Frequently asked questions

Plot and structure, pacing, characters, readability, consistency, engagement, and overall reader experience — each with specific examples from your manuscript rather than general impressions.

Yes. For non-fiction the report focuses on argument clarity, structure, evidence, audience fit and whether each chapter delivers what it promises.

A beta reader tells you how the book lands. An editor changes the text. Most authors benefit from beta reading first, then editing — you do not want to polish sentences in a chapter you later cut.

Yes. Request a custom offer and we will quote multiple readers, which is genuinely useful when you want to see whether a reaction is one person's or everyone's.

If you have revised it and want it correct, choose copy editing. If it is already edited and you want a final safety net, choose proofreading. If you want the prose itself to read better, choose line editing. If you are not sure the structure works, start with developmental editing. Send us a sample and we will tell you honestly.

No. Every change arrives as a tracked change you can reject. Our editors work to preserve how you write while fixing what is genuinely wrong. Voice is the thing we are most careful with.

By word count and edit depth. Choose your service, enter your word count, and the exact price is shown before you pay. Manuscripts above 80,000 words are quoted individually so the price reflects the real work.

Microsoft Word (.docx) is preferred because tracked changes work properly. We also accept .doc, .rtf and Google Docs links.

Yes. Files are stored privately, access is restricted to the editor assigned to your project, and download links are short-lived. We do not share, publish or reuse any part of your manuscript.

Your final edited manuscript, ideally as a .docx. Tell us your trim size if you have chosen one; if not, we will recommend one based on your genre and page count.

Yes. We check every file against Amazon KDP's requirements before delivery. If KDP raises a formatting issue with a file we produced, we fix it.

Yes, through Custom Formatting. Illustrated and technical interiors need individual quoting because the work varies so much book to book.

Small corrections are covered. If you revise substantially after typesetting, that is effectively a new layout, and we will tell you before doing any additional work.

Unlimited revisions within the direction you approve. Once you have chosen a concept, we refine it until you are happy. Changing to an entirely different concept after approval is a new design.

For print covers, yes — the spine width depends on it. Format your interior first, or tell us your final page count, and we will build the wrap to match.

You do. On delivery, full commercial rights to the final cover transfer to you. Premium includes the editable source files.

Yes. Send us the existing covers and we will design a cover that reads as part of the same series.

Always. The book is published on your own Amazon KDP account, in your name. Royalties are paid directly to you by Amazon. We never hold your account, your rights or your money.

No. Marlowe is an independent agency. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with Amazon or Kindle Direct Publishing. Amazon KDP is simply the platform we publish to.

No. We specialise in Amazon KDP and only Amazon KDP. Doing one platform properly is more useful to you than doing several superficially.

Order formatting and cover design first, then KDP publishing as a separate order once your files are final. Each service is ordered on its own, so you are never paying for work before you need it.

Our work takes 4–10 business days depending on package. After we submit, Amazon's own review typically takes 24–72 hours, which is outside our control.

Because a 12,000-word lead magnet and a 90,000-word memoir are not the same job. Tell us the length, subject and how much research is involved, and we will send you a fixed quote with a fixed delivery schedule.

Yes. Before writing we capture how you speak and write, usually from interviews and any existing material. Voice is the part clients notice most, so it is the part we work hardest on.

Completely. You are the sole author. We take no credit, claim no rights, and do not list your project anywhere without your written permission.

Both. Non-fiction includes business, memoir, self-help and how-to. Tell us the genre when you request a quote and we will match you to a writer who works in it.

Longer projects are split into stages, each with its own order and its own payment, so you are never paying far ahead of delivered work.