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!
Malicious
I don't need my sexuality celebrated, and I certainly don't need it to be criticized. I didn't necessarily want it to be observed, but here we are. - Ezra MillerI think anything that has to do with sexuality makes people very interested. - Catherine Deneuve
Houston homicide cop Robyn Tate’s has a secret. A deeply personal secret – she is addicted to online porn. With low self esteem and a terrible body image, Robyn spends her evenings alone in front of the computer, surfing porn sites and “self pleasuring.” It seems harmless enough, (although it is quickly becoming an obsession) – but then it all falls apart, as she becomes the victim of a hacker. A hacker with a taste for blackmail. And with footage of Robyn having a “bit o’ fun” her blackmailer threatens to release the video and ruin Robyn’s life. And as a homicide detective, this seemingly harmless little habit could ruin her status in court cases, as well as becoming an obsession that is taking over her life. Especially when Robyn becomes the homicide detective on a case where the victim was being blackmailed in the very same way, by the same blackmailer.
And here is where things start to fall apart. Rather than marching directly into her Captain’s office and laying it all out on the table (well, not literally, but you get the point) she promptly panics and decides that hiding her secret is more important than her murder case. And it apparently never crosses her mind that her actions completely compromise her case!
The book goes downhill from this point into lies, cover-ups, fissures in her moral and ethical framework, and other bits and bobs of complete stupidity that are less than realistic. Don’t get me wrong – having been with police departments and crime labs, I have seen cops do things that are so incredibly stupid that it boggles the imagination. But this degree of stupidity by someone who actually was good enough at her job to earn a gold shield just isn’t really believable. Especially when Robyn the Wonder Cop has so many opportunities to admit her involvement and ask for help. She has no moral ground to stand on. Sure, it will be embarrassing for everyone to know her “little habit”. But to place her own embarrassment ahead of finding the murderous blackmailer made me truly hate her as a character. True, some literary characters you “love to hate” and that is totally acceptable. Robyn? Not so much. She is entirely self-centered, whining, incompetent, and overall strikes me as a caricature of every misogynistic wet dream extant.
Another aspect of the book that I found immensely irritating was that many words and phrases were unforgivably “Britishisms” rather than Americanisms. It reminded me quite irritatingly of that embarrassingly bad bit of writing, “50 Shades of Gray” in that this book is set in Houston, Texas and yet was written as if it were set in London! Yes, English authors can indeed write “American” novels, and often extremely well (Mark Henwick comes to mind). This, however, was not well written or edited. The degree of laziness shown by the writer edges on incompetence. Especially when there are so many sites online that will be happy to indicate what is a Brit colloquialism and what is an American one.
Overall, the mystery was pedestrian, but acceptable. The heroine? She ruined it for me. I am going to have to say that, overall, there are much better books out there with which to spend your precious reading time.
I received this book from the publisher in return for a realistic review.