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Manuscript Editing for Sourcebooks

Order Manuscript EditingSourcebooks is a publisher in Naperville, Illinois, majority-owned by Penguin Random House since 2023. Its list is broad. Alongside commercial memoir, biography, and narrative nonfiction, it publishes fiction, romance through Casablanca and Bloom Books, mystery through Poisoned Pen Press, young adult novels, and children's books.

Off the Grid Editing prepares manuscripts for Sourcebooks in fiction and nonfiction. Commercial books depend on readability, so the edit keeps sentences clean and the pace steady, and in memoir and biography it holds names and dates consistent from start to finish. Romance and mystery get the same attention to pace. Off the Grid works in Chicago style and applies the publisher's own guidelines when the author sends them.


Human Manuscript Editor

Natural Intelligence for Sourcebooks

Natural Intelligence is our name for editorial judgment: an editor who reads your manuscript the way Sourcebooks editors will and checks every change before it comes back to you. In a mystery, that includes making sure the clues and the timeline hold up. Every edit arrives in Track Changes.

Our Promise

We will ensure that the final draft you receive is completely ready to submit to Sourcebooks. We work with you until it is ready or refund your payment in full. That commitment has held since 2002.

Our editors do not have access to your manuscript until an order is placed. Your draft is secure until you decide to proceed.

Manuscript Editing Services for Sourcebooks

We offer three levels of manuscript editing depending on what your manuscript needs. Each is described below so you can choose the service that fits where your draft is right now.

Manuscript Copy Editing

Grammar and usage, awkward phrasing, repetition, and passive voice corrected, then clarity, concision, sentence structure, transitions, and tone, with your style manual applied throughout and a final proofread. For authors whose argument and structure are settled.

Manuscript Line Editing

Clarity, emphasis, and paragraph structure: topic sentences, transitions, and sentences reordered within a paragraph, with every fact and claim kept as you wrote it. Includes copy editing and a final proofread.

Manuscript Proofreading

Spelling, punctuation, typos, capitalization, grammar, and usage corrected with minimal wording changes, for manuscripts that have been edited and need a last check before submission to Sourcebooks.

Sourcebooks Submission Standards

Sourcebooks publishes through many imprints, so it helps to know which one fits your book. Start at the Sourcebooks website. If you have received editorial guidelines or reader feedback from Sourcebooks, include them with your manuscript and we will address them throughout our edit. If you have questions about which service is right for your manuscript, contact us directly.

Related pages: our overview of manuscript editing for trade and literary publishers covers other houses. We also offer book and manuscript editing, developmental editing, and fiction and creative nonfiction editing.

Human Reviewed Quality Trade Mark for Off the Grid Editing

Manuscript Instant Invoice

Ready to prepare your manuscript for Sourcebooks? Use our secure portal to generate an immediate, word-count-based quote and secure your delivery deadline.

Our editors do not have access to your manuscript until an order is placed.

Manuscript Instant Invoice

Direct Support

Reach our editorial team directly to discuss your manuscript, your Sourcebooks submission timeline, or which service is right for your project. Initial consultations of up to 15 minutes are complimentary.