# EditFast > Human editing and proofreading for books, corporate documents and academic > work. Founded 1998. Worldwide, delivered by email. Every edit is done by a > person, not by software. ## What EditFast does EditFast edits and proofreads written work for authors, businesses, academics and professionals. Four service families: - Book editing - fiction, novels, short stories, non-fiction, autobiography, academic books, line editing, manuscript proofreading, self-publishing support. https://editfast.com/book-editing/ - Corporate editing - policy and procedure manuals, HR manuals, safety guidelines, business reports, project proposals, employee handbooks, government submissions and grants. https://editfast.com/corporate-editing/ - Proofreading - academic proofreading, theses and dissertations, journal articles, business correspondence, marketing copy, technical documents, manuals and SOPs, white papers. https://editfast.com/proofreading-services/ - Document editing - legal and policy documents, contracts, regulatory submissions, technical manuals, operations guidelines, product labels. https://editfast.com/document-editing/ Also organized by the reader's own field, across 44 sectors: https://editfast.com/editing-services/ ## Price Priced by the word, in US dollars: - Proofread: $0.03 per word - Light edit: $0.035 per word - Medium edit: $0.04 per word - Heavy edit: $0.05 per word - Minimum charge: $50 Average is $0.04 per word. A typical 80,000-word manuscript is about $3,200. Rush, next-day and same-day turnarounds cost more. Full rates: https://editfast.com/pricing.php Estimate: https://editfast.com/cost-calculator/ A firm quote is free. Nothing is owed if the author decides against it. ## How to start Send the document, or a representative sample plus the total word count, through https://editfast.com/contact-us.php Phone: 1-877-333-3321 Email: hello@editfast.com ## Confidentiality Submitted writing is read only by the editor working on it, is never published, and uploaded files are deleted from the server automatically after 30 days. Full policy: https://editfast.com/privacy.php ## Questions answered in depth 62 pages of questions and answers, grouped by what the reader is writing. Each answer cites the rule, statute or professional standard it rests on. - Books and publishing: https://editfast.com/faq/books/ - Business and government documents: https://editfast.com/faq/business/ - Journal articles: https://editfast.com/faq/journals/ - Theses and dissertations: https://editfast.com/faq/theses/ - Screenplays and scripts: https://editfast.com/faq/screen/ - General documents: https://editfast.com/faq/documents/ - All of them: https://editfast.com/faq/ ## Articles Sixty-three long-form articles on writing and editing. Every checkable claim cites a published source, and the reference list is on the page. - How to Structure Your Manuscript for Maximum Impact: https://editfast.com/articles/structuring-your-manuscript/ - Common Editing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: https://editfast.com/articles/common-editing-mistakes/ - Polishing Dialogue in Fiction: https://editfast.com/articles/polishing-dialogue-in-fiction/ - Improving Clarity and Flow in Nonfiction Writing: https://editfast.com/articles/clarity-and-flow-in-nonfiction/ - Proofreading Tips for Academic Papers: https://editfast.com/articles/proofreading-academic-papers/ - Grammar and Punctuation Checklist: https://editfast.com/articles/grammar-and-punctuation-checklist/ - Common Typos and How to Catch Them: https://editfast.com/articles/common-typos-and-how-to-catch-them/ - Final Proofreading Before Submission: https://editfast.com/articles/final-proofreading-before-submission/ - What Editing Costs in the United States, by Level, by the Word, and by the Hour: https://editfast.com/articles/what-editing-costs/ - Plain English Is a Legal Requirement in American Finance, and This Is the Exact List: https://editfast.com/articles/plain-english-in-finance/ - What Your University Actually Permits an Editor to Do to Your Dissertation: https://editfast.com/articles/what-your-university-permits/ - Which Style Manual to Use, and What Actually Changes If You Pick the Other One: https://editfast.com/articles/which-style-manual/ - A Product Label Is a Regulated Document, and Editing One Is Not Copywriting: https://editfast.com/articles/editing-regulated-product-labels/ - Why a Memoir Needs a Fact-Check and a Novel Does Not: https://editfast.com/articles/memoir-and-the-fact-check/ - Where Language Editing Ends and Authorship Begins: https://editfast.com/articles/language-editing-and-authorship/ - Real Estate Listings, Fair Housing Language, and the Words That Are Not Allowed: https://editfast.com/articles/fair-housing-language/ - Writing a Procedure Someone Can Follow at Two in the Morning: https://editfast.com/articles/procedures-people-can-follow/ - What the FTC Considers a Claim, and How Marketing Copy Becomes One by Accident: https://editfast.com/articles/ftc-claims-in-marketing-copy/ - Engineering Reports That an Expert Witness Will Have to Defend: https://editfast.com/articles/engineering-reports-and-expert-testimony/ - Regulatory Submissions Fail on Format More Often Than on Science: https://editfast.com/articles/regulatory-submissions-and-format/ - Insurance Policy Wording and the Doctrine That Punishes the Drafter: https://editfast.com/articles/insurance-policy-wording/ - What an Editorial Letter Actually Says, and How to Read One: https://editfast.com/articles/reading-an-editorial-letter/ - Why Your Word Processor's Grammar Checker Disagrees With Your Publisher: https://editfast.com/articles/grammar-checkers-and-house-style/ - What a Government Solicitation Means by Responsive: https://editfast.com/articles/government-solicitations-and-responsiveness/ - Turning a Dissertation into a Book, and What a Press Will Ask You to Remove: https://editfast.com/articles/dissertation-to-book/ - Menus, Allergen Statements, and the Sentence That Has to Be Exact: https://editfast.com/articles/menus-and-allergen-statements/ - How to Read an Editing Quote, and the Five Things It Should Say: https://editfast.com/articles/reading-an-editing-quote/ - Why a Reference List Is the Cheapest Place to Lose a Reader's Trust: https://editfast.com/articles/reference-lists-and-trust/ - The Difference Between a Line Edit and a Copyedit, Shown on One Paragraph: https://editfast.com/articles/line-edit-and-copyedit/ - The Sample Edit: What It Proves, What It Cannot, and What to Send: https://editfast.com/articles/the-sample-edit/ - An Employee Handbook Read the Way an Attorney Reads It: https://editfast.com/articles/employee-handbooks-read-twice/ - Nonprofit Program Reports Read by Three Audiences at Once: https://editfast.com/articles/nonprofit-program-service-reporting/ - Blind Submission, and the Metadata That Gives You Away: https://editfast.com/articles/blind-submission-and-metadata/ - How Long a Book Should Be, Who Decides It, and What Happens When It Runs Over: https://editfast.com/articles/how-long-a-book-should-be/ - What a Style Sheet Is, and Why to Ask for It: https://editfast.com/articles/what-a-style-sheet-is/ - Hyphens, Compounds, and the Places They Change Meaning: https://editfast.com/articles/hyphens-and-compounds/ - Point of View, Tense, and the Two Questions an Editor Cannot Answer for You: https://editfast.com/articles/point-of-view-and-tense/ - Construction Submittals, RFIs, and the Paper Trail That Settles a Dispute: https://editfast.com/articles/construction-submittals-and-rfis/ - Mining and Resource Disclosure: Reports Written for Regulators and Investors: https://editfast.com/articles/mining-and-resource-disclosure/ - Recall Notices, and What Happens When a Regulator Writes Your Sentences: https://editfast.com/articles/recall-notices-and-required-wording/ - Editing Qualifications in North America, and What Each One Certifies: https://editfast.com/articles/editing-qualifications-in-north-america/ - Rush Work: What It Costs, and What It Cannot Buy: https://editfast.com/articles/rush-work-and-deadlines/ - What a Graduate School Checks Before Anyone Reads the Argument: https://editfast.com/articles/format-review-before-the-defense/ - Self-Publishing: Every Stage a Publisher Would Have Paid For: https://editfast.com/articles/self-publishing-stages/ - Copyright Registration Before Publication, and What It Buys: https://editfast.com/articles/copyright-registration-timing/ - What a Journal Means by Data Availability: https://editfast.com/articles/data-availability-statements/ - Numbers, Units, and the Errors That Survive Every Read: https://editfast.com/articles/numbers-units-and-errors/ - Preprints, Embargoes, and What You Can Post Before Publication: https://editfast.com/articles/preprints-and-embargoes/ - What an Index Is, Who Builds It, and When: https://editfast.com/articles/what-an-index-is/ - Titles and Abstracts, and the Two Things a Database Indexes: https://editfast.com/articles/titles-and-abstracts/ - Energy Filings, and What a Signature Certifies: https://editfast.com/articles/ferc-filings-and-signatures/ - Translated Documents, and the Version That Governs: https://editfast.com/articles/translated-documents-and-certification/ - Grant Applications and the Instructions Nobody Reads Twice: https://editfast.com/articles/grant-applications-and-instructions/ - Reporting Checklists, and What a Journal Requires Before Review: https://editfast.com/articles/reporting-checklists/ - Trial Registration and Data Sharing, and the Sentences a Journal Looks For: https://editfast.com/articles/trial-registration-and-data-sharing/ - Conscious Language, and What the Standard Actually Asks: https://editfast.com/articles/conscious-language/ - What a Manuscript Assessment Is, and When It Is Cheaper Than an Edit: https://editfast.com/articles/manuscript-assessment/ - What a Nonprofit May Publish, and the Line the Tax Code Draws: https://editfast.com/articles/nonprofit-political-speech/ - Quotation Marks, and When You May Change Someone's Words: https://editfast.com/articles/quotations-and-changing-words/ - Capitalization: Job Titles, Departments, and Product Names: https://editfast.com/articles/capitalization-titles-and-names/ - Authorship, Contributorship, and Who Decides: https://editfast.com/articles/authorship-and-contributorship/ - Conflict of Interest Disclosure, and What Counts: https://editfast.com/articles/conflict-of-interest-disclosure/ - Tracked Changes, Queries, and How to Answer an Editor: https://editfast.com/articles/tracked-changes-and-queries/ - All of them: https://editfast.com/articles.php ## What the four editing levels mean Proofread, light edit, medium edit and heavy edit, each defined on its own page: https://editfast.com/definitions/ ## Editing by profession The same work described for the reader's own field, across 20 professions: https://editfast.com/industries/ ## Key pages - Homepage: https://editfast.com/ - About: https://editfast.com/about.php - Editors: https://editfast.com/editor-profiles.php - Client feedback (1998-2025): https://editfast.com/testimonials.php - Articles: https://editfast.com/articles.php - Pricing: https://editfast.com/pricing.php - Cost calculator: https://editfast.com/cost-calculator/ - 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