Editor

ABOUT ME: 

I am one of those weird people who actually enjoy editing. I pick apart every single book that I read, and have often e-mailed publishers to let them know of errors in their books. I have had the privilege of working with two fabulous authors on their books. Working mainly with non-fiction books, I enjoy helping authors succeed. I have also have experience editing and formatting e-mails, blogs, and websites.

MY GOALS:

• To edit your work to the best of my ability.
• To provide quality work at an affordable price.
• To grow a strong client base, who will want to use my services again and again, as well as recommend me to other writers.
• To provide you with prompt and friendly service. Remembering that you are a person, not a computer screen.
• To see you produce a high-quality book, through whatever publishing method you choose (although I cannot guarantee publication).

WHAT I OFFER/WHAT YOU GET:

Free sample:

I offer a free sample edit of one chapter from your book. You can choose the service type (editing and critique or ghostwriting).  I aim for a five-day turnaround for all such sample edits. However, I do not work on Sunday’s, so if you submit your chapter late in the week, it may take six days.

Editing and Critique:

Before I begin editing, I read your manuscript all the way through to get to know your writing personal writing style. When editing, I pay close attention to:

• Proper word usage
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Subject/verb agreement
• Overuse of words or phrases and redundancies
• Use of active voice vs. passive
• Story flow
• Sentence structure
• Smooth transition of thoughts and paragraphs
• Clarity of meaning
• And anything else that comes up

I suggest rewording, revising and relocating sentences, paragraphs and/or chapters when needed to ensure a smooth flow and optimum clarity in your writing. I will also let you know if something is not needed and is making the manuscript more wordy than necessary. However, I respect you as the writer, and leave the decision to change the wording in your hands. You can take or leave my suggestions at will.

I always review your entire manuscript a second time to ensure that nothing was missed before finalizing my notes to send to you. When I am finished, I will provide you with a list of recommendations and corrections, as well as a copy of your writing with comments included to make your correction process easier.

I will also provide you with a list of links to resources that I believe may help you on your publication journey. This is not a generic list that everyone gets, but rather a list that is tailored to you and your writing.

I will not rewrite your manuscript. However, I will offer you suggestions to make it the best that it can be. This is your book, not mine, and only you can accept or reject suggestions made by me or anyone else. If you want a perfect manuscript handed back to you, I do also offer ghostwriting as a separate service.

Also, I am an editor, not a marketer or a publisher. While I can forward you links to help you on your journey, I cannot sell, market, or publish your book. I also cannot promise you that a traditional publisher will accept your book.

Ghostwriting:

This service is for the writer who doesn’t want to have to go back through their writing to accept or reject changes, but rather just wants a polished, clean manuscript handed back to them.

If this is the service you choose, I will go through the normal editing/critique process listed above, only I will make the changes instead of just marking them. When I am finished I will send you a list of the changes that I made along with the finished product.

I do not recommend this for first time clients. It’s always good to get a feel for each other first, and make sure that we work well together.

Mentoring:

I would love to help you polish your writing skills. If you have a question related to your writing (grammar, punctuation, etc.) I will be more than happy to help you out. I do not charge for answering questions, however I will not edit your entire book one e-mail at a time. If you send me a question via e-mail, you are under no obligation to hire me as your editor after your question is answered. I do recommend still having your work edited once completed though. While it’s great to catch and fix mistakes as you go, having a second set of eyes is still important.

COMPLETION TIME:

I accept books on a first-come-first-served basis.  My goal is to return your work to you in 30 days or less, from the time I start working on it. This, however, will vary based on the complexity and length of the book.

COMMUNICATION: 

I prefer to communicate via e-mail whenever possible. However, I understand that sometimes face time (or phone time) is needed. I welcome any feedback or questions that you may have and I will always do my best to help. Even after returning your manuscript, I will do my best to maintain an open line of communication indefinitely. My primary goal is to help you succeed by producing high quality material.

I ACCEPT:

I mainly deal with nonfiction and welcome first-time writers with low budgets. I will accept other types of writing on a per-manuscript basis.

I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. I will not subject myself to the continued reading and editing something that I find objectionable, offensive, or distasteful. This includes, but is not limited to: sex language/pornography, foul language, violence, racism, and/or the mocking of my faith in Christ. I reserve the right to stop work with a client at any time, without prior notice, if such content is discovered during the editing process. If you know your book contains this content, I recommend either working with someone else, or taking out the un-necessary material and producing a clean, tasteful book.

RESEARCH OF MATERIAL:

I am only one person. I cannot research all the material in your book (that’s why you wrote it, not me!). In nonfiction manuscripts documentation is required for all borrowed, paraphrased, or quoted material, including material from Internet sources. I will not be responsible for plagiarized material or copyright violations in manuscripts.

I do, however, do my best to ensure that any included web addresses or links are working properly.

FEES:

I have no set fees at this time. I understand that editing is expensive and I want to work with you to produce a high quality book, even if you have a low budget. However, please understand that I cannot work for free.