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!
Maddie's Choice
What do I like the most about this book? Hummm. Maybe it is the setting, the hills of Arkansas, south of Fayetteville? It is gorgeous there. Maybe it is Maddie herself, a gifted New York romance author, suffering from burnout, writer’s block and a bad case of boring boyfriend – who suddenly finds herself half owner of an Arkansas cattle ranch? It could, of course, be the ensemble cast of characters, a mix of quirky, scary, funny, kind, and just plain insane that ramble around the property and it’s environs. Talk about an odd fit – a full on city girl, plopped down amongst the cattle, and trying desperately to understand not only the language (Fetvuhl is “southernese” for Fayetteville) but also the difference between ‘cows’ and ‘cattle’ (there really is a difference, of course!) and what in the world a “Wal-Mart’ could possibly be? I had giggle fits like mad when Ms. Zeller threw in a “language zinger” or two – though Maddie didn’t run across it as much after her first meeting with one of her most touching characters, Fayrene, which was sort of a shame. It is a character-driven novel, beautifully layered and widely ranging. This is, overall, a gently comic contemporary romance, but I admire and respect Ms. Zeller for writing a book that is much more than a simplistic little novel. Those parts are good, many funny and sweet. The children are heart wrenching, having lost all their family except for a distant and deeply troubled uncle. And Maddie’s relationship with the big, scary Angus bull is hysterical. The part that is absolutely fantastic however, raising the book from a five star romance to a ten-plus star smash hit? The stories within the story – important, heart wrenching stories of poverty and brutality, drugs and ‘cook houses’ and the power of motorcycle gangs in a poverty stricken area. But most of all, what touched me the deepest - the horrors suffered by victims of PTSD, those men and women who return from the mindless, rampant cruelties of war broken and tortured in body, mind, and spirit. Ms. Zeller was in the Army herself, and speaks to the pain of the victims with a breadth of knowledge and a depth of compassion rarely seen in literature. My soul throbbed in sympathy for Gideon, breaking my heart as I watched his torment, his shame, the depth of his agony. Not overdone, but certainly a strong enough theme to make this book much more than the sum of its parts.
Overall, even if you don’t like “romance” novels, if you are interested in solid writing with an eye to the craft, believable story line, and a variety of themes, this is a highly recommended read. I will absolutely be placing more of Ms. Zeller’s work onto my TBR pile (and somewhere near the top!)