So I’ve been doing this somewhat informally as of late, but I’ve had several people ask me about it, so it’s about time I put up a proper page on here about it! (And now since I’ve told people I do it, then I really do need to light this fire under my butt.) So! Let’s talk editing.
As I said somewhere on my About Me page, I do have an MFA in Creative Writing. I enjoy editing–especially when it’s not my own work! I know how hard it can be to edit your own stuff, and I want to see everyone put out the best they can. So here are some details.
First Things First: Let’s make sure your writing is compatible with mine, and my editing style is compatible with what you want. Send me with your initial query about a 5-page excerpt from your draft. I’ll edit it and send it back, and from there we can determine if we want to work together.
Price: I know that this can be one of the biggest hurdles in the writing world. Everything is expensive. I’ve tried to keep my costs relational to the industry, other editors I’ve seen, and my own abilities. So at the price of $0.0055 a word, I will give your book a thorough look-over, and report back to you on plot holes I find, plot lines or characters that have gotten lost and misled, tone inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations or descriptions, etc. If there are any specific things you’d like me to look at, let me know in our initial conversations and I can watch for those too. Anything I change will be through the Track Changes function on your word processor. (I use LibreOffice, myself.)
Caveat: I do not claim to be an expert copy editor, though any glaring issues I will note because otherwise it’ll drive me nuts. So while I will do my best, do not use me as the be-all-and-end-all for that type of editing. I’ll catch as much as I can, but I’m only human.
I don’t play nice just to soften the blow. If I think something sucks, I’ll tell you it sucks. But I’m also not going to just toss that out there and expect you to fix it. Non-constructive criticism isn’t useful in the slightest. If I can, I’ll make suggestions on how I think something could be fixed/improved, or if I’m really at a loss, I’ll simply detail what I think the problems are and why I think you should focus on them. In the end, I want this to be your book in your voice, not mine.
If you so choose, after you get your first draft back and you’d like me to look over it again, I’ll do that for half of the original cost. (So what, $0.00275?) For instance: your 80k word long book would be $440 for the first look-through, and $220 for the second.
Payment: Payment is done half-and-half, through PayPal. Half of your payment will be expected upfront. I will send you an invoice when I receive your manuscript, and will start working on it when payment has cleared. Once the work is done and returned to you, the second half will be due. (If your manuscript arrives late/after our agreed upon time, the deadline date will more accordingly. Ex: you send it to me a week late. A week is then added onto the end of our one month timeframe.)
Turnaround Time: This will depend a lot on how much work the manuscript needs, and what else is in my queue. Since I am both a writer and a freelance narrator myself, there are often time projects that take up a bunch of my time as it is. If you’re on a strict timeline, make sure I know that upfront, so that I can make a decision based on that. If you get me everything on time, I will do everything in my power to get your stuff back to you on time.
Extra Special Stuff: If you have sensitivity topics in your book, I’m willing to read for a few different aspects. I can sensitivity read for: asexual/demisexual/grey-a content, transgender/non-binary content, anxiety/depression, non-physical abusive/toxic situations from the victim’s POV. I’m also familiar with a few major cities and the areas around them (Richmond, VA; Buffalo, NY and its environs; Erie, PA; Ithaca, NY) if you want to make sure things sound right if they’re placed there. (I have run into passages set in Erie that are so wrong it made me want to throw the book.) Please do note: I can only comment on any of these sensitivity aspects from my own personal experience. I cannot speak as the voice of all people in any one category. I am personally grey-a, transmasculine non-binary, have anxiety and depression, and have had an emotionally toxic friendship. Those I can speak most directly to.
Sound good? Awesome! Hop on over to the Contact Me page and shoot me an email; see if I have a slot open for you. (Please make sure I have a slot open before sending me any of your manuscript.) Please title the email “EDITING REQUEST: [author name] — [est. time frame]” so that I know that you’ve read all of this. (Example: EDITING REQUEST: K Orion Fray — two months beginning Apr. 2017) Thanks!
I am not lost... 