So, I Read This Book Today . . .
Editing Fees and Guidelines
As my editing jobs have become more numerous, I have updated my Editing Fees and Guidelines. My editing and proofreading includes checking for grammar, sentence structure, misspellings, and pointing out plot inconsistencies, etc. At this time, my base charge is $0.008/word, with a minimum of $50, payable via PayPal. Editing jobs I am currently working on, received before May 1, 2014, will continue to be edited at the old rate.
If your manuscript is less than 5,000 words please let me know and we can work out pricing. I prefer to set up appointments for your manuscript, but please, send your manuscripts to me as early as possible. I can often work them in sooner than they are scheduled, but advance notice is much easier.
I use Microsoft Word 2013. I use the Track Changes application while I edit and leave the decision as to whether or not to accept those changes to you. I also tend to leave extensive notes outlining the reason for specific changes, noting uneven or awkward sentence or paragraph flow, or even if I noticed something that just doesn’t feel right.
Full editing is completed in one of two ways. The first choice is that I completely edit the book and provide you with a corrected copy, highlighting changes and corrections and making when appropriate extensive notes. Your second choice is full editing. I take the book in hand, do all corrections and changes and provide you with print ready copy. The charge for print ready copy is $0.010/word.
Please note: Books from authors who speak English as a second language, hence requiring a great deal more correction for grammar, or books with extensive re-write may be significantly more. You may send me your book for pricing if you feel there may be extensive work needed on the book. Pricing available upon request.
After I have edited a manuscript, I will send it back to you. Once you have made changes, you can always send it back to me for a second pass at no charge. Please note: If second-pass changes are truly extensive, I will reserve the right to bill a second payment for the second pass. I want to be fair to you, but I also want to be fair to myself. Just as writing is difficult, though rewarding, editing a book in a manner that will make you proud of your final product is a lot of work.
For available books on which I have worked, please see my “i-edited” shelf on Goodreads. You may contact any of the authors with whom I’ve worked for a reference. I am also very willing to provide you a sample of my work to see if we are a comfortable fit. I can be easily contacted through Goodreads or by e-mail at soireadthisbooktoday@centurylink.net
I look forward to working with you!
Review: Owl and the Japanese Circus
For me, I always wonder what's worse: an emotional betrayal or a physical betrayal? That's a really tough call. - Hilarie Burton
In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. - Eleanor Roosevelt
Oh, Owl. You just can’t win, can you? One rule. Just one stupid rule. Don’t mess with the supernatural. Of course, if she could identify the supernatural, well, that rule would be a whole lot easier to follow. And maybe she wouldn’t have vampires chasing her all over the world in a vendetta for that one, silly mistake. You know, the one where she opened up the box she stole for a client. A client she didn’t know was a vampire. A box that just happened to hold an ancient vampire. Well, what do you expect when you tell a professional thief not to open the beautiful box before delivering it? There has to be something ‘interesting’ in there, right? And Owl is nothing if not curious.
Now, things just keep getting more and more ‘interesting’ – well, if you subscribe to that apocryphal ideology “May you live in interesting times”. And, sure enough, Owl’s life is about to get really, really interesting. The vampires are bad enough, but an ancient Japanese Red Dragon? Come on, you gotta be kidding me! Uh. Nope.
Her new job is to track down a scroll for said dragon – a scroll stolen more than 2,000 years ago, with no idea of where it went, or who took it. Meh. Gotta be an easy chore for a famous archeological thief, right?
With everyone and their goons chasing her around the world, from the US to Tokyo, Bali to Las Vegas, Owl scrambles to find the scroll before a very secretive, and very violent, competitor find it first. But what is really going on? Who are her enemies, and who are her friends? The answer to that may be quite different than what she thinks – and maybe the supernaturals are not whom they seem to be – in both good ways and bad.
Owl is a damaged character. Her default reaction to, well, everything is to break and run for the hills. Sure, it can save your backside to run away. But sometimes, you are just running further into the fire. And sometimes, the people you believe you know are not the people you thought they were at all. For good, or for bad. And Owl needs to learn the difference, quickly, if she wants to live, and to grow into something more than a child in a grownup world. Owl definitely needs to grow as a person, and as a character. She isn’t perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. But, to be honest, that is what I like about her. She is damaged, frightened, and immature, but even in this first book you see her begin, just a bit, to grow. I look forward to watching her development over what I hope are several books. The storyline is interesting, the characters, while your usual supernatural grouping, are sharply and quirkily written. And Captain, her Egyptian Mau 'battle cat'? Completely AWESOME!! I would read the stories just for him! Overall, I look forward to more.
I received Owl and the Japanese Circus from the publisher in exchange for a realistic review. All thoughts are my own. If you enjoy my reviews, please let me know by clicking “Yes, this review was helpful” on Amazon! Thank you.
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