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!
The Eagle and the Arrow
Every leader, and every regime, and every movement, and every organization that steps across the line to terrorism must be banished from the discourse of civilized human life.ALAN KEYES, speech, Apr. 21, 2002
The big threat to America is the way we react to terrorism by throwing away what everybody values about our country–a commitment to human rights. America is a great nation because we are a good nation. When we stop being a good nation, we stop being great.
BOBBY KENNEDY, O Magazine, Feb. 2007
What must we do, how far must we go, to preserve our way of life? Our very lives? And where, we must ask, should the line be drawn, the line which divides the moral from the immoral?
In this very short novel, A. J. O’Connell asks that question in the voice of one of those many minions of government placed in the position to make those tough decisions – who lives? And who dies? And like so many other of her stripe, it isn’t until much later that she begins to ask “And who, really, gets to make those decisions?”
I loved this little book. Of course, I am myself torn by the actions of our government, actions which, though often praised, should just as often be questioned. What is the true rationalization behind how certain governmental entities choose to address terrorism? Who makes the choices as to who is deemed a terrorist and how that decision is made? I should be quite clear in stating that I am absolutely and without question anti-terrorism of any sort.
Terrorism is, in my mind, the most savage and unworthy act a human can commit against others, no matter the reason. However, I am also not a fan of some of the methods we, as Americans, seem to condone in the so-called “War on Terror.” While I am not a Hawk, I am certainly not a Dove, either. There must be, as in all things governmental, a balance – a balance that is often sadly lacking in the management capabilities of those who are chosen to govern.
Ms. O’Connell puts it quite well in her introduction to this story:
“Lastly, I would like to thank the U.S. Government for not coming to my house and carrying me off in the middle of the night while I researched this. I realize that my search history looks pretty suspicious.”
And that, my dears, is the whole point, in a nutshell. A. J. does a masterful job of placing her characters in a situation which has no right or wrong, no true good guys (though one true bad guy posing as a good guy who deserves to have very, very bad things happen to him . . . ) and no real winners in a situation spiraling totally out of control. As Hunter Thompson so succinctly put it:
“The Edge… there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”
If your interests are the smart, the funny, the snide and the thoughtful, don’t miss this little book. It is a true gem of Modern Americana with a twisted mindset that has me looking forward to going back and reading the first book, as well as look forward to anything Ms. O’Connell writes next
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Please note: I did the Beta Read for A. J. and previously posted the review of the Beta at my site, www (dot) soireadthisbooktoday (dot) com. This in no way effects my review of the book, or any other writings by this author, now or in the future.