MEET THE EDITORS: accomplished authors and editors to guide your manuscript from concept to completion.
Professional editing and constructive critique for your OUTLINE, WORK IN PROGRESS, SYNOPSIS, or QUERY LETTER.
Give your muse the gift of 10% off edits and critique. Use coupon code HOLIDAY10 on the Cart page.
For all documents you send us, we recommend but do not require:
Our recommended settings yield an estimated 250 words per 8½ by 11” page. Query letters are often single-spaced, but the draft query letter you send for critique may be double-spaced.
If you upload files in other formats, we will try to convert them into Microsoft Word. This allows us to include feedback and suggestions in the same file. Our response will also include a PDF file that is readable or printable without Microsoft Word software.
If we cannot work with a file, we will cancel that order item and refund the original payment source.
File uploads can be done from the Checkout Page, the last step when placing an order. The top right corner of that page has a blue box with a white “Choose Files” button. When you click that button, a file selection window opens, and you can upload one or more files.
You should upload a copy, not the original file, because we do not guarantee the return of the original file.
You will receive a second email within five days of your order. It will confirm receipt of files we can read and review, or it will request that you re-upload the document.
To re-upload a file, use the form on the Contact Page. It includes a Choose File button. The order number requested there is optional but appreciated.
We confirm the file size of any part of an order that specifies a page count. If a file exceeds the amount purchased, we will work with the number of words purchased.
Here’s the formula we use:
PAGE QUANTITY * 250 = # OF WORDS PURCHASED
When you send us DOCX or TXT files, we open them in Microsoft Word then add comments and recommendations.
We send a PDF version of the file we have annotated. That way, if you do not have Microsoft Word, you can view and print our comments and recommendations using any of these apps:
We also send the annotated file in DOCX format for further editing if you have Microsoft Word.
All editors at Second Eyes Editorial are human professionals. On average, each brings more than 10 years of experience in editing and publishing to the writers they guide and encourage.
To learn more about their backgrounds and the genres they most often edit, visit the Meet the Editors pages. At checkout, you’ll find a “Note or Editor request” space where you can indicate your preferred editor. If that person isn’t available, another will be thoughtfully assigned based on your project’s genre and needs.
Chip, the robotic office assistant, works entirely apart from the editors at Second Eyes Editorial. Their work is thorough and detailed, while Chip provides a single‑page report of high‑level observations. It’s perfectly priced; free for the asking with any human editorial service!
If you request Chip’s AI Perspective at checkout, he will process up to 40 rubric elements and share which ones he favors and which he finds less effective.
We reserve the right to decline services for any submitted file. We typically reject content that involves plagiarism, explicit sexual material, extreme violence, or animal cruelty. Other factors may also lead to refusal, though we won’t provide specific reasons.
If a file is declined, a full refund will be issued for that item.
Refunds are issued for individual files, and only for these reasons:
We will not share your plot, character descriptions, outline, or any other content you send us unless you request that your work be shared.
You can always direct us to erase the data we hold about your work, excluding information we must keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
A query letter is a writer’s first handshake with a literary agent or publisher. When it’s concise and compelling, it will lead to a request for a partial or full manuscript.
The effort and time an author invests in preparing a synopsis first returns when its well-crafted pages support planning. Later, this brief document guides elevator conversations and manuscript pitches, and ultimately compresses into dust jacket blurbs and online store descriptions.
