I've edited literally THOUSANDS (!) of manuscripts in my 18 years of copy-editing; let my knowledge help you on your path to YOUR best-seller! I’ve had quite a bit of experience working with all levels of writers. I owned my own fiction-only publishing house for ten years, and have been free-lance editing for eight years now. I’ve guided at least thirty self-pubbed authors through the whole process and of course edited their books for them.
This kind of background has made me a pretty aggressive editor; I have no compunction about changing, slashing, or rearranging words, BUT still sticking as closely as possible to the author’s “voice.” If you’re looking for real help and advice and hands-on hard work (on my part), you’ll want to hire me, but if you want someone who’ll just correct your grammar and punctuation (or worse yet, to me, just advise you on what to do), you’d probably do better with another editor.
I try to look at everything in my first read and subsequent copy edit: characterization, plot, facts, structure, flow, style, etc., and if I have a problem with any of it, I’ll tell you about it in the report I send back, which will be a combination of notes I’ve made and messages to you IN the ms.
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Levels of Editing
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Manuscript evaluation/critique: I do no hands-on editing. I simply read the manuscript to find any problems and report back to you on what I find. You have to determine how to fix those problems on your own.
Copy editing: I do everything I can (which includes the manuscript evaluation) to make the book as good as WE think it can be for submission to agents, or to offer to an agent or editor during a “conference tour.” The beauty of this is that you don't have to wonder "what to do next." We will work together to make your manuscript the best it can be!
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IN BOTH CASES, YOU GET THE INTANGIBLE BENEFIT OF KNOWING I WILL FIND
THE PROBLEMS IN YOUR MANUSCRIPT YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE THERE.
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Cost
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There are many things an author must consider when picking an editor, and one of them is undoubtedly cost. Always keep this old maxim in mind: "You get what you pay for."
I cost out each job on an individual basis,
but I always charge by the word for copy edits. This is an exact formula and works the best for everyone. Page count? No. I can get 40 or 400 words on a page. Hourly rate? Only rarely and within certain parameters; it's not exact enough for most jobs.
I charge a flat rate
of $3.00 per page for manuscript evaluation/critiques. We can discuss any other job costs.
I accept payment through PayPal, direct wire transfer, and personal check.
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What I Need From You
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The editor-client relationship is a critical component in producing the best manuscript we can. The first step in the process is for you to get an idea of how I work, and that's done by me doing a sample edit for you.
I will need a few bits of info from you in an email to dorrie@peakpeak.com. Please answer the following questions, and I will get right back to you!
1. Your name.
2. E-mail addresses:
3. Day/evening phone numbers (required):
4. City, state, country (or time zone):
5. Current word count of document:
6. Project category (i.e.: fiction: mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, etc.; or, non-fiction: bigraphy, self-help, exposé, etc.
7. Please give me a 100-word (or less) synop of your story, or a brief description of the non-fiction topic.
8. Are you looking for copyediting, or manuscript evaluation/critique, or other work?
9. Your deadline date (if any):
10. Do you need charts, tables, pictures edited/formatted?
11. Do you have a budget for the project?
12. Attach the first 15 pages of your project, including title page (if applicable) in Word format, preferably. I cannot take .wps files.
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