Crime Fiction Copy Editor – $23.50 – $27.00 an hour

Copy Editor Needed for Long-Term Crime Fiction Novels: Thriller – Suspense – Mystery – Psychological

Mary Stone Publishing (MSP) is looking to contract a meticulous copy editor for multiple novel-length books (60,000–80,000+ words) within the thriller-mystery-suspense crime fiction and psychological thriller genres.

We are seeking a dependable freelance copy editor to work long-term in a team environment. While projects will be on a book-by-book basis in the beginning, we will need many books copyedited regularly (weekly and monthly). If you have a passion for crime fiction, a sharp analytical mind, and the ability to see what a story needs to reach its full potential, we’d love to hear from you!

Scope of Work

Utilizing our online platform, you ensure each element of a story is consistent, cohesive, and complete by:

• Fact-checking all facts, statistics, data, media et cetera mentioned in the narrative
• Flagging ambiguous or factually incorrect sentences
• Checking for continuity errors and flagging those that aren’t tied up
• Tracking larger concerns like discrepancies in the plot, setting, and character traits, using an in-depth Master Character List as a guide
• Logging new plot, setting, and character trait details in the Master Character List
• Correcting any typos, especially spelling, grammar, punctuation, and syntax errors
• Filling in missing words
• Eliminating repetitive and redundant wording
• Removing extra spaces and fixing other minor formatting issues
• Creating new paragraphs to break up long passages
• Ensuring consistent spelling, hyphenation, numerals, fonts, and capitalization using the following guides:

o Mary Stone Publishing Style Guidelines

o Merriam-Webster Dictionary

o Chicago Manual of Style

You will work with the copy editing manager, editing director, and editing team as you learn the Mary Stone Publishing house style and receive feedback on each book with the goal of working independently by the fourth book. A quality check will always be performed for copy editors to receive feedback for continued improvement.

Requirements

• Experience copyediting using Microsoft Word Track Changes (must have the most up-to-date version of Word).
• Willingness to learn our author voice and style.
• Copyedit in both third-person and first-person points of view, past and present tense, with alternating character POVs per each scene.
• Excellent fact-checking skills with emphasis on the ability to fact-check scientific/forensic/police procedure.
• The ability to spot inconsistencies within scenes and over the course of series, as well as the willingness to fact-check plot, setting, and character details using a master character list.
• Deadline driven and able to respond to communication within 24 hours—very important.
• Must be proficient in the Chicago Manual of Style, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and be able to copyedit using our MSP Guidelines for house style.
• Work in an online shared team environment.
• Be able to fill in for another copy editor if necessary.
• Sign an NDA.
• Experience in crime fiction a plus.

Our novels are geared toward women, but we also have a significant male readership. Our copy editing manager will review your work, and if needed, send it back to you for revisions and/or suggestions or to answer questions. You will be working with a team experienced in the genre in an online shared environment, and you must be open to constructive criticism from another set of eyes. The team will provide help and suggestions where needed. The goal is to work together to create perfect crime fiction novels and for you to be working independently after learning MSP’s style.

Please be sure you will have the time to work with us and devote to copyediting a full-length novel (60,000-80,000+ words) with two copyediting passes in 7 business days on a deadline that must be met for publishing purposes. We need a copy editor with good communication skills, as communicating with us for deadlines and with the editors about errors or discrepancies found is a must. We work as a team and care about our editors. This is a good opportunity for someone who wants job security and comes with the possibility for promotion within the MSP organization.

Ownership and Legal:

• Understand that this is a work-for-hire independent contractor position—outline writers hold no rights to the work and must adhere to all legal and ownership agreements set by Mary Stone Publishing.
• Willing to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) for each outline.
• All submitted work must be 100% original. AI-generated, AI-assisted, pre-written templates, or PLR (Private Label Rights) content will not be accepted. Submissions that appear to rely primarily on AI, templates, or PLR material will be disqualified.

**Please note that we pay a per word or flat fee, we needed to include an hourly rate to advertise the position, but we do not pay hourly**