A huge THANK YOU goes out to those who come here for my
self-editing advice. Writing my Wednesday posts has really helped broaden my
abilities as both a writer and an editor.
I’m aware that there are supportive platforms like GoFundMe
and Patreon, but I’ve never felt comfortable signing up with either. Writing
for a living is difficult. Professional editors are way too expensive for a
self-publishing author. So, instead of asking for financial support in the form
of donations, I’ve decided to offer my editing services.
Consider this as more of an authors-supporting-authors kind of deal. I will edit and provide constructive feedback on your FIRST CHAPTER (or blog post) for the incredibly low price of $10.
Note: Prologues are considered a first chapter and are also $10.
Since I am going to be a self-published author, I find
myself in the same boat as most writers nowadays – unable to pay for a
professional editor. The priced quote to edit The Lost City of Al-Kimiya was $3,500 and more if I hired a
separate proofreader. Don’t get me wrong – editors are incredibly important and
if I had that kind of money, I would pay for a professional to read through my
story.
A few months ago, I went in search of a potential editor
that was cheaper. I found someone who seemed legitimate. They offered to edit
ten pages of my story for $50 (that was only about ¾ths of my prologue). At the
time, I thought that was a great deal. I told myself that I would get to see
how their edits are and argued that it wasn’t nearly as expensive as paying a
professional. I even upgraded to get a literary critique.
I received my ten pages back the next day with two words
moved around, a few commas added, and zero critiques. And no, my first thought
was not, “Oh, my chapter must be good.”
Needless to say, I was very disappointed. I sat on my story
for a month and then took another glance at it. There were grammatical errors
and lackluster sentences galore in those first ten pages alone!
Helping and connecting with other authors is what I had
planned for this website. That’s why I write self-editing tips every Wednesday.
My editing service is a way of doing more.
Why are you charging
$10 if you want to help other authors?
I’m a pragmatic person and like I stated above, writing for a living is difficult. I can’t justify spending my time editing for free when I could be getting paid via a second job. Consider my service as a packaged deal. For $10, you will have your first chapter (or blog post) edited and critiqued. That will likely be an hour or two of my time. Minimum wage is higher than that price.
Why one chapter?
By accepting one chapter, I can get through many requests and YOU can see if you like my edits for an affordable price.
I like your edits and comments. Would you edit the rest of my story?
Absolutely! Hire me for the first chapter, see what I’m
about, and if you’d like me to carry on with the rest of your story, request a
full novel read! My time is limited, however, so I will accept full stories on
a case-by-case basis.
What are the prices for a full read?
Prices for my services can be found HERE. If accepted, you will receive an invoice and must pay in advance. I will only edit a Word document. If your chapter is in a different version such as a PDF, you must convert it for me.
What are the
guidelines for requesting your services?
Requesting my services is easy! Fill out this form and email it to eliviasalt@gmail.com with the subject line reading: “Request for Edit – (Your Name and Title of Story)”
Guidelines to follow are HERE. If accepted, I will email you an invoice. You will have to submit a payment to my PayPal account and then I will begin editing.
How long will it take
you to finish editing?
That’s a bit more difficult to determine. I’m typically a fast reader but when I’m editing, I tend to slow down. Depending on the *word count and the waiting list, I can get through your chapter relatively quickly.
How long will it take
you to edit my full novel?
Again, it’s difficult to say. The more self-edited your
story is, the faster it will be to read. If I’m constantly stumbling over
grammatical issues, my focus will be on that rather than the story. Therefore,
if you want more comments on your overall story, such as foreshadowing, red
herrings, plot holes, character development, then you should self-edit your
story as much as possible before hiring me.
Your privacy is important to me. I promise not to use your stories for editing examples nor share your work with anyone else. Those new to my site may feel more confident in requesting an edit from me if they can see that others have hired me before, so it would be nice if you would leave a comment on my website after receiving your edits back. Nice, but by no means required.
If you have any more questions, feel free to email me. I look forward to reading your lovely stories!
*Note: Chapters with more than 5,000 words will be priced differently.
