- General Questions & Advice
- Editing & Finishing Services
- Price & Payment
- Process
- Quality
- Security & Confidentiality
General Questions & Advice
Absolutely not. Your manuscript and copyright will always remain yours. We are a “work for hire” agency, which means everything we create on your behalf belongs 100% to you. Learn more about copyright on http://copyright.gov/.
Each author is in a different place in their writing career. At MK, we work with a full spectrum of authors, from the beginner just finishing their first manuscript through the experienced professional with one or more published books. Regardless of where you are in your career, our feedback will always be constructive and professionally delivered.
This is a choice you will need to make for yourself, as it is entirely dependant on your personal goals. If you’re choosing between publishing options, we recommend that you do your research. Jane Friedman offers an excellent reference on the range of publishing options today and the Alliance of Independent Authors has some great information on vanity publishing.
We are not currently staffed to offer marketing services. However, we have been investigating this as a future offering. If you <sign up for our mailing list> you will received notifications about new services, blog posts, and special offers.
Every traditional publishing house has its own team of editors and proofreaders who will give your book the full treatment before revealing it to public eyes. However, a poorly written manuscript full of typos may move straight from slush pile to trash can.
Are you confident that you’ve written a compelling hook and story? That you’ve done a thorough job of world building and character development? That you’ve eliminated style and proofreading errors? Depending on your skill level, you may want another set of eyes before you solicit an agent.
If you really want to go it alone, check out our Editing Services page to understand the level of detail that should go into your self-editing. If you’d prefer, you can leave the editing up to our expert team.
Instructions and templates differ based on where you want to publish and what format. This is why we use tools like Vellum for our formatting needs, and our self-publishing support is limited to KDP publishing. We would suggest using Google for research, where you will find existing guides from sites such as Self-Publishing School.
We are not currently set up to help authors find literary agents. However, if you <sign up for our mailing list> you will received notifications about new services, blog posts, and special offers.
We are not currently set up to to act as an agent for our authors. However, if you <sign up for our mailing list> you will received notifications about new services, blog posts, and special offers.
If you purchase our KDP publishing service, your book can be available in every country where Amazon sells books.
You can and should use the spelling/grammar checker in your word processor. These automated tools are great for identifying very common proofreading issues, especially regular typos.
However, our editors will catch inconsistencies, improper word usage, and other problems that require judgment to resolve. Our Line Critique Service will help identify voice, POV, and style issues. There is still no substitute for human eyes!
We are not staffed to edit non-fiction that requires substantial research and fact-checking (such as scientific or medical manuscripts) and we do not accept erotic fiction.
If you aren’t sure, you can start with our beta reading service. After reviewing your manuscript, our editor can recommend other services, if needed.
In fiction, we prefer literary, romance, science fiction, fantasy. In non-fiction, we handle primarily self-help, memoirs, biographies, and other general fields. We edit all lengths of manuscripts, from short stories through full-length novels.
We are happy to serve a full range of clients of all ages, genders, locations, and skill levels.
Yes, we can help with KDP publishing! Not only can we provide interior formatting services, but we can also set your book up and launch it on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. You will retain copyright and all sales proceeds. Find out more about our KDP Publishing service.
Make sure to do thorough research before you buy. There are dozens of editing options, and not all of them will be well-suited to your needs.
For instance, some very large agencies can turn your work around in 24 hours, but you may never have the opportunity to speak to a person. Other agencies only want to help authors on a traditional publishing journey, which means that they are not able to offer book formatting or KDP publishing services.
Since you’re here, we assume you have already started that research. Be aware that very few agencies can offer the level of personal, customized service you’ll get from MK Editing.
Learn more about Services.
Learn more about Our Process.
Yes! Our team of experts work with writers around the globe. We specialize in native-English fluency, however, and do not accept manuscripts in other languages at this time.
As the name suggests, self-publishing means publishing a book yourself. When you make the choice to self-publish, you will have full control and complete responsibility for editing, design, sales, and marketing of your book, including the accompanying costs.
Yes, we can! If you need guidance, coaching, or just accountability check-ins, our Author Coaching Services may be your first step. But we also offer dynamic critique services that range from beta reads to developmental edits. Our editors can help you decide how to finish your manuscript the right way. Still don’t have the confidence to do it yourself? Hire a ghostwriter to do the heavy lifting for you! Learn more about our Ghostwriting options.
We are only staffed to offer services for manuscripts written in English.
Our designers can provide ebook formatting for all major devices and platforms, including Kindle, iBooks, Nook, Kobo, Google Play, and a generic epub. For your printing needs, we offer a PDF file with properly calculated interior margins, bleeds, and other critical features.
Price & Payment
Every once in a while we will offer sales and specials on our services. The best way to make sure you know when this happens is to follow us on our social media or sign up for company newsletter. Sign up for our mailing list.
All services are paid for in full at the time of ordering. You can see our refund policy here:
We accept all major credit cards. At this time we do not accept Paypal.
All prices are in USD.
At this time we only accept USD.
Custom quotes are good for sixty days.
Yes! Speak with one of our specialists to discuss your project, and we may be able to offer you a bulk discount. <Request a Quote>
The state of Ohio, where MK’s home office is hosted, is a destination state. This means in Ohio, taxes are not charged on professional services unless you live within the state. You can rest at ease knowing the price you’re quoted is the price you will pay!
If you aren’t 100% satisfied with your editing services or finishing services, we will work with you to make it right. After all, our success depends on your success. For more information, check out our refund policy page.
Process
Our preferred format is a Google Doc, as this allows us to share the manuscript with your team and to work collaboratively. If you do not have the ability to use Google Docs, please contact us to discuss options.
If you are using a Google Doc, you can share it with <email>
Our normal turnaround time is 10 business days.
If you need it faster than our normal turnaround time, you can request an expedited review. Because of the impact on our workflows, we do have an additional fee for expedited review.
We will set you up with your team in our project management site. Depending on your services, your team may include a project manager, editor, designer, and formatter. For customer assurance and quality control purposes, our CEO is a member of every team.
Your full team will be able to communicate interactively through our project management site, and you will be able to see our work-in-progress on your manuscript. A full description is available on Our Process page.
When proofreading, our source of truth is the Chicago Manual of Style, which is considered the standard for style among US publishers.
If you signed up for our beta reading service or developmental editing, our editor will read your entire manuscript once and provide full feedback based on a standard company template.
If you have ordered a line critique, our editor will read your entire manuscript at least once and then go through line by line to add comments.
In both cases, if you have provided specific questions, our editor will try to answer your questions.
Our process is fully digital.
Automatic software is great, but it does not provide the level of quality that we prefer. Our editing is all done by a professional, experienced human.
In our experience, automated tools inevitably flag false positives and may simply miss typos. For instance, the tool may have trouble identifying the proper use of homonyms in some cases, may not be able to distinguish between British and American English, or may strictly enforce subjective rules (such as the use of adverbs).
Books are written and read by humans, and human judgement is still required throughout the process to ensure what you produce is something your audience wants to read.
Depending on the editing service you have purchased, we will correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and we’ll provide comments about style, plot, and character development.
After all, this is your baby, and the rewrites belong in your capable hands. This is our way of ensuring that your story is told consistently in your own voice.
If you have selected a revision service, that will, of course, include rewriting as needed to meet agreed editing direction.
Our feedback is guaranteed to be constructive and professionally delivered.
But feedback can be difficult to read. After working for weeks, months, or even years on a project, any author feels some attachment to their words. We may recommend removing a scene that is very dear or a character we think is taking up space without advancing the story.
Start by taking a deep breath and remembering why you are here. You want to improve, and we want to help you improve. As painful as that growth can be, it is necessary to take you to the next step.
We’re glad you asked! We can help with formatting the interior of your book, wrapping it in a custom-designed cover, and even self-publishing on Amazon. Read all about the options on our Finishing Services page.
Quality
MK is a boutique agency that delights in working one-on-one with our clients to help them achieve their goals. Our mission is to ensure that each manuscript is prepared for its next step on the road to publishing, and we are prepared to hold your hand through it all. For this reason, we have a very high customer retention rate and very high satisfaction.
Relatives and friends are predisposed to like your work, however objective they try to remain. Writing groups are essential for many people to help them stay motivated and gain basic skills. But friends and family typically will not have the training or experience to provide professional-level editing.
All of our proofreading is done by a person. While we try our best to be perfect, we can’t promise this in a contract. We are, after all, only human.
If you aren’t 100% satisfied with your editing services or finishing services, we will work with you to make it right. After all, if you are successful, we are successful!
Traditional publishers and agents are looking for quality manuscripts, but they are also considering what fits the current market and what they think will sell. Your book can be amazing and not right for a given publisher or agent at the time you are trying to sell it. Check out this story about Famous authors who have been rejected multiple times.
Security & Confidentiality
MK team members are not permitted to download client works to individual computers but are required to keep all manuscripts within our secure system throughout the process. Additionally, everyone involved in handling your manuscript has signed contracts agreeing to limitations that guarantee the security and confidentiality of your intellectual property.
When you sign a contract with MK Editing Services, your manuscript will be restricted to the team of specialists who are assigned to you project. Our project management software ensures this restriction.
MK Editing Services operates a secure (https) web site, and our online store partner (Square Online) is also secure. Furthermore, our internal policies ensure that only the company CEO has access to customer information.
Absolutely not. Your copyright will always remain yours.