In light of the recent deluge of spam I’ve received on this blog, I’m a bit reluctant to post this, but maybe Askimet’s spam filter will work.
I’m offering proofreading/light editing services to indie authors. In my reviews of novels over at the New Podler Review, I’ve had a habit of compiling lists of typos as I read. For the stories I liked, I’d send the author a list of the typos I found. For the self-edited works, it wasn’t surprising. After staring at a document for weeks or months, an author’s eyes glaze over and they miss things. It’s quite natural. But when I started receiving word that I was finding typos that their editors missed, I knew I was onto something.
Two authors familiar with my thoroughness hired me to proofread their next work. They were:
After the successful completion of these two jobs, I decided to go pro.
You’re probably familiar with editor’s rates, but in case you aren’t, here’s the link to the Editorial Freelancers Association: www.the-efa.org/res/rates.php
What I charge depends on the condition of the manuscript.
- Heavy Editing: $1 per 100 words.
- Light Editing/Proofreading: $1 per 200 words.
- Quick Scan: $1 per 500 words.
For the record, both Terry and Rob qualified for “Light Editing”.
What does that translate to? Let’s say your work is 68,000 words. The heavy editing rate would be $680. The proofreading/light editing rate would be $340. If the manuscript qualified for a quick scan, the charge would be $136.
“Quick Scan” is reserved for highly edited works that just need a pair of eyeballs to make sure the author didn’t miss anything. I would have to find one typo per four pages (or less) to qualify for this rate. A list of these typos will be provided to the author. Rob Steiner’s forthcoming work, Zervakan, would qualify for this rate (I didn’t come up with this rate until today).
“Proofreading/Light Editing” means that I scan the manuscript for typos and compile them in a spreadsheet or highlight them in the manuscript and provide the correction. Either way, you’ll be able to see that I read your work. It also means that you’ll have the choice to apply the corrections or not.
Proofreading your work also means that I read it for narrative flow, plot consistency, and characterization and report any problems in these areas and, if necessary, make suggestions as to how they can be improved. I won’t change the actual manuscript as that would be considered “heavy edits” and affect the soul of the story. I firmly believe that’s an author’s territory. Obviously, you can disregard any suggestions I make.
“Heavy Editing” goes above and beyond proofreading. It means that the manuscript requires extensive re-working to change the composition of paragraphs and/or their positioning within a chapter, sentence structure, narrative flow, solidifying characterization, and plugging plot holes. It’s more hands on. There’s a good chance that I’ll reject your work if it requires heavy editing as I may not have the time or feel comfortable with the extent of my involvement. However, in select cases, I may take it on.
How will you know which rate you qualify for? You’ll send me the first two to three chapters and I’ll review them to ascertain what state they’re in and send you a quote. I’ll also mark them up so you can get an idea of what sort of feedback you’ll receive. I prefer the proofreading level as that feels less like work. I require a 50% deposit to start the job and the balance is due upon completion.
Please contact either Rob and/or Terry to gauge whether or not this is the right choice for you.
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DED
My short story collection, We’ll Watch the Sunrise from the Bottom of the Sea is now available in print from Amazon and CreateSpace. What’s the difference? For you, nothing. For me, quite a bit.
