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!
Review: What Part of Marine Don't You Understand?
What Part of Marine Don’t You Understand? The catchy title caught my eye, but not as much as the black Labrador Retriever on the cover. What a sweet face! Looking over the cover, I noticed this is part of “The Challenge Series: Always a Marine Book 12.” OK, so the series has been around long enough to get to book 12, (there are apparently 22 in the series so far. At least, according to the author’s website.)
When I read that the book is about returning warriors from Afghanistan and Iraq who are fighting PTSD and other issues, it immediately caught my attention. Especially when I saw that the book revolves around “Mike’s Place” a private veteran’s services facility where veterans come for physical and psychological therapy to learn to deal with the devastation of their lives due to their service to this country.
Heather Long’s “Mike’s Place” should be real, and there should be several in every state! Run on mostly donations and grants, this is a place where warriors can renew and relearn without condemnation or cruelty. With the state of government facilities which are in such terrible shape, funneling monies into places like this may be just what this country needs to help those we owe so much.
The story itself is a romance, between Matt McCall, a wounded Marine, and Naomi Sparks, the sister of a wounded Marine who is now a spanking-new Congressman. Naomi has come to Mike’s to do a report on the good accomplished by the facility for her brother in order to help garner funds for expansion and continued success. Naomi is also using the visit as a quiet place to write songs for her first album which is due out soon. The romance is sweet, but it also has an edge as Matt works to overcome his PTSD. There is no magical answer and no magical recovery. Instead, we learn about how hard it is to deal with PTSD in soldiers – how even tiny steps are to be cherished.
There are, of course, story lines that I am not “in on” as this is book 12, but nothing that made it impossible to enjoy the book as a stand-alone. I am curious, however, about something called the “1Night Stand service” run by a Madame Eve, where, apparently, injured Marines get hooked up with “some random woman” – for a fee? The first intro to the term is awkward, to say the least, as Naomi suddenly looks up the site on the internet with no sort of link to the story line at all. This must be something that runs through the series, but in this case there was no ‘hooking up’ as Matt and Naomi meet in the park where Naomi is working on her songwriting and Matt is walking Jethro, his PTSD dog. It feels like Long wanted to write another edition of the series, but didn’t want to use the Madame Eve or 1Night Stand story itself, so simply threw in a couple of lines in various spots to hold it into the series without exploring it further. This didn’t create an issue for me other than being a bit confusing. I will have to look up her other books and see if I can figure it out. Is prostitution legal in Texas or something? Hummm.
Be that as it may, other than this tiny glitch I was well pleased with my introduction to Mike’s Place and the characters who populate it, and the focus on veterans with PTSD and the magnificent job that the PTSD Dog program is doing to help veterans.
I received this book in return for a realistic review. All thoughts are my own.
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