have complete faith in Louise to guide me to make my stories the best they can be. I will be forever grateful our paths crossed."
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A J Campbell, Bookoutre author and self-publisher of psychological thrillers.
"I highly recommend Louise's services! Her editorial report helped me attract an agent."
Victoria Scott, author of Patience, published by Head of Zeus in 2021
"Louise Walters's report was really thorough and helpful."
L M west, author of This Fearful Thing.
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