Our Standards & the Certification
Honest Edit is a Christian editorial house, and we say where we stand before anyone spends a dollar.
We gladly edit Christian and family-friendly books of every genre — and neutral, everyday books besides: the line is explicitly against God, not merely secular. Ordinary everyday language, including ordinary bad words in normal speech, never disqualifies a book here. Honest questions and real doubt are welcome — both are met in the open.
What this house does not carry is equally plain: adult or sexual content; devil or Satan content; content explicitly against God; and pervasive filth. And one wall is load-bearing, with no exceptions: the Lord’s name in vain, anything maligning God, anything sacrilegious toward Him, or anything that blasphemes Him — anywhere in the manuscript — means the job is not taken. A redemption story may still be accepted, on the terms the certification states below.
Why We Ask for a Certification
Before we accept any manuscript, we ask every author to certify its content — the same way a post office asks you to declare what is in a package before they will carry the package. It is quick, it is aboveboard, and it protects us both: you know exactly where we stand before anyone spends a dollar, and we know your book is one that can carry our name.
Please read each statement and check every box. All boxes must be checked for us to proceed. You will sign this certification as part of your application.
The Certification
I certify that my manuscript:
☐ Does not blaspheme God — anywhere, in narration or dialogue presented approvingly.
☐ Does not use the Lord’s name in vain — no “God words” used as profanity, exclamations, or casual speech, in narration or in any character’s mouth as a lifestyle habit.
☐ Does not malign God, and contains no sacrilege — God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Scripture, prayer, and the Church are never mocked, twisted, or treated with contempt.
☐ Contains no adult or sexual content — no erotica, no explicit sexual scenes. (A closed door in a married couple’s story, handled with restraint, is not what this means — when in doubt, ask us.)
☐ Contains no devil or Satan content — no occult practice, witchcraft, demonic activity, or satanic material presented as real power, entertainment, or good.
☐ Is not explicitly against God — its overall message does not argue against God’s existence, goodness, or authority. Questions and doubts, raised in the open, are welcome here.
☐ Is not pervasively filthy — ordinary everyday language, including an occasional everyday bad word in a character’s normal speech, is fine and expected in real life. A steady diet of vulgarity is not.
If my book is a redemption story
A character who starts in the old life and comes to Christ:
☐ The turn to Christ happens at approximately the chapter I name in my application, and the old life occupies 40% or less of the book.
☐ The sin in the early chapters is shown as sin that costs the character — it is never glorified, graphic, or lingering.
☐ The repentance is real and the book lands on redemption — changed life, not a tacked-on ending.
☐ Even in the old-life chapters, the narration itself never blasphemes; and any slips during the character’s journey back are short-lived falls, not a lifestyle — and never a God word.
What Happens Next — the Gate Scan
After the certification is signed, you pay a $50 Gate Scan deposit. We run the Gate Scan first, before anything else: it is a content-integrity check only — we verify your manuscript against the statements above. It is not an editorial review, and no corrections or editorial report are included at this step.
- If your book passes (CLEAR): the full $50 is credited toward whichever service you choose next — an editing service, or our Scan Only report (priced at $1 per standard manuscript page — 250 words = 1 page — with a $100 minimum, so on a minimum-size book you would owe only the ~$50 balance). Your deposit is never lost money on a book that clears the Gate.
- If the scan finds a violation (REFUSE): the certification was not accurate, so we return your manuscript untouched, no editing is performed, and the $50 is kept as the fee for the scan that found the violation. We will tell you plainly and kindly what we found.
- Mid-job discovery: if a violation surfaces later that the scan could not reasonably have caught, it is treated the same as a gate refusal: work stops, the manuscript is returned as it stands, and no further fees are charged.
Your signature on the application certifies, to the best of your knowledge, that the statements above are true and complete for the manuscript named in it.
Thank you for trusting Honest Edit with your book — and for meeting us in the open from the very first page.
— Honest Edit · hello@honestedit.net · (707) 702-EDIT (3348)