Children’s book editing services, from picture books to middle grade

Editing a children’s book at AuthorWings costs $599 for a picture book up to 1,000 words, $749 for a rhyming picture book, $799 for an early reader and $999 for a chapter book up to 12,000 words. A critique costs $249 to $399. Middle grade is priced per word at our fiction rates, from $0.071 for line, copy and proofreading or $0.104 for all four levels with story notes. Across the market, picture book edits run from about $300 to more than $1,000.

Yes, in a picture book the story and the sentences are too close to edit apart. Our picture book edit covers both in one pass: structure, pacing and page turns, then every line and word. If your text is already revised and only needs a final check, a copy edit costs $240.

A critique is an editorial letter: what works, what doesn’t and what to change, with no edits in your file. An edit includes the letter plus tracked changes and margin notes on every line. A critique suits an early draft. An edit suits a draft you plan to publish or send to agents. Still drafting? Our guide on how to write a children’s book shows how to plan all 32 pages first.

Yes. A rhyming picture book gets everything in the picture book edit, plus a meter pass. We mark the stressed beats in every line, fix lines where the rhythm stumbles, and replace rhymes that bend the story to fit. The rhyming edit costs $749 for up to 1,000 words.

Yes. We write a spread map with art notes for $199 and review the illustrator’s sketches against the text for $149. Both are free when AuthorWings illustrates your book. The review checks that the pictures don’t repeat the words, nothing in the story is missing, and every page turn is set up.

A picture book edit takes 7 business days, an early reader 10 business days, and a chapter book 10 to 15 business days. Middle grade follows our standard editing timelines, based on word count. A critique usually comes back faster. You get a start date with your quote.

Yes. Every edit checks word choice and sentence length against the age band, from board books to middle grade. We also flag scenes or topics that parents, teachers or librarians may find too much for the age, and suggest how to handle them.

Yes. The edit brings your manuscript to the length, pacing and polish agents expect for its category, and the editorial letter tells you what the book does best, which helps with your pitch. We don’t submit manuscripts to agents for you.

Yes, because no one else will check the book before it prints. A publisher gives a children’s book an editor and an art director. When you self-publish, an edit is how you get both: the text fixed, and notes that tell your illustrator what to draw.

Yes. Nonfiction picture books get the same edit, with extra attention to clear explanations for the age and to back matter such as glossaries and fact pages. We flag facts and figures for you to confirm against your sources. Fact-checking against sources is not part of the edit.

You don’t need one nearby. Children’s book editing is remote work: you send the manuscript, and the edit, margin notes and letter come back by email. AuthorWings is registered in Brooklyn, New York, and edits for authors in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and beyond.

Your edited text is ready for illustration, and then for publishing. Our team can draw the book in book illustration, then format and publish it through children’s book publishing. Each step is priced on its own page, and you can stop after any of them. To see the whole route, read how to publish a children’s book.