Editor / Proofreader RFQ: Still Becoming
Hello,
I am seeking a focused human proofread/final editorial review for my nonfiction book, Still Becoming:
Built for Transition, Reinvention, and Relevance in the Age of AI by John M. Lowe.
This is a self-published leadership and reinvention book. The manuscript has already gone through
multiple AI-assisted and human review passes, so I am not looking for a full developmental edit or a
rewrite. I need a careful final human pass that helps make the manuscript credible, clean, readable, and
ready for KDP/Kindle publication.
Budget and Scope
Target budget: $350-$400 fixed price.
Please quote only if you can work in or near that range.
What I Need
Primary requested pass:
Proofreading for grammar, spelling, punctuation, repeated words, wrong words, awkward
phrasing, and typos.
Light line-level notes only where a sentence is unclear, clunky, or likely to distract the reader.
Consistency checks for names, terminology, capitalization, chapter/tool references, and
website/app references.
Citation, credit, and permissions-risk review.
Credibility flags for any claim, legal-risk, medical/mental-health-risk, financial-risk, or AI-related
statement that feels unsupported or risky.
Comments and tracked changes in Word.
Citation, Credit, and Legal-Exposure Check
Please specifically flag:
Direct quotes that need a citation, attribution, or permission review.
Paraphrased ideas that should be credited to an author, book, article, or framework.
Missing or incomplete book/source references.
Brand, trademark, tool, or company mentions that should be cleaned up or credited.
Claims that need source support, softening, or removal.
Any excerpts that may be too long or too close to the original source.
Still Becoming - Budget Editor RFQ
2
Any place where a legal review or permissions check may be prudent before publication.
I am not asking you to provide legal advice, but I do want a practical publishing-risk pass that helps avoid
plagiarism, copyright, trademark, attribution, or unsupported-claim issues.
What I Do Not Need
No full developmental edit.
No ghostwriting.
No major rewrite.
No attempt to make the book generic, corporate, or overly polished.
No removal of the author's conversational voice.
Voice and Positioning To Preserve
The book should feel conversational, warm, direct, vulnerable, practical, and no-BS. It blends personal
story, leadership lessons, career transition, grief, practical worksheets, and AI-era reinvention. It is not a
memoir-only project and not a faith-based book, although spirituality appears where relevant to grief
and resilience.
Deliverables Requested
Please quote:
1. Fixed project price.
2. Timeline.
3. Whether you can provide a short sample proof/edit on 1-2 pages before full engagement.
4. Final deliverables:
Tracked-changes DOCX.
Short note summarizing the biggest issues found.
Separate list of citation, credit, permissions, legal, trademark, or claim concerns.
Files To Review
Still_Becoming_EDITOR_REVIEW_COPY_editable.docx
Still_Becoming_ORIGINAL_REFERENCE_DO_NOT_EDIT.pdf
Thank you,
John M. Lowe