
Welcome to Quail Run Editorial, your one-stop shop for all editorial services. We serve indie authors (those who are self-publishing), authors who are pursuing traditional publishing (pitching to agents and publishers), and publishers and presses.
Our services include ghostwriting, manuscript evaluations, developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading.
With vetted professionals to help you with interior and cover design and marketing/publicity needs, we can guide you through every step of the process. Visit our OTHER SERVICES page.
Julie Swearingen, owner and editor, received a master’s degree in book publishing from Portland State University in 2017. She works with manuscripts in the memoir, fiction, young adult, historical romance, and middle-grade genre. Julie also works as the events manager for an independent bookstore in Bend, Oregon, where she is able to stay well informed of new releases and publishing trends, as well as facilitate a YA-centered book club.
She is a member of the Central Oregon Writers Guild, the Northwest Editors Guild, ACES: The Society for Editing, the Freelancers Union, and the Independent Book Publishers Association. Read Julie’s full bio here.
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Reviews
“Working with Julie has been a pleasure. The first thing that impressed me was how promptly she delivered her feedback. Julie conducted a thorough edit of my manuscript in three weeks. Not only did I receive well-thought-out specific comments, but she also included a lengthy editorial note, which summarized various elements of the book and offered additional suggestions, helping me as a writer. Julie’s also proven to be a valuable resource regarding “what’s next.” I trust her advice and would recommend her without hesitation.”
–Michelle Davis, author of Learning to Bend (available on Amazon) and The Dog Walkers (coming Spring 2022)
“Julie has been helping me get a book published. She is very knowledgeable and knows the answer to every question I throw at her. I would consult with her professionally on any editing or marketing project. I highly recommend.”
–Mary Medrano, artist and author of 50 Dogs 50 Tales
“Working with Julie was an amazing experience, She is diligent and committed, and her notes are on-point and delivered on time. I will gladly work with her again in the future.”
–Gustavo Rodriguez, author of The Devil They Know
“A prompt and complete edit, very useful and much appreciated.”
–David Hendrix, author of Prospector’s World
Our
Services
Manuscript Evaluation
A manuscript evaluation is usually completed before any professional editing. Because it is a high-level overview, as opposed to the more detailed developmental edit, it will cost less and include a shorter feedback letter. Manuscript evaluations are beneficial to help the author identify what works and what doesn’t, including story, structure, mechanics, characters, and genre. The evaluation is performed on a completed manuscript but does not generally include any track change markups on the document.
A manuscript evaluation can also include advice on traditional versus self-publishing, marketing, and querying.
Developmental Editing
Often the first step of editing after you complete a manuscript, a developmental edit (DE) can be one to three rounds and is collaborative—we work with the authors, as a dialogue, to strengthen your piece and your writing overall.
During a developmental edit, we are looking for inconsistencies in tone, tense, structure, characters, or intended audience. Unlike a copyedit, a DE doesn’t usually include corrections directly on the manuscript. We might highlight a paragraph that corresponds to a section of the editorial note that will be included in a completed developmental edit. We will also highlight areas where the writing is done well and how to use that to help any areas that might need improvement.
A developmental edit is focused on the big picture and direction of your work to make it the best possible version.
Line-Level Editing
Line editing, often called substantive or line-level editing, often occurs between developmental editing and copyediting. It is an intense examination of every word, sentence, paragraph, chapter, and the work as a whole. This can include heavy fact-checking and suggestions for moving or removing text. Line editing will also include more comments directly on the manuscript, in addition to an editorial note.
Copyediting
A copyedit (CE), at minimum, will address grammar, spelling, adherence to a recognized style guide (such as The Chicago Manual of Style, Associated Press Stylebook, or a house style guide when working with a publisher), and, in some cases, fact-checking of names, events, quotes, etc.
The copyedit will be the final stage of editing before the book is put into layout and design. After a copyedit, no further writing is recommended. Some aspects of copyediting are addressed in a line-level edit, but they are not the same kind of editing.
Proofreading
A proofread catches any errors introduced during final revisions or during the design process—as well as any remaining grammar or punctuation issues, misspellings, dropped words, and other typos.
Proofreading should only be done after the manuscript has been laid out during the interior design process. A proofread will be performed on a PDF copy of the interior layout so that the editor can see how the book will look when printed. No additional writing or revisions should be made once the manuscript is in the proofreading process.
Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting is very common in celebrity and political books, especially in the memoir and autobiography genre. Ghostwriting of nonfiction may involve several rounds of interviews with the author and others involved in the book.
Ghostwriting in fiction is less common and includes expanding on what the author has already written. A ghostwriter will develop the dialogue and descriptions throughout the book, without changing much of the plot, etc.
Ghostwriting does take the longest—from several months to a year.
Our
Prices
We support authors and book projects at every stage of development. These pricing tables will give you an idea of our services. Please contact us for an initial consultation.

Editing Consultation | — | Free (30 minutes)
|
Manuscript Evaluation | — | $500 for up to 75K words
$600 for 75K—100K words $750 for 101K—125k words Over 125K words—contact for pricing |
Developmental Editing | — | $40/hour
estimate 50-60 hours for 75k word |
Copyediting | — | $35/hour
estimate 40 hours for 75k words |
Line Editing | — | $40/hours
estimate 50-60 hours for 75k words |
Proofreading | — | $0.02/word
|
Ghostwriting | — | $50/hour |
Quail Run Editorial
Let’s Work Together
We start every project with a free consultation. Tell us a little about yourself and your project, and we’ll be in touch to set up a meeting with you.
Use the form to tell us about your project, or just email us at quailruneditorial@gmail.com
