Copy editing, done the Folio way

Catch what's easy to miss.

Names, tenses and timelines checked across your whole manuscript.

folioauthors.com/editing
FFolio Editing Voice-preserving manuscript review
Full Editing
0 / 7 reviewed
55/100editing score
96.4%voice match
Developmental 1Line editing 2Copy editing 1Grammar 1Proofreading 1Voice consistency 1
Chapter One: The Long Way Home
MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW

The conductor, a thin man named Pell, nodded as she passed. Mara kept her bag on her knees and her eyes on the platform clock.

She thought about the night her father left, the shouting, the slammed door, the suitcase she had packed in a hurry, and how every choice since had led her to this train.

The carriage was nearly empty. A man slept against the far window. Mara did not notice the woman across the aisle until the whistle sounded twice, and then she was suddenly very aware of her stare, and it made her feel very uncomfortable.

The woman wore a green coat, she held a paper cup in both hands, like something warm she had been given to keep. Neither of them spoke.

The doors hissed open at Aldgate. “Mind the gap,” said Mr. Peel, and no one moved.

Page 1 of 2

Mara counted the stops on the map above the door. Six more. She had allready counted them twice.

The silence stretched between them like an endless ocean of unspoken sorrow. She pressed her thumb into the seam of her bag and waited for the next announcement.

She looked at the window instead. Her own face looked back at her, pale and tired and small. Behind it the tunnel wall went by in long grey streaks.

The woman in the green coat stood, and Mara's stomach turned over. But she only crossed to the door, held the rail, and got off without a glance.

Mara let out a breath she had not known she was holding. Then the doors closed, and the train moved on.

Page 2 of 2
1 / 3
Original
Suggested
✓ Voice kept consistent
Keep original✓ Apply change
✓
All caught up

7 suggestions reviewed across 2 pages. Every accepted change uses your own words, and your voice match held steady.

6ACCEPTED
1KEPT AS-IS
96.4%VOICE MATCH
Encrypted uploads Human editor on request You keep every right to your book
Copy editing is one of the passes included in the Standard plan. This page goes deep on what that pass looks like. See every editing type & pricing →
The Folio approach

Grammar, consistency, and continuity, checked across every page of your manuscript.

Copy editing catches what's easy to miss in a long manuscript: a name spelled two ways, a tense that slips mid-scene, a timeline that doesn't quite add up. Every manuscript gets a software-powered pass tuned by 100+ years of combined publishing experience, with a real human editor a request away whenever you want a second opinion.

See what's included
What's included

Nine lenses on consistency.

Copy editing happens once the prose is settled, catching what's easy to miss across a long manuscript. Every note is shown inline, with a reason attached, so you decide what to accept.

01 · Correctness

Grammar & Syntax

Corrects subject-verb agreement, sentence fragments, and other grammatical slips without changing your voice.

02 · Marks

Punctuation

Checks comma placement, quotation marks, and other punctuation so every sentence reads clearly and correctly.

03 · Words

Spelling & Typos

Catches misspellings, typos, and commonly confused words like their and there throughout the manuscript.

04 · Time

Tense Consistency

Flags unintended shifts between past and present tense within a scene, paragraph, or chapter.

05 · Continuity

Character & Detail Continuity

Tracks names, physical details, and established facts about characters so they stay consistent from chapter to chapter.

06 · Timeline

Timeline Continuity

Checks that days, seasons, and event order line up across the manuscript, catching timeline slips before readers do.

07 · Naming

Terminology & Naming

Keeps place names, invented terms, and capitalization consistent everywhere they appear in the manuscript.

08 · Style

Style Guide Adherence

Applies consistent formatting for numbers, hyphenation, and punctuation style throughout your manuscript.

09 · Your call

Accept, Reject, or Edit

Nothing changes without you. Every note is inline and reversible, checked against everything established earlier in the manuscript, with full undo/redo.

How to use it

A look inside the actual editing screen.

No mockups here, just the real flow, screen by screen. Pick a plan below to see its own process end to end.

Step 01

Start on the free plan

The editing screen opens on three plans. Pick "Free" and you're in, no card required, this is a real copy editing pass on your own opening pages, not a locked-down demo.

  • Free plan on the first 500 words, no card needed
  • Upgrade to Standard or Humanize any time later
Folio Editing, Choose your plan
Free
Start free
Standard
Choose Standard
Humanize
Talk to an editor
Step 02

Upload your manuscript and pick your passes

Drop in a .docx, .pdf, or .txt file, or auto-load one already saved to your account. Copy editing is checked by default; add any of the other passes if you want them run at the same time.

  • Developmental, Line, Copy, Grammar & punctuation, Proofreading, Voice consistency
  • Auto-loads a manuscript already saved to your account
Folio Editing, Setup
The Salt Line, Chapter 1-14.docx
14 chapters auto-loaded · ~52,400 words
Developmental Line editing Copy editing ✓ Grammar & punctuation Proofreading Voice consistency
Step 03

Review suggestions on your opening pages

Every suggestion on your free pass works exactly like the other plans: original line, suggested rewrite, the reason it's flagged, and a check against your own voice fingerprint.

  • Full undo/redo as you work through the sample
  • See exactly what the software catches before you pay for anything
Folio Editing, Review
Copy editing Ch. 3 & Ch. 12
Flagged
Your protagonist's daughter is named "Sara" in Ch. 3 but "Sarah" in Ch. 12.
Suggested
Standardize to "Sarah" throughout, matching the spelling used in the first ten chapters.
Keeps character names consistent for the reader.
Checked against every name used earlier in the manuscript
Keep original
Apply change
Step 04

The rest stays locked until you upgrade

Text past the opening 500 words is blurred and locked, no matter how long the manuscript is. That's the whole free plan; nothing charges automatically.

  • Upgrade from right inside the review screen, no re-upload
  • Or hand the manuscript straight to a human editor instead
Folio Editing, Free plan, locked
Locked, you've reached the end of your free pass

Folio only edits the opening 500 words for free. Upgrade to Standard to cover the rest.

Unlock Standard
Step 05

Decide where to go next

Liked what you saw? Unlock Standard to run the same passes across the whole manuscript, or hand it to a dedicated human editor instead, both pick up right where the free pass left off.

  • Every choice you made on the free pass carries over
  • No pressure, the free pass never expires or auto-charges
Folio Editing, Free trial summary
1Chapter unlocked
500Words edited
FreePlan
Unlock Standard
Talk to an editor
Step 01

Choose Standard

Pick Standard and the whole manuscript is in scope, however long it is, with no per-chapter add-ons.

  • Standard covers the whole book, however long it is
  • It's software, not a queue, nothing waits on a person
Folio Editing, Choose your plan
Free
Start free
Standard
Choose Standard
Humanize
Talk to an editor
Step 02

Upload your manuscript and pick your passes

Drop in a .docx, .pdf, or .txt file, or auto-load one already saved to your account. Choose which of the six edit types to run and how intense a pass you want, then continue to confirm your order.

  • Developmental, Line, Copy, Grammar & punctuation, Proofreading, Voice consistency
  • Auto-loads a manuscript already saved to your account
Folio Editing, Setup
The Salt Line, Chapter 1-14.docx
14 chapters auto-loaded · ~52,400 words
Developmental Line editing Copy editing ✓ Grammar & punctuation Proofreading Voice consistency
Step 03

Confirm your order

Before anything runs, you review your manuscript and plan. Check out by card, or contact a consultant first if you have questions.

  • Everything is confirmed before you check out
  • Runs immediately after checkout, it's software, not a queue
Folio Editing, Confirm & checkout
ManuscriptThe Salt Line
PlanStandard
Word count52,400 words
Continue to checkout
Contact our consultant first
Step 04

Review every suggestion, nothing locked

Each suggestion shows the original line next to what's suggested, why it's flagged, and a check against your own voice fingerprint, across the entire manuscript, not just a sample. Accept, keep the original, or skip and come back later.

  • Full undo/redo as you work through the manuscript
  • A chapter list keeps you oriented across long manuscripts
Folio Editing, Review
Copy editing Ch. 8 & Ch. 15
Flagged
A scene set on "a Tuesday afternoon" in Ch. 8 is referenced as "that Friday" in Ch. 15.
Suggested
Standardize the day to Tuesday in Ch. 15, matching the original scene.
Keeps the manuscript's timeline consistent for the reader.
Checked against every name used earlier in the manuscript
Keep original
Apply change
Step 05

Download your polished manuscript

Once you're through, see how many suggestions you accepted, how many you kept as-is, and how the result checks out, then export as Word or PDF, save it to your account, or carry straight on to formatting and publishing.

  • Download as .docx or .pdf, formatting intact
  • Continue straight into Folio's publishing pipeline
Folio Editing, Complete
41Accepted
6Kept as-is
380Names & terms checked
Download as Word (.docx)
Download as PDF
Continue to publishing pipeline
Step 01

Choose "Contact our editor"

Skip the software entirely and hand your manuscript to a real, experienced copy editor who works through it page by page.

  • Contact our editor for a dedicated human editor
  • A real editor reading and writing notes by hand, not software
Folio Editing, Choose your plan
Free
Start free
Standard
Choose Standard
Humanize
Talk to an editor
Step 02

Tell us about your manuscript and pick a time

A short form: manuscript name and genre are optional, your page count and contact details set up the call, and you pick a date and time that works for you.

  • Manuscript name, genre, and page count, optional but help your editor prep
  • Pick a date and time for your consultation call
Folio Editing, Talk to an editor
ManuscriptThe Salt Line
GenreLiterary Fiction
Pages210
Best timeThu 10:00 AM
Continue
Step 03

Confirm your order

You review your manuscript and page count before committing. Check out by card, or contact a consultant first if you have questions.

  • Your page count is confirmed before you check out
  • Everything is confirmed before you check out
Folio Editing, Confirm & checkout
ManuscriptThe Salt Line
PlanHumanize
Pages210
Continue to checkout
Contact our consultant first
Step 04

Your editor edits your book and sends the draft

A real, experienced copy editor works through your manuscript personally, then sends you the finished draft, by email or straight to your Folio dashboard, whichever you'd rather use.

  • Delivered by email or to your Folio dashboard, your choice
  • Craft-level notes included alongside the edits themselves
Folio Editing, Draft delivered
ManuscriptThe Salt Line
Editor statusComplete, draft ready
Sent toyou@email.com
Also available inFolio Dashboard
Open in Folio Dashboard
Resend email
Step 05

Download the edited manuscript and request revisions

Download your edited manuscript from the dashboard whenever you're ready, and ask your editor for as many rounds of revision as you need until you're happy with it.

  • As many rounds of revision as you need, included
  • Download as .docx or .pdf any time, formatting intact
Folio Editing, Complete
210Pages reviewed
1Dedicated editor
∞Revisions included
Download edited manuscript
Request a revision
Plans

Start free. Pick the editing that fits your book.

Copy editing is included in Standard, along with every other tool. Edit it yourself with Folio's software or hand it to a real editor. No subscriptions, and your book always stays yours.

Just want to try it?
Free
See real suggestions on your own pages. Upgrade for the whole book.
$0 forever
No card needed
What's included
  • Every editing pass run on your first 500 words
  • Inline suggestions with the reason for each one
  • Accept, edit or reject every suggestion yourself
  • Your book stays yours, always
Tool access included
  • Manuscript editing: first 500 words only
  • Manuscript assessment: first 6 pages only
  • Book formatting: templates, one-click format and editing for your whole book. Limit: no download or export
  • Cover Studio: every template, customizing, 3D preview and print-ready downloads. Limit: no book-based cover generation
  • Audiobook tool: not included, available separately
  • Marketing tool: not included, available separately
Try the editor on your own pages and see the quality before you pay. Upgrade only when you are ready for the whole manuscript.
Have a person do it
Humanize
A real publishing editor, working on your book.
$3 /page
Priced per page, no cap
How it works
  • A real, experienced publishing editor reads and edits your manuscript personally, page by page
  • Craft-level notes on pacing, voice and structure, not just corrections
  • As many rounds of revision as you need
  • Delivered by email or dashboard, your choice
  • Takes longer than the instant software pass
Talk to an editor
Common questions

Copy Editing FAQ

What's the difference between copy editing and proofreading?

Copy editing checks grammar, consistency, and continuity throughout the manuscript, things like names, tense, and timeline. Proofreading is the final pass after everything else, catching typos and formatting slips right before publishing.

Is copy editing billed separately from the rest?

No, it's included in Standard, the $150 one-time plan that unlocks every pass and tool for your book. If you'd rather have a human editor check your manuscript directly, that's available with Humanize, at $3 per page.

How does it catch continuity errors across a long manuscript?

Every name, physical detail, and established fact is tracked as it's introduced, then checked again everywhere it reappears, so a detail that contradicts an earlier chapter gets flagged even hundreds of pages later.

Will it enforce a specific style guide, like Chicago or AP?

Yes, you can set a preferred style guide before running the pass, and Folio applies it consistently for numbers, hyphenation, and punctuation throughout your manuscript.

Does it fix grammar without changing my writing style?

Yes. Copy editing corrects what's objectively incorrect, like subject-verb agreement or a stray tense shift, without touching stylistic choices that are yours to make.

How long does a copy edit pass take?

The software pass is ready in minutes, regardless of manuscript length. If you bring in a human copy editor, timelines depend on manuscript length, and your Pipeline page shows an estimate once it's underway.

Ready when you are

Catch what a long manuscript hides. Free to start.

Upload a sample and see the consistency check for yourself. No card, no commitment. Standard unlocks it for your whole book, along with every other tool.