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!
That Thing at the Zoo (Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter #0.5)
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before - Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
Why was that baleful Creature made, Which seeks our Quiet to invade, And screams ill Omens through the Shade? – Anne Kingsmill Finch, The Owl
Then we’re gonna need a bigger gun. – Roy Scheider
That Thing At The Zoo is the first James R. Tuck book (well, this is a novella) that I have read. The Deacon Chalk series has been being discussed on a couple of my goodreads Urban Fantasy discussion groups, and it sounded interesting. Being the first in the Chalk series, and at .99 for the novella, That Thing At The Zoo seemed the perfect way to get a taste of the series.
I wasn’t wrong. It was a perfect place to start, and of course, I now have yet another series added to my tottering TBR stacks. As if I needed more to read! Deacon Chalk is an Occult Bounty Hunter – he hunts the things that the normal police force of Atlanta either can’t handle, or don’t even know anything about. At 6’4” and round about 300 pounds, Deacon is one big tough guy, tattoos, shaved head and all. However, there is a lot of heart to the guy, as you soon find out. And his reasons for taking down the monsters will break your heart and give you a deeper understanding of the guy, huge-ass semi-redneck or not.
When we meet Deacon, he is standing under a tree in the Atlanta zoo, waiting for Jimmy the zookeeper to push something out of the branches. Something that turns out to be a 500 plus pound lion, skinned, drained, and ripped. What could have possibly drug that lion into the tree – and all without leaving a mark anywhere on the tree, or the ground?
With the remote assistance of his two cohorts, Kat, the manager of Deacon’s strip club Polecats, and a computer whiz, and Father Dominic Boru Mulcahy, a rather unusual Catholic Priest who moonlights as a bartender at the club (and who can shoot like a sniper and knife fight like a convict) Deacon and Jimmy the zookeeper (well, and a load of silver coated weapons) track down the creature decimating the Atlanta zoo.
Full of blood, fighting, and a dry sense of humour, the Deacon Chalk series starts off with a bang, and promises to fulfill its semi-redneck, violent, and creepily horrific opening in the upcoming installments. Part horror, part UF and all guts and glory, I am looking forward to reading the next in the series, Blood and Bullets soon.