Define the service
Formal proofreading, structural editing and layout preparation differ. Carmignani Editrice requests characters including spaces or the document for assessment: quantity accompanies inspection, not an industry-wide tariff. State prior editing, layout status, complexity and input/output formats. A price per cartella without service scope can compare unlike offers.
Identify the file
Use a recognizable title and date rather than successive “latest” files. Declare provisional counts if chapters are still being added. Note tracked changes, comments and alternative drafts: final text quantity may differ from the material to inspect. Do not remove useful instructions merely to lower cartelle. Describe notes and apparatus needing work even if separately quoted.
Preserve characters
198,000 characters = 110 cartelle of 1,800 or ninety-nine of 2,000. Preserve this original total alongside conversion. Use the calculator, but request the provider’s price on actual material rather than inserting a random online rate. Count exclusions separately: body 180,000 + apparatus 18,000 = 198,000. This supplies body-only and complete totals without repeatedly changing the document.
Explain apparatus
Notes, tables, bibliographies, formulas and captions can require different checks despite similar totals. List body, notes, bibliography and separate material. Specify formal correction versus consistency of references, numbering and attachments; “proofreading” does not automatically include everything. For an existing layout, flag “see page” references and indexes needing updates. Text changes can affect pagination; give the professional enough information to scope the work.
Agree passes
Ask what is returned, who accepts edits and whether checking follows acceptance. A hundred-cartella manuscript read once differs from a second full reading after the author’s responses, despite identical quantity. A chapter inserted later was not read in the earlier pass: identify and measure it, then agree treatment rather than calling it merely “a few pages”.
Illustrative calculation
At an agreed hypothetical €3 per unit of 1,800, 198,000 characters = 110 cartelle = €330. This is no average or recommendation. For 198,900, the quantity is 110.5: proportionally €331.50, or €333 if rounded up to 111. Show quantity and rule. Other financial components are not automatically in the calculator, so a different real quote total does not alone prove arithmetic error.
Changes after approval
Keep counted copy and matching offer. Measure replacements and identify changed sections. Removing ten pages and adding ten new ones may leave length similar while introducing unread material; fixing spaces can change characters without comparable substantive work. Separate added, replaced and unchanged chapters. A small net difference alone does not describe what needs assessment.
Complete request
Include title, genre, version, characters including spaces, agreed divisor, apparatus, desired service, text status and deadline; label a tentative deadline. Provide a relevant sample if requested and explain what it represents: a simple chapter may not reflect note-heavy sections. Compare the offer with your sheet to identify its text and intervention. Retain the text delivery count sheet for later versions.
Text quantity does not describe the entire service
| Item | Example to report | Question to settle |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | 198,000 characters | Which parts are included? |
| Unit | 1,800 characters/cartella | Is the divisor agreed? |
| Service | Formal proofreading | Which checks are included? |
| Passes | One reading plus author responses | Is a second reading included? |
Sources and checks
- Carmignani Editrice, servizio di correzione · Characters including spaces and inspection of the text for a quote.