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!
Orbit: A Novel
How would things be different, if we knew how things would end? If we knew that the end of our life would require a recounting of our days, to be read by the population of the world, would we live a thoughtful life? If we knew the time, method, and manner of our deaths, would we think before we act? Give mercy instead of contempt? Patience and thoughtfulness instead of intolerance and selfishness? Would we stop on the street to offer a hand to a lonely man? Would so much of our lives be wrapped up in petty angers, in jealousy and rage? Would envy rule our lives, or the tedium of jobs and chores and routine so blind our eye to life?How would things be different, if we could think clearly, in our true knowledge of the fleeting quality of our lives? Would we war among ourselves, devote ourselves to hating 'the other' for the way they live their lives? For their religion, their beliefs, the colour of their skins? Would we open our eyes to how small we truly are, and how much we need one another, how very alike we really are?
What would it take, to really stop the world, if only for a time? To make us see and understand just how fragile and precious this thing called life really is?
Mr. Nance has written a book that gives you the opportunity to think of all these things and more. To place yourself in the place of the main character, and realize in just how many ways our day-to-day lives are wasted on the petty nuances of life - to wish with him, with all our hearts, that we could have led a fuller, richer, purer life.
I never really thought of Mr. Nance as a sociologist, but rather as a terrific technical writer. I have read his books for the 'techie' aspects. He knows avionics exceptionally well, and writes in a clear and riveting manner about the technical sides, in an edge-of-the-seat manner that often keeps me awake well into the night. But with "Orbit", it is almost as if I never quite saw the depth of Mr. Nance's character, of his clear understanding of the human psyche in times of ultimate stress. He made me wish, very much, that his story could be real - that the world could, if only for a week, forget their envies and their greed, their petty indignities and spite, their deeply ingrained hatreds and misunderstandings. To simply watch, and think.
Of course, sociological and emotional points aside, this is definitely an intelligent thriller, with a level of technical expertise that lives up to Mr. Nance's reputation. The concept is fascinating, and well within the realm of reality as corporations begin to research the feasibility of space travel, both financial and technical. These are interesting times, and Mr. Nance has done an amazing job of allowing us to look to the future with hope rather than despair.