Q. I want to work with you! What happens next?

A. Great! Let’s chat! Please enquire via my ‘contact me’ page with as many details about your project as you can: genre, length, timelines, vision. We get chatting, and once I have all the details I need, I will send you an indicative quote and draft contract. Once we’re both happy, and I have received all of your materials, and you’ve paid your fifty percent deposit, I get to work. You’ll generally receive a sample of the work within two weeks, and you’ll then have a chance to make any final direction-tweaks, to continue unchanged, or to opt-out of the project. Once the project is all done, I’ll send you the final invoice. Final payment is due before you receive your files.

Q. Do you offer developmental editing services?

A. Not yet, but it is a service I hope to offer soon. There’s no timeframe on this yet, but I’ll update my webpage when I know more. Right now my capacity just doesn’t allow for it.

Q. Do your copy-edits come with a style sheet?

A. Yes! All copy-edits for manuscripts 20,000 words or more come with a complimentary style sheet. Do you already have your own style sheet? No worries, I am happy to use that to ensure consistency with your other projects, and may offer some suggested additions to it for you to take or leave as you wish.

Q. What’s the difference between copy-editing and proofreading?

A. Copy-edits are generally more comprehensive than proof-reads. During a copy-edit, I may pick up slight inconsistencies in your timeline, characterisations, settings, etc. A proofread is generally the final step before your book hits printers, looking for grammatical and spelling errors. A copy-edit will pick-up these errors as well, but as it may have more substantial editorial recommendations, a final proof-read is also recommended.

Q. Do you offer proof-reading services?

A. Generally speaking, no. And I recommend you hire a different proof-reader to your developmental and/or copy-editor. This is because fresh eyes are more likely to pick-up typos. I also encourage writers to develop a street team of Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) readers, who can also act as your proofreaders, by agreement of course.

Q. How long does it take you to deliver?

A. This greatly depends on my current workload/commitments and the size of your project. Please reach out to check my availability and possible timeframes. Generally, for standard-length novels (50,000-90,000 words), if I have capacity to begin immediately, it will take 6-8 weeks for copy-edits and 10-12 weeks for audiobook production. It may be possible to rush production, but again, please reach out with more details so we can discuss.

Q. Do you offer payment plans?

A. As a general rule, no. Fifty percent of the invoice is due before the project can commence, and the remaining fifty per cent must be paid before the project is delivered. However, I do understand how costly publishing can be, especially for indie presses and self-publishing authors. Please always reach out, you never know what we might be able to work out unless you ask!

Q. Can I listen to examples of your narration work anywhere?

A. Yes! And I hope you do. The audiobooks for The First House and I am Haunted are available now from all major streaming platforms. I can also send you short samples of my narration style on request.

Q. Do you offer a sample of my project for review before everything is locked in?

A. Yes! When you reach out to me, I will respond with a quote, and if you are interested in working together, then the next step is for me to send you a draft contract. This spells out the precise conditions, but in summary, you only ever pay me for the work I do for you. For copy-edits, I provide a 500-word sample at the beginning of our project. For audiobooks, I provide a 10-minutes sample. During the review period, you have the chance to opt-out of the project, and your deposit is returned minus a small fee to cover my initial time.

Q. Can I choose the sample of my project you’ll prepare?

A. Yes! And please do think about this carefully. If you have a lot of characters for your audiobook, for example, you might choose a scene where they are all together rather than the opening of the story.

Q. What genres do you work in?

A. I work across all genres, though I particularly love historical fiction and dark fiction. I am highly selective with non-fiction manuscripts. For your audiobooks, whether you want a proffessional, neutral tone, or a character-driven adventure, I can work with your vision.

Q. Are there any projects you won’t take on?

A. Yes, thanks for asking! I do not edit or record stories with gratuitous and/or graphic sexual assault and/or cultural appropriation. If you’re worried about triggers, reach out, let’s chat.

Q. Can you perform accents and different character voices?

A. Yes! I feel like this is essential for any audiobook narrator. That said, I avoid stereotypes. I try to embody the character, which might mean a softer accent. I also have an Australian accent day-to-day, and a passion for narrating books written by Australian authors and/or set in Australia. If you’re looking for someone to record the entire manuscript in a different accent, I’m not your gal.

Q. Do your audiobooks include edits after delivery, if there’s something I don’t like or that’s not quite right?

A. Yes! If you’ve booked me for full audiobook production, your project includes a complementary round of edits to fix things like mispronunciation or errors. This is all spelled out in the contract. If, however, you simply do not like how a character sounds, you may need to pay for additional edits. This is because of the opportunity to provide this feedback during the intial sample review.

Q. Why can’t you give a fixed quote for audiobooks?

A. This is because we can estimate, but not accurately guess, the final length of your audiobook. If your project looks to be significantly longer or shorter than initially expected, I will reach out to let you know during production.

Q. How do you estimate the finished length of an audiobook?

A. I use the industry standard of 9,300 words per finished hour, which is an average narration pace of about 155 words per minute. You will have the chance to review how this pacing sounds during the review stage, and request changes before our project is locked in.

Q. Where do you record your audiobooks?

A. I am very lucky to have my own professional home recording studio!

Q. What is ‘raw audio’?

A. Raw audio is an unedited, unpolished audio recording. I guarantee a certain noise floor level, but do not guarantee it will meet ACX-standards without further editing. This option is generally chosen by publishers or fellow narrators, looking for an additional character in a different voice, who are prepared to produce and edit the full audiobook themselves.

Q. Do you assist with audiobook distribution and/or promotion?

A. No, this is something that’s up to you and/or your publisher. Personally, for audiobook distribution, I use Voices by InAudio.

Q. Do you use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your edits or audiobook narration/production?

A. No! I have a firm no-AI policy, and spell this out in our contract to protect both you and I.

Q. What about intellectual property rights?

A. You retain the full copyright to your own works. By entering into contract with me, you would be asserting that you have the rights to the work in question. You also retain the full rights to utilise the audiobook recordings and/or edits. In line with our contract, I would generally retain the right to use a very small sample of the project for promotional purposes.

Audiobooks

Copy-Editing

FAQs

Have any other questions? Please reach out!

JJ Carpenter