Power Out

This is Lisa's brother posting for the Hazards. The storms in Alabama have knocked out power in the Hazards' hometown, and they expect to be without power for 5-7 days. Unfortunately, they won't be able to contact anyone or do any work until their power is back.

Hazard Editing Welcomes Cherie Reich as an Editor

Cherie will be able to start taking projects May 10th. Read more about her here.

Editing for Indies

I want to write about this because I think it's important for my writers and possible potential writers to know.

As I state on the main heading of my site, indie writing offers an alternative to major publishing. It's not just in the subject matters or genre-bending, but in the editing.

What I do as an editor or proofreader is keep your voice intact. There are some things that can be clipped, comma-ed (I just made up a word), taken out, put in, reworded, but mostly I make a readable text that will not distract the reader with typos or grammatical errors and will enhance what the author is saying.

I feel like I can understand a vibe of a book. If your characters say certain things a certain way, I get it. That's what you're doing. My job is to make it look pretty and to take out overused words.

The beauty of the literature landscape with indie writers getting their books out in e-format is that it's not all the same. There's something for everyone. There's magic in every book I have worked on so far. I love reading and writing and I will not make your book cookie-cutter. Neither will my freelancers.

Patricia La Barbera Has Joined Hazard Editing

Please welcome Ms. La Barbera to Hazard Editing. You can read about her here. She has gobs of experience and an eye for editing.

I will be giving some of my projects to Patricia so that authors will not have to wait as long for their edits, critiques and proofreading. If you have a preference for either of us, please say so when you write for services. She understands keeping each author's voice unique through the editing process. She is also experienced in mainstream editing, so keep that in mind if you want those services.

Ms. La Barbera is a Hazard Cat contributor and mentioned she is also a freelance editor. I gave her several editing tests, and she is friendly, receptive and open-minded.

More on Commas

Commas are the biggest problem I find in editing. Here are a few more tips to learn how to use them properly.

"Meow," said the cat purring.

Should be:

"Meow," said the cat, purring.

If you have an action separate from the statement, then there should be a comma.

Another example:

Incorrect:

"I hate dogs!" screamed the cat jumping on the table to escape the pup.

Correct:

"I hate dogs!" screamed the cat, jumping on the table to escape the pup.

Sometimes you don't need a comma.

Incorrect:

"I want to eat a bird," said the cat, as he licked his chops.

Correct:

"I want to eat a bird," said the cat as he licked his chops.

Here his action smoothly moves along without the comma.

Changes in Pricing for Proofreading Services

I have found that proofreading takes more time than I thought it would, so I have changed from $1 per 1000 words to $2 per 1000 words. If I have already contracted you at the old rates, they still stand. Please see the Pricing Page for more details.