Soon-to-Be Changes in Pricing and Services

I talked to Lynn O'Dell of Red Adept last week and running some new ideas for pricing and services by my editors. All projects we've already contracted will be the same, but new ones will be different. We will continue to offer a critique service, but most likely no proofreading service. It will be included in our editing package and you will probably get a different proofreader than editor for your projects.

More to come as decisions are made.

Editing Vs. Proofreading

I did a post on this a while back. Sometimes I go through samples and can tell if a manuscript is at the editing stage or at the proofreading stage. And sometimes the author is asking for the wrong service. And then sometimes I have to write and tell them their book needs to be edited rather than proofread. That's tough to do because the price is twice as much.

Indie writers take a risk paying money to get their books in great shape. Without a publisher to do their editing and covers, they have to fork the money out of their own pockets not knowing whether or not the book will pay out the money put into it and eventually make a profit.

I know one thing. A book that doesn't have good editing may be loved by readers, but they will complain about editing. The reviews will reflect that and book browsers will be turned off by that.

So what makes an editor good? All four of us have experience editing novels, and I also have experience editing educational texts and some nonfiction. Editors love to edit. I chose this job because I love to read and I love to fix, polish and make a good story shine. Since I started this company, I've been able to cut back on content writing and spend my days immersed in awesome indie books. I haven't had one I didn't get into and fall in love with.

As I said in the post I linked to, if you don't know which service you need, editing or proofreading, feel free to send a sample and I'll give you my honest opinion. You'll be able to tell from my sample that I'm being straight with you.

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.