F.A.Q.
Elrod Editing
Frequently Asked Questions
___________________________________________________
 | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
___________________________________________________
For individuals:
Through safe, secure Paypal. They keep a third party record of all transactions and automatically make currency conversions.
Make sure your Paypal information is CURRENT.
No checks, no money orders, NO exceptions.
For publishers and other businesses:
Whatever is standard for your company.
Just how do you correct a manuscript?
I use Microsoft Word’s Track Changes feature, which allows you to accept or reject changes.
It is located in the TOOLS drop-down menu.
This is the same tool I used for editing the authors in the collections shown on the home page.
For a detailed example click here.
I also work on hard copy, but would need to discuss the job first. This is usually for work with publishing houses, rather than individuals, but if you prefer paper over an .rtf file, I'm open to it!
It is a list of all proper names used in the work, correctly spelled.
It should include any words in a foreign or fantasy language or made-up words or phrases.
The style sheet keeps Sean from morphing into Shawn.
Most of the time it is:
|
8.5 x 11 paper
| 1-inch margins top, bottom, sides
| Double-spaced
| 12 point Times New Roman font
| Sequentially numbered
| DISABLE THE ORPHAN PARAGRAPH FEATURE
|
This makes a page with 24-25 lines on it
If you use a different format I will adjust it to fit and you may lose data.
Short pages--12 lines or less--such as title and chapter openings and endings are FREE.
What's this ORDER NUMBER thing?
That tells me any attached file you send is a legitimate job and not spam or a virus.
My server has good virus detecting software, so if it finds one on your attachment, I'll let you know.
Absolutely.
All content is confidential.
Once a job is completed your file is deleted.
How fast can I get the job done?
That depends how big it is and how much work is required.
Let me know right away if you are on a deadline.
Twenty to forty pages of normal copyediting and proofreading takes about 1 business day.
If I am really busy, I'll let you know if it will take longer.
For a rough estimate on time for bigger projects, I need to see a few sample pages to decide how much work is involved.
No.
If there is poetry within your work it will get copyedited.
Yes. I see a lot of websites in need of a good copyedit and proofing. I'm more than happy to discuss terms with the webmasters!
Will you work for small press / E-press operations?
Yes! Write if you've got a job you'd like me to tackle!
Will you evaluate my fiction manuscript?
No.
This is strictly a copyediting and proofreading service.
I do not offer feedback.
Will you recommend me to your publisher / agent?
No. Not my job.
Here is a safe site to search for publishers and agents:
http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/pealb.htm
I've used them myself to check things out!
Do I REALLY need a copyeditor?
If you can use the spell check feature, have a well-thumbed copy of Strunk and White's Elements of Style, and good friends to beta-read for you--probably not.
If you're still fuzzy about:
|
there-their-they're |
|
the whole to-too-two / your-you're / sight-site-cite thing |
|
mixing up its and it's |
|
where to use commas, colons, and semi-colons |
|
hyphen vs. the em dash |
|
discrete vs. discreet |
|
word repetitions |
|
malapropisms |
|
are dyslexic |
| don't have the time to learn all this stuff |
| just want a professional edit for your project |
Then another set of eyes to check things over might be right for you.
No amount of copyediting and proofing will get you published if the work isn't ready.
It took two years and twenty-five rewrites before I sold my first novel. I made sure it was correctly spelled, the grammar was correct, and the manuscript clean to read. For all that, the writing just wasn't ready.
Thankfully, I got better at my craft, and it all worked out!
___________________________________________________
Things to Fix BEFORE Sending Anything Out
Character names should all start with different letters
If you have John, James, June, Joan, and Jake all in the same story or book you need to change them.
Any editor on Publisher's Row will have you do that.
Avoid unpronounceable names and names with apostrophes
Yes, we all LOVE Teal'c from Stargate SG-1, but exotic punctuation in a proper name is now considered to be a cliché.
Ditto for characters called Gl'mmrxfyd or even Dyfxrmmlg.
Holy over the top, Batman!
Get! Rid! Of! Things! Like! This! *!*
Exciting punctuation in a narrative won't energize a scene.
Characters who yell a lot may need a tranquilizer.
Wut du u c?
Save text-speak for your friends and use proper English in your books and business mails.
It makes a great first impression.
Leave out song lyrics.
Unless you wrote them yourself or have written permission from the copyright holder, omit song lyrics.
You often have to pay the copyright holder a fee to use his or her words. Using them without permission translates into nasty letters from lawyers who aren't as nice or as cute as the ones on Boston Legal.
___________________________________________________
Or
Swimming Safely in the Shark Tank
Myth: A publisher wants a completed work, refined and ready to print as is.
That's a big, stinky crock.
The myth is put out by scammers to get you to buy their services.
Many inexperienced and impatient writers fall prey to this ploy. It can get expensive.
While any publisher would be happy to have a manuscript in perfect ready-to-go shape, they know better than to expect it. No manuscript placed in a legitimate publishing house goes to print as-is. They all go through the editing process to conform to the house's own style.
This doesn't mean you're allowed to be sloppy. You may be the next J.K. Rowling, but she certainly used the spell-check on that first Potter manuscript.
Myth: Publishers will only read manuscripts that have been professionally edited.
That is is a LIE.
Sites promoting that lie want to scare you into buying their editing services.
They're counting on you not knowing any better.
Sometimes they will say, "you're almost there and need just a little more work" -- then direct you to a "book doctor" who will charge a hefty fee.
It's a scammer after your money.
I'm probably shooting myself in the foot here, but most writers don't need a copyeditor for manuscript submissions to agents and editors. I didn't need one, but I took the time to learn good grammar and how to use that spell-checker!
You may want a professional copyedit if you're self-publishing or taking it to an e-house that doesn't copyedit. They're the ones who will say "We respect your manuscript." That means no copyediting at all!
Myth: If you use a professional editing service you will sell your work!
ANY site that tells you that is a scam operation.
Your work will sell if your words are worth something to a publisher.
Myth: If you sell your book to a print publisher you've sold your copyright, too!
Oh, what a big fib! A legit publisher pays for permission to print a writer's words for a set period of time, like leasing a house. When the lease expires, the print rights reverts to the writer.
In any legitimate book you will find in the front page fine print who owns the copyright, a writer or a company.
It will look like this: Copyright © 2008 P.N. Elrod
Any contract with an agent or publisher that demands you give up your copyright as part of the deal is a BAD one. Run away.
Myth: It costs money to get published!
This is Yog's Law: Money flows to the writer.
Repeat that.
Anyone (like a fee-charging agent, a vanity press, or a publishing mill) claiming otherwise could be a scammer. Run away.
___________________________________________________
Do NOT be taken in by scammers!
A little research can save you big bucks.
Be safe and check them out first.
When in doubt, walk away!
Preditors and Editors:
www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pealb.htm
Author Cathy Clamp on
TP, SP, SMALL, POD Presses, Vanity and Subsidy Publishers
This is AbsoluteWrite's Bewares and Background Checks Forum.
www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22
Additional information on writing:
___________________________________________________