Book editing for self publishing.

[ZippyDSMlee]

Out of curiosity I am slowly looking around to see what it would cost to have a 16K word short story edited. Its probably going to need 2 or 4 edits with the way I drool with words. I'm also working on a 200ish page book project. The prologue and first two chapters are 20K words, chap 3 has hit 9K words today.

Mainly I am looking for cost effective editing for self publishing.

I will put up a few pages worth of it. Its okay at best but the grammar is horrid. Run on's are my worst enemy with grammar being damn near the second. LOL

Spoiler

This is number two the newest of the edits.

================================
Chronicles of the Lord of Power

Lost and abandoned on the dark lonely road of the stars.

Being found is worse than being lost. As being lost you are free from all but self. Being found you have to constantly worry about others. :Lord of Power
--------------
Notes: This story is more of what I had in mind around the time of the Lord of Powers creation. It?s further along time line wise than Book one.
---------------


part 1

Off in the hazy emptiness beyond time and space, rows of two chairs, a table, and random chess games are at play. Amongst the endless table and chairs, two old humanoid figures sit. One is mostly white and gray, faded and battered by time, his face old wise and sorrowful, his figure thin and tall. Napping in his chair he lays to one side with a bit of drool running down his chin. By his hand on the table is a black bowl with straight white lines for stripes. On the other side of the table is a dark, strong figure of an old, harsh man stalking things in violent dreams. Frothy foam peeks its head just beyond the dark one?s sharp teeth, the figure writhing in his slumber from time to time. He is dressed in dark tattered robes that vine out in the air, along the ground, and on the table, but never upon the chess board. His bowl is white with dark lines that zigzag. The chess board is mostly barren; on it a knight and a queen of white, and a couple pawns of dark can be seen? it seems this game has just begun.

Somewhere, sometime, out in the furthest reaches of space is a floating homage to abandonment. A spaceship floats along the dark road, seemingly ravaged by time and space. With a curious panel on its hind end, unhinged on one side, it sits crooked. Shapes and letters can be seen ? they are human and crude. It reads ?LOP- 1.? But within this dead coal, an ember of life still burns. While looking into the vessel past the ruins and wreck, carbon dioxide molecules are being produced and viciously consumed by an endlessly hungry plant life form that produces enough energy to power the rackety, loud machine that it?s trapped within. The machine sputters out oxygen and moisture into unfrozen sections of the inner sanctum of the vessel. A curiosity since no one on board needs it to live; it?s more of a comfort for these two weary travelers. A floating orb smaller than a human head floats over a grumbling man, dressed in jeans, a torn shirt, tattered fedora and trench coat. The orb starts talking in a feminine yet humorous tone. ?You better hope that damn mold monster doesn?t pop out of this piece of crap life support unit you were up all week hammering together.? The orb is quiet for a moment, then continues, ?On second thought, since I had to use my last repair drones to fish you off that planet and clean you up, I don?t want to talk about it.?

The man works on some sort of large looking circuit panel. He links dim pathways of light as if he is drawing. He says in a lightly stressed voice ?Yes, yes I know, but it relaxes me.? The orb comes back with a snarky reply, ?What? Being covered in green poo that wants to turn you into plant poo?? The man returns, ?Why yes, I like my balls being eroded away? but I prefer the smell of a crappy LSU to a colorless and quiet void.? He continues as he places a panel over the circuit board. ?This one is good, only 10 thousand or so to go. Then again, we should hunt down what powers it and try to get the engines online again.? The orb rotates in place while blinking a bland, uninterested smiley face while thinking, and then stops after a minute. ?So we are going to try the Light Force energy array, since we obviously don?t have any decent power source on my poor precious ship...? The orb displays a crying face with a hint of happiness while looking at the tattered man. He stands up and looks to be about six feet tall and a bit plump and homely looking.

Giving the orb a double take he said, ?No? you?re not making me into a human battery? besides, the ship couldn?t handle being plugged into my nipples the last time we tried!? The orb makes another sad face and says, ?So the array?? He replies with a half hopeful smile, ?Yeah, even if we run afoul of the powers that be, it?s better than trying to repair the ship with blood and sweat alone.? He then gets up as they approach a door, it jerks itself open and they find themselves in a corridor that leads to a maze of pathways, filled with disorganized cabling of all sizes branching off in different directions. As they walk down the maze, the orb leads the tattered man through the dimly lit corridors. The orb gives off some light, creating menacing shadows that bob and sway as they venture forth.

The man stares at the cabling coming from the ceiling and follows it with his eyes as he recalls troubling past experiences with cables. He remembers falling through a ceiling panel while being tied up in super energized cables, dangling like a marionette, jerking ever so slightly as the energy coursed through him randomly. He covers his face and grasps his forehead, remembering the worst part of it: the repair drone was cutting the wires and missed, cutting off a couple limbs. He sighs just before he stumbles and falls over a large stack of cabling, hitting his head as his hat tumbles forward. The orb keeps going forward saying, ?Keep up slow poke, or I will leave you down here.? ?Do that and there will be many more holes in your precious ship,? he replies, grabbing his hat and staggering to catch up with the orb. ?Tsk tsk tsk, do you always have to resort to brute force?? The orb then stops at a battered door that says hanger bay 13.

The man stops and looks at the slightly faded number 13, ?So out of the 40 something hanger bays we have, this is the one we have to go through?? The orb retorts, ?Well, it?s the only one not wrecked and totally exposed to space. Want to go on another space trip skipping across asteroids like last time?? He replies, ?Er no, no more wasting time? and I was not skipping damn it! Unless you can skip using your head...? ?True. At least you came back whole that time? Mmmmm!?? The man looks at the orb puzzled, ?What?s wrong now?? The orb scans the door and says, ?It?s been beaten in so much that it?s warped, buckling in on this side.? The man pushes against the door grunting, ?That? ugh? much is obvious. Ugh. Do you sense anything on the other side?? ?No.? The man replies quickly with an evil grin. ?Then can I blow it up?? The orb scurries behind him. ?Ugh, fine. Just keep the damage to a minimum.?

He smiles and gives the buckled in door an evil look and steps back. He whips his tattered trench coat off his hip and pulls out a long object that?s covered in bandages. He then waves the object to the right, then up and down; the bandages fall around him in a circular motion. As the bandages fall to the floor, they reveal a golden brown shirasaya katana type sword. His eyes radiate a glowing blue mist, and energy lines start pulsating forward on the sword. The tip points at the door as energy starts compressing into a ball; a moment of silence covers the area as a bead of sweat runs down his check.


As the final bandage hits the floor, a blurring beam of concentrated energy hits the door and fills the area with intense blue light. The door moves for a second, then stops. As he continues, the door withstands the assault. He glares at the door through the hazy, rebounding energy and pushes himself forward, forcing the energy into every crevice and molecule of the door?s recesses and archway. Crackling sounds can be heard as cracks start forming along the areas touched by the door. The door and its whole archway go blasting off across the hanger bay floor with a great WOOSHING sound as it slams into several different fighters, coming to a rest far off in the distance. Amongst the rubble and a few random untouched fighters lay, the hunk of ejected metal glows far off within the darkness as they enter the gaping, yet still glowing hole. The tattered man and his floating orb companion soon realize something is amiss.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Is it the first draft, I ask?

Because if it is, first drafts should be the most horrible piece of junk you feel like you ever create, but you should still completely rewrite your works and make a new, much better draft. Self-editing is great for learning, and you should just do it to refine your first draft.

General tips: Number values below a number such as one-hundred should be written out. Don't say "99 dollars", say "ninety-nine dollars". In titles, as you used in LOP-1, it's fine, it should stay.

Next, new paragraphs for dialogue lines spoken by other people. However, you probably know and only crunched it together to make the post seem shorter.

Next, limit your use of "that". Control-F "that", look at each sentence, and see if the structure of the sentence stays the same if you remove "that". For example,

pulls out a long object that's covered in bandages.

if you remove "that",

pulls out a long object covered in bandages.

Same sentence, same exact wording, but it's the tiniest bit less cluttered.

Next: Similarly, "even" is also an extremely removable word, but not on the strain as "that".

...

Actual advice beside self-editing? Giving of names of cheap editors? Nope, got nothing.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Is it the first draft, I ask?

Because if it is, first drafts should be the most horrible piece of junk you feel like you ever create, but you should still completely rewrite your works and make a new, much better draft. Self-editing is great for learning, and you should just do it to refine your first draft.

General tips: Number values below a number such as one-hundred should be written out. Don't say "99 dollars", say "ninety-nine dollars". In titles, as you used in LOP-1, it's fine, it should stay.

Next, new paragraphs for dialogue lines spoken by other people. However, you probably know and only crunched it together to make the post seem shorter.

Next, limit your use of "that". Control-F "that", look at each sentence, and see if the structure of the sentence stays the same if you remove "that". For example,

pulls out a long object that's covered in bandages.

if you remove "that",

pulls out a long object covered in bandages.

Same sentence, same exact wording, but it's the tiniest bit less cluttered.

Next: Similarly, "even" is also an extremely removable word, but not on the strain as "that".

...

Actual advice beside self-editing? Giving of names of cheap editors? Nope, got nothing.

I forgot to say THANK YOU for taking the time to write that out, I do have some memory issues and do miss things.

==========================================
Its not the first draft sadly. I've read over and re edited it 3 or 4 times and that dose not count all the small edits as I wrote it out. My main issues with grammar revolve around learning disabilities and a public school system that didn't care. It gave me issues about reading and penmanship even if it was 30 years ago.

I tend to go back and write out all numbers I been doing it more and more this year but I do miss them sometimes, its just easier when writing to use a 5 or 6....I is easily... SQUIRREL! ><
LOL

Dumb question I been thinking about that and should it not read "L. O. P. One." As its read out not simply said as a word ala "lop one".

When doing percentages and numbers I guess its best to say thirty percent,ect. Now that I think there is no real need to use ..er numerals? When a word works better. Tho as I said I use them at first then edit them, I'm still in the habit of doing that. I'll try and get into the habit of writing out numbers,ect but I do not know as I type while looking at the keyboard and use only three fingers. When I am witting I try and take shortcuts to get the idea out as fast as I can then polish it up when I re read it. Its not really a mad dash its more like write a few lines look it over then write a few more lines then look it over then when I finish my train of thought I start editing and polishing it.

Currently I am writing in chucks I use to write out pages then deal with proofing later. But Now I deal with a few tens to hundred words at a time. I take some time to get the more egregious errors out but I still smash on the keyboard to get the idea out before I give out. So I write some then do error checking and organization sometimes my thoughts are not alined well and I have to make sure it has some semblance of flow. Then I try and reread it all over again to make sure it sounds right, flows well enough for me and has as few errors as me and word 07 can find.


I do understand the need to simplify wordings/word groups to a certain degree but ya I need to do a superfluous word hunt and keep over empathizing to a minimum.

I've tried hard to limit run ons and keep sentences within themselves while limiting reiteration. I am sparsely using commas these days. I overkilled it with to many pauses for a long while.



I've kinda hit a dead end with my skill level and I am unsure just what needs fixing.

Hell this post has been read over 4 times and it has issues LOL

 

[IndieForever]

I quickly phoned up my brother for you, who is a professional author, and the (not very helpful to you!) answer was 'it varies.' It depends on the editor's experience, who they've worked with in the past etc., but he recommended staying away from anyone who is suspiciously cheap.

As a ballpark figure, expect between 1c and 2c per word as the minimum/maximum range depending on whether you just want a one-pass read-through or more comprehensive feedback. Your 16k story therefore comes in at $160-$320. If you are going to pay for this then you should ask for some references, as well as before and after examples.

Having read through your text I would expect it to be more at the top-end of the price bracket because, even as a layman, pretty much every sentence needs some minor work, correction or clarification. As I and other family members are always first on the receiving end of a new manuscript before it goes to the professionals, could you not do the same and farm it out to other people initially?

Most people have a book in them, I believe, but very few of us actually sit down and do it. When you pass all that hard work along to a professional who has no real stake in your work the feedback can be brutal. I would have to agree with the Yellow One.. have a go at it yourself first. If you don't, how will you know that your money has been well-spent when you get your edited manuscript back?!

 

[sextus the crazy]

To go along with the whole "that" thing, limit your use of the verb "to be" and all of its forms (is, was, are, etc.). In fact, if possible try to remove it. It's a weak verb and with such a fantastical setting, you should replace it with more exciting and punchy verbs.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

I quickly phoned up my brother for you, who is a professional author, and the (not very helpful to you!) answer was 'it varies.' It depends on the editor's experience, who they've worked with in the past etc., but he recommended staying away from anyone who is suspiciously cheap.

As a ballpark figure, expect between 1c and 2c per word as the minimum/maximum range depending on whether you just want a one-pass read-through or more comprehensive feedback. Your 16k story therefore comes in at $160-$320. If you are going to pay for this then you should ask for some references, as well as before and after examples.

I kinda figure its not going to be cheap and is going to be brutal. LOL

Having read through your text I would expect it to be more at the top-end of the price bracket because, even as a layman, pretty much every sentence needs some minor work, correction or clarification. As I and other family members are always first on the receiving end of a new manuscript before it goes to the professionals, could you not do the same and farm it out to other people initially?

The trouble is I've not found many who have the time to read it much less critique it and break down their critiques enough to fit in my drool bucket. LOL

Most people have a book in them, I believe, but very few of us actually sit down and do it. When you pass all that hard work along to a professional who has no real stake in your work the feedback can be brutal. I would have to agree with the Yellow One.. have a go at it yourself first. If you don't, how will you know that your money has been well-spent when you get your edited manuscript back?!

True true but I am getting to a point I am at my limit, I can only see a few remaining and really need a more indepth break down of what I am doing wrong. I'd like to keep my verbiage/wordings without needlessly watering it down to generic hard grammar.

I been looking through Fiver and deviant art for sub 100$ editors that will just mark and show the errors. That might be what I need to do is get 5000 words have it broken down then take it from there.

To go along with the whole "that" thing, limit your use of the verb "to be" and all of its forms (is, was, are, etc.). In fact, if possible try to remove it. It's a weak verb and with such a fantastical setting, you should replace it with more exciting and punchy verbs.

Mind you ignore the over use of commas I am still dealing with them in older word blocks but.

""The man stares at the cabling coming from the ceiling and follows it with his eyes as he recalls troubling past experiences with cables. He remembers falling through a ceiling panel while being tied up in super energized cables, dangling like a marionette, jerking ever so slightly as the energy coursed through him randomly. He covers his face and grasps his forehead, remembering the worst part of it the repair drone was cutting the wires and missed, cutting off a couple limbs. ""

How would I deal with use of was in this instance, change it to while? That's about all I can think up other than rewording it and losing the shocking limb loss at the end of the sentence.


God there are to many comas...er..commas in that >> *wanders off to fix them*


Alright, currently this looks better to me, still not 100% sure how to deal with "was" as I do not want to change the ending of the sentence.


"
The man stares at the cabling coming from the ceiling and follows it with his eyes as he recalls a troubling past experience with cabling. He remembers falling through a ceiling panel while being tied up in super energized cables. Dangling like a marionette jerking ever so slightly as the energy coursed through him randomly. He covers his face and grasps his forehead, remembering the worst part of it. The repair drone was cutting the cables and missed cutting off a couple limbs."

 

[djl3485]

I recommend you look into Smashwords. I found several great independent arthors through them on my Nook from Barnes and Nobles...so good exposure too.


https://www.smashwords.com/

https://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords

 

[Nuxxy]

Stephen King suggested a two-part strategy: stick it in a draw for a month and go do something else. Then come back, leave the door open, and kill your darlings. If you haven't read "On Writing", do it!

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

If you just want some casual edits, you should join a writing community.
There are some good ones around, like CritiqueCircle [http://www.critiquecircle.com/], that put a lot of emphasis on lengthy, high-quality critiques.
It's done on the basis of mutual benefit, so the more people you critique, the more critiques you will receive. If grammar and spelling isn't really your forte, you can always critique more high-level aspects of a story, like how well the characters are developed, plot holes, inconsistencies, cheesy dialogue, etc. After a while you'll have a heap of really useful feedback to work with, and you'll learn a lot.

I'd do that first, before you go on to professional editing services.
That is usually the very final step you take; the final bit of polish right before putting your words into print. You don't really go to editors to learn how to write better.

 

[Flames66]

Is it the first draft, I ask?

Because if it is, first drafts should be the most horrible piece of junk you feel like you ever create, but you should still completely rewrite your works and make a new, much better draft. Self-editing is great for learning, and you should just do it to refine your first draft.

This is something I've always disagreed with when being advised on writing. If I'm writing something I intend it to be perfect first time. I know it probably won't be, but the better it is the less pissing around I have to do later. It may work great for some people to write anything and edit it later, but I can't work like that.

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

This is something I've always disagreed with when being advised on writing. If I'm writing something I intend it to be perfect first time. I know it probably won't be, but the better it is the less pissing around I have to do later. It may work great for some people to write anything and edit it later, but I can't work like that.

How is that even possible? Writing well is immensely complex as you balance character development, plot progression, humour/horror (where applicable), dramatic tension, internal logic, pacing, backstory, interpersonal conflict, romance, thematic elements, relatable dialogue, etc. in addition to the technical knowledge like spelling, grammar, semantics, word order, clichés, passive voice, sentence structure, word overuse, verbosity, purple prose, etc.

Nobody gets it perfect on their first try, at least not consistently. Every time you come up with a new idea, or tweak an old one, the balance between all the stuff I've mentioned and more gets thrown out of whack. And you have to go back over other things and tweak them to make it all fit again.

That's why writing is an iterative process, and it's why people tell you not to worry too much about the first draft.

 

[Flames66]

This is something I've always disagreed with when being advised on writing. If I'm writing something I intend it to be perfect first time. I know it probably won't be, but the better it is the less pissing around I have to do later. It may work great for some people to write anything and edit it later, but I can't work like that.

How is that even possible? Writing well is immensely complex as you balance character development, plot progression, humour/horror (where applicable), dramatic tension, internal logic, pacing, backstory, interpersonal conflict, romance, thematic elements, relatable dialogue, etc. in addition to the technical knowledge like spelling, grammar, semantics, word order, clichés, passive voice, sentence structure, word overuse, verbosity, purple prose, etc.

Nobody gets it perfect on their first try, at least not consistently. Every time you come up with a new idea, or tweak an old one, the balance between all the stuff I've mentioned and more gets thrown out of whack. And you have to go back over other things and tweak them to make it all fit again.

That's why writing is an iterative process, and it's why people tell you not to worry too much about the first draft.

I understand that in theory, it has just never worked for me. My general plan is to write my thing, get someone I trust to read it through, make any changes that are required, get it read through again, final tweaks and done. I have very limited experience with writing large pieces so this plan may be subject to change, but that is how I currently do things.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

I recommend you look into Smashwords. I found several great independent arthors through them on my Nook from Barnes and Nobles...so good exposure too.


https://www.smashwords.com/

https://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords

Its one place I am looking at but before I go there I need to fix the ship wreck first

Stephen King suggested a two-part strategy: stick it in a draw for a month and go do something else. Then come back, leave the door open, and kill your darlings. If you haven't read "On Writing", do it!

Thats one of my problems I am adverse to reading(mostly anxiety issues derived from issues in school). Also I can barely muster up enough energy to read my own crap much less someone else's. I'm at my worse with dealing with physical books, it gets a bit better with digital.

If you just want some casual edits, you should join a writing community.
There are some good ones around, like CritiqueCircle [http://www.critiquecircle.com/], that put a lot of emphasis on lengthy, high-quality critiques.
It's done on the basis of mutual benefit, so the more people you critique, the more critiques you will receive. If grammar and spelling isn't really your forte, you can always critique more high-level aspects of a story, like how well the characters are developed, plot holes, inconsistencies, cheesy dialogue, etc. After a while you'll have a heap of really useful feedback to work with, and you'll learn a lot.

I'd do that first, before you go on to professional editing services.
That is usually the very final step you take; the final bit of polish right before putting your words into print. You don't really go to editors to learn how to write better.

Thats one of my problems I am adverse to reading(mostly anxiety issues derived from issues in school). Also I can barely muster up enough energy to read my own crap much less someone else's. I'm at my worse with dealing with physical books, it gets a bit better with digital. But still its not getting good to a point where I can read something for awhile. I'll dig up a digital copy and see if I can find any time to read it.

Is it the first draft, I ask?

Because if it is, first drafts should be the most horrible piece of junk you feel like you ever create, but you should still completely rewrite your works and make a new, much better draft. Self-editing is great for learning, and you should just do it to refine your first draft.

This is something I've always disagreed with when being advised on writing. If I'm writing something I intend it to be perfect first time. I know it probably won't be, but the better it is the less pissing around I have to do later. It may work great for some people to write anything and edit it later, but I can't work like that.

I understand what the process is meant to do. It forces you to rethink everything which forces a layer of polish upon it. Which I think is silly for most people unless they seek to make writing a career. At my current skill level I will just reiterate the same mistakes so re writing it is moot. Now going over it to simplify and look for errors not so much.
Each paragraph is an group of thoughts with a larger idea as its goal my plan is to fix them as best as I can before moving to editing. Which will be interesting since I write in randomly nested thoughts like lovecraft dose or so I am told.

No matter the writer you tend to have to go over the work 2 or 3 times to get it polished enough and that's for most skilled writers. For me it will take 2 or 3 times that just to deal with the errors I think I see.

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

Thats one of my problems I am adverse to reading(mostly anxiety issues derived from issues in school). Also I can barely muster up enough energy to read my own crap much less someone else's.

Well, that's a real problem.
Ask any successful author what their best advice for aspiring writers is, and every single one of them will tell you: "read as much as possible."

I mean, think about it: would you trust a game designer who almost never plays games, or a 'doctor' who has never studied medicine or been inside a hospital? Writing is only easy or simple when you're doing it wrong; the notion that you can be good at something "naturally" with minimal practice, no particular insight, and without even trying to learn from others, is a bit misguided.

Getting better at reading will not only help you improve your writing (among other things), but it will also give you way more confidence in your abilities, since you can cite precedence. If someone says, "X is bad writing", and you know that famous writer Y did X, then you can shut them right the fuck up.