Book Sanctuary

Book Sanctuary Proofreading Service

Benefits of our service:

 We offer a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ to look at your work because computer spell checkers cannot be relied upon to pick up all errors or deal with certain style specifications, such as Scots dialect. We aim to meet your individual requirements and preserve your unique ‘author’s voice’, and will follow a style guide provided by you, or alternatively will compile our own, to ensure accuracy and consistency. We will liaise with you at all times to highlight and resolve any ambiguities or queries which may arise.

The tasks we will undertake:

Proofreading:

• Ensure consistency of hyphenation; use of capital letters; punctuation; and spelling - particularly the use of homophones (words which sound the same or similar but have different spelling or meanings).

• Clarify ambiguous grammar, mixed tenses, et cetera.

• Highlight and amend typographical errors/inconsistencies.

• Cross-check page numbering, titles, chapter headings, table of contents, appendices, et cetera.

• Ensure any photographs, illustrations, captions, labels, et cetera correspond with each other and corresponding text.

• Check general formatting: ie spacing of sentences, paragraphs, and page breaks.

Copy-editing:

Our proofreading service does not involve restructuring or re-writing. However, a level of copy-editing is available which involves the above proofreading tasks with additional changes made to correct grammar, punctuation, repetitions, suggest alternative ways of structuring sentences and advise on word usage to improve phrasing. We are able to provide these additional services, if required, but this level of more substantive editing would need to be discussed and agreed beforehand as it may take longer to complete.

Editorial proofreading:

This higher level would carry out all the tasks highlighted for proofreading and copy-editing plus any changes required to correct word choice and ensure clarity of writing.

Audio-transcription:

A member of our team is a very experienced audio-transcriber able to provide verbatim transcript of your work to allow you to get on with your writing. Also available is cost-effective ‘intelligent’ verbatim transcription– simply all ehm, um, er, and other such hesitations are removed; otherwise unfinished sentences, contractions, incorrect grammar et cetera remain verbatim to maintain the overall style of your writing. As part of the audio-transcription service, your work would be transcribed, listened through a second time, research carried out, as necessary, to identify any terminology, and proofread. It is envisaged that this service would be charged per audio minute. If you are interested, please enquire and we will be pleased to provide a quote based on your individual requirements.

Sample proofreading request:

 If you are interested in our service, we will be pleased to send you a free-of charge edited sample on a representative sample of your work (5 to 10 pages) to see if the service meets your requirements and to help decide the level of editing that you want. If you have any queries or wish to discuss your individual requirements, please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sending your work:

The preferred method is by Microsoft Word document (.doc or .rtf), or equivalent, by email attachment to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please include your name and the name of your work when sending your document. It will be helpful if you could also provide details of your specified deadline; style specification, such as UK or US English, or Scots dialect; or any other information on the type of text.

Sample proofreading:

On receipt of your electronic copy, 2-3 pages will be edited using Microsoft Word’s tracking tool with any corrections highlighted in red and comments in the margin with suggestions or queries. You will be sent a ‘clean’ fully edited sample with the changes and all tracking removed once suggested changes have been agreed or rejected. Using Microsoft Word’s tracking tool allows you to easily accept or reject any suggested tracked changes within Word. If you have any questions regarding the use of the tracking tool, or any other queries, we will be happy to help.

We are also happy to work on a hard copy of your work. If you are interested in this option, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further details.

Quote:

We will discuss your requirements with you beforehand and liaise with you effectively at all stages to ensure these requirements continue to be met. A fixed quote for your full work will be provided based on the level of service needed or requested by you; however, a quote for the total work can only be given if you are able to provide details of the complete work, such as number of words/pages, otherwise it will be based to reflect generally a 12-point font-sized document with an average of 300 words per page.

Rates:

 We aim to provide a high quality service with a fair, competitive rate on an individual basis. Quotes will generally be based on the number of words; however, where in some circumstances it is thought this may be excessive a fairer rate may be achieved by providing the work based on an hourly rate of payment rather than by wordage, but this will be discussed fully with you and agreed before work goes ahead.

Discounts: A 10% discount is available for registered users of www.booksanctuary.co.uk on the proofreading service.

Payment:

 Payment terms will be agreed at the outset. Work will commence upon clearing of full cost or agreed percentage of payment, generally 50% of quoted cost. At this stage, half of your work, or less as agreed, will be edited and returned to you. The remainder of the work will be completed upon receipt of any outstanding cost. We are happy to discuss and agree to a different percentage to be paid up front. Please ask if you have a preferred option.

Method of Payment:

At the present time, payment is requested by cheque. However, we are looking into the option of offering a secure method of paying online using credit or debit cards.

Deadline: If we are unable to meet your deadline request due to time constraints, we will not accept the work but will offer an alternative date, where possible, to see if this is acceptable to you. As payment has to be cleared before work can be started, please bear this in mind with your specified deadline.

Satisfaction of completed work:

 We aim to provide a quality service at a competitive rate. However, should you have any issues after completion of the work, please contact us and we will work to resolve them satisfactorily with you.

Please feel free to contact us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you have any questions or queries not answered here.