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!
Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures, Book 1)
Like another of the reviewers of this book, I am not a 'teen romance' fan. Most are, I find, smarmy and unreadable. This, however, is another animal entirely. Well written, well developed, and with an extremely well created backstory, 'Beautiful Creatures' kept me riveted. Especially, I must say, because the audio I listened to was masterfully done. Including sound effects and music in this audio edition of the book created an atmosphere that drew me in, kept me enthralled, and gave the whole book a tone, a flavour if you will, that took this haunting novel into a whole new atmosphere. I would highly recommend the [...] edition - even if you have read the book, the audio version will open you up to whole new possibilities within the 'covers'."There are only two kinds of people in our town - The Stupid, and The Stuck."
Small towns, especially small towns in the South, can be many things. Open and accepting, giving and warm. Or insular, inbred, and with a degree of self-satisfied pomposity, for all their tiny minds and vicious ways, as any rabid jackal pack. This small town is, indeed, a poster child for insular, self congratulatory ignorance, where an education makes you an outsider, and anything 'different' brands you a rouge and an outcast. The characterizations are marvelous - never 'over the top' but certainly indicative of the human condition. The cheating and lying, the petty, and not so petty, hatreds are all spot-on. Ah, yes, it did indeed bring back memories!
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The development of the Casters is not only beautifully written, it is original. The development of the Duchannes', and the Ravenwoods, reeks of the age and truth of history. Of the dichotomy of good and evil, of black and white, and the billions of shades between. They speak of truth, of the truth of time and space, and all those quiet and unknown things which live in those quiet corners of the human psyche.
All in all, a rich and satisfying read - though I do agree that the ending left me somewhat at a loss, as others have stated. I will be glad to visit this world again, and will if these ladies are going to write another book. I look forward to learning more of the Ravenwoods and Duichannes', and, of course, Ethen, his wonderfully wacky aunts, and the loving, and mysterious, Ahma. Another thing I loved about the book - the strong women characters, both historically and in the modern story line. There is, of course, the romantic aspect of the story, which is very strongly written, but it isn't actually the most important part of the story, in my eyes. The strength of the relationship between Ethan and Lena is stronger than just a 'romance'. It twines back through history, the beginning of the story rooted in the history of the South, the history of magic, and the strength of a young girl forced to make an incredibly difficult choice. Overall, quite satisfying.
Now, if someone would just point me to the music - it is absolutely haunting, and I would love to add it to my library!