Do you need to hire a publisher to self-publish a book in Canada? 

No, you don't need to hire a publisher to self-publish a book in Canada. This is good news, as many publishers charge authors thousands of dollars just to publish one book, and they often charge extra for editing. 

If you do hire a hybrid publisher, make sure you read reviews of their services posted online. Remember, publishers are businesses. Prestige and gate-keeping are often marketing strategies. In many cases, that is all they are: branding and marketing strategies. 

You don't have to pay for a hybrid publisher (the type of publisher that requires payment to publish). You can simply hire your own editor, and then publish independently for free on a platform such as Amazon KDP. You can get an ISBN for free from ISBN Canada at Library and Archives Canada. 

Samantha Lord is a Canadian editor with more than 13 years of experience, and she will edit your book. She offers a full range of book editing services, including developmental editing, copyediting and line editing, and proofreading. Learn more at https://www.samanthalordwriter.com/book-editing-services. 

Do you work with clients in countries other than Canada?

Yes, absolutely! I work remotely (online) with clients all over the world. In fact, most of my clients are from the United States. 

How does payment for your services work? 

I keep payments safe and easy by using PayPal or Stripe invoicing. 

What is developmental editing? 

This is the Editorial Freelancers Association's definition of Developmental Editing (EFA): 

"Developmental editors (also called substantive, structural, or content editors) deal with content, organization, and genre considerations. After reviewing a manuscript, they may provide an overall critique of the content in a “manuscript evaluation,” or they may provide the author with a revision (or “editorial” or “edit”) letter that outlines the big-picture issues and offers suggestions for how to address them" (EFA). You may choose to have more than one round of developmental editing. 

What is copyediting/line editing? 

I do copyediting and line editing in one phase. This is the EFA's definition of copyediting. 

"Perhaps the most familiar kind of editing, copyediting involves correcting spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation, checking cross-references, and preparing the style sheets that guide consistency and accuracy across the manuscript" (EFA). You may choose to have more than one round of copyediting/line editing. 

Below is the EFA's definition of line editing. 

"Line editors work at the sentence or paragraph level of a manuscript. Like copyeditors, they correct errors, but their main focus is on improving the language and style of the text. Line editing may be performed as a separate service, in conjunction with developmental editing after big-picture issues have been addressed, or in conjunction with copyediting" (EFA). 

You may choose to have more than one round of copyediting/line editing.  

What is proofreading? 

"Proofreading is among the last stages of getting a manuscript ready for publication. Proofreaders check for typographical errors and formatting mistakes" (EFA). 

The proofreader looks for errors that slipped through during the copyediting/line editing process. 

If you hire me for the earlier stages of editing (developmental editing and copyediting/line editing), I can offer you a lower fee for your proofreading than I would charge otherwise.  

What is manuscript evaluation? 

Please be aware that evaluating the manuscript is part of developmental editing, but some authors choose to get a separate manuscript evaluation by itself (as it is lower cost than developmental editing) before they decide whether they want to pay for any type of editing. 

In a manuscript evaluation, I would provide high-level feedback on your manuscript, its possibilities, and some limited and general suggestions for changes you could make. I would present this in letter form. 

What does an editor do? 

As explained by the EFA, “Editing is taking an author’s words and turning them into a final product” (EFA). 

Editing isn’t just about correcting mistakes. It involves consideration of clarity, coherence, tone, voice, organization, and style. Your editor edits your work in light of the final format and genre in which you wish to publish it.  

When you hire an editor, you choose the stage(s) of editing you want them to do. The stages of editing are developmental editing, copyediting/line editing, and proofreading. Please see the descriptions of those stages that I’ve published on this site. 

Do you need an editor for your Substack publication?

Yes, your Substack would likely benefit from an editor. Writing a Substack publication is very time-consuming, and having an editor means you don’t have to spend time checking and refining it. 

I am an editor with Substack experience. I know what tends to work there and what doesn’t, and you can hire me to edit your newsletter. 

What is the difference between rounds and passes in editing?

A round of editing is all the editing I do in one round before I return your manuscript to you. For example, if you hire me for developmental editing, I will do a round of developmental editing, then return the manuscript to you, and then you would look at my suggestions and edits and make your revisions. After you’ve finished making those revisions, you could ask me to do another round of developmental editing, if you’d like. This also applies to copyediting and line editing. 

On the other hand, a pass is something that only matters on my end. I often do multiple passes of your manuscript during one round. This varies from manuscript to manuscript and depends on my judgment. 

What is Ghostwriting? 

Put most simply, ghostwriting is writing written for you by someone else, that you plan to publish under your own name. In other words, when someone ghostwrites something for you, you have full rights to publish it as your own. 

As your ghostwriter, I will spend some time getting to know your voice as a writer (the elements of your writing that make it recognizable, such as the types of sentence structures, tone, and vocabulary you tend to use, and your general perspective), and your desired tone for the project before I start writing for you. 

Also, I will need information on 

• Your target audience, and 

• The purpose of your writing 

I can ghostwrite your: 

• Books

• Articles and blog posts

• Newsletters, such as Substack

• Social media copy, such as LinkedIn

As we see here, there is some overlap between the terms “ghostwriting” and “copywriting.” 

Yes, social media copy and other forms of writing that we can use in marketing are usually referred to as copywriting. However, when you’re hiring someone else to write them, you could call that person both a copywriter and a ghostwriter.  

Who Can Hire a Ghostwriter? 

Anyone can hire a ghostwriter. However, some examples of situations when you might want to hire a ghostwriter include:

• When you want to publish a book under your own name but don’t have time to write it yourself/don’t want to write it yourself

• When you want to publish a newsletter (such as Substack) or blog but want someone else to do the writing. 

• When you want someone else to write your posts for social media, such as LinkedIn. 

What is Copywriting? 

Copywriting is writing written to help build your brand, persuade, or sell. In other words, it’s generally writing with some kind of marketing or sales purpose. 

However, copywriting extends beyond just sales copy. In fact, much of social media writing could be considered copywriting, as we often write our social media posts with a view to building our brands. This is also true about a lot of newsletter and blog writing. 

What is the Difference Between Copywriting and Ghostwriting? 

There is some overlap in how we define copywriting and ghostwriting. This makes sense, as when you hire a copywriter, you generally have full rights to the copywriter’s work and can publish it under your name. 

However, a difference between copywriting and ghostwriting is that ghostwriting also encompasses writing that has purposes outside of persuading and brand building, such as creativity and sharing knowledge.