by | Mar 9, 2017 | Advice, Blog
Authors,
I ask now for you to put yourself in the role of a freelance editor. Now, imagine a situation whereby a client approaches you, accepts a quote, goes through the sample edit process etc, and after a week of schedule-juggling, they promise to send the rest of the service agreement paperwork back to you that day. All good so far. Now, consider how you would feel if the job you had worked extremely hard to win was suddenly taken from you because the cancelled on the grounds that a quote your client has just received another quote for ‘considerably less’ than the rate they were expecting to pay you. While the second editor in the above scenario may have had no idea that a contract and a price had already been agreed (bar signing on the line), the author most certainly did know and actively chose not to disclose the fact. They choose, instead, to disregard past promises as and when they saw an immediate advantage. Is such a person likely to prove trustworthy in the future? Unlikely, and I would caution editors away from future professional engagement with those who have acted in such a manner.
When you take on an editor, you are entering into a business relationship which requires a high level of mutual ethical conduct and trust. This relationship is far more formal than that of a consumer/retailer or service provider. In a business relationship, there are some basic rules which determine its success. One such rule is to treat others with the same honesty, respect fairness that you expect to be treated with. In business, all is not fair. A promise is a promise and honesty is always the best policy. If you are an author and find yourself in a situation where you must make up a story in order to get out of a promise or an obligation, the likelihood is that you already know that you are behaving unethically. Would you take on an editor with a reputation of behaving dishonestly?
The indie author community is growing but is still fairly new. You know the constant uphill struggle of finding editors and agents willing to take you on. The struggle is the same for editors who are trying to make a living in an industry with limited cash flow. That said, most of us will not willingly undercut one another, or poach clients. If given the full facts the above latecomer would probably walk away. The author opted to deny them the opportunity to make an informed choice. Writers and the creative community as a whole have a responsibility to display demonstrable honesty in our dealings with each other and treating even freelances editors poorly, or sowing mistrust between us, will reflect badly on the emerging industry. It could even be used to justify the remaining prejudice against self-published authors.
My advice if you ever find yourself in the above situation as an author is that if a late quote comes in after you have made a promise, then it is the ethical decision to thank them but let the latecomer know that you have already accepted another editor. You don’t necessarily have to let them know what you are paying, but give them the opportunity to step back. If they then try to undercut the accepted offer, you will know what sort of person you are dealing with. Deception by omission is still deception, and clients can earn a reputation for bad practice as easily as editors can. Think carefully about how you conduct yourself. A good editor, treated well could last your entire writing career. Treat them badly and you could end up with a long list of people who simply will not work with you.
by | Feb 20, 2017 | Blog
Update: 6th March 2017
Sadly, due to lack of takers, this event has had to be cancelled.
A couple of months ago I was kindly invited by another editor if I would be interested in attending a small but intensive writing workshop in Paris. Obviously, I jumped at the chance. It’s Paris! However, this isn’t the only reason I can’t wait to go (no, not the wine. Well, not entirely). What I am really excited about is the opportunity this trip will offer to learn from other writers and editors and improve the service I offer. I will admit I am a bit of a fangirl but with good reason. I have two courses on my Udemy account. Both of them are his and have been hugely helpful. His YouYube channel is another invaluable resource for new writers. The other guests have been carefully selected in order to provide expertise and insight into the writing process. It will provide a face-to-face forum for authors to take part in open discussion, storytelling, exercises and games.
Here’s the really good news: there are still four places left as far as I know. All you have to do is email Harry with the reason you want to be there. The details can be found on Harry’s website. The weekend will stretch from the 25th to the 26th May 2017. Booking will only remain open until the end of February so do hurry. ‘Inspiration and Games’ costs €200 for two nights. If you want to arrive on the 25th (which is what I am doing because the return flights from sunny Luton are a good deal cheaper on the 25th) and spend an extra day in Paris, it’s €225. This covers accommodation, two evening meals and breakfast (excluding the evening of the 25th and breakfast on the 26th).
by | Feb 3, 2017 | Blog, Service
Last Updated: 01, February 2017.
1.Upon receiving your enquiry I will issue an initial Work Unseen Quotation for the services you require. This quote will be itemised according to the services you have requested and it will be valid for one calendar month.
2. If you find this quote acceptable, prior to drawing up a Service Agreement, and during the active period of the quotation, I will do a free sample edit of up to five pages (1250 words) of the work in question. This can be submitted via email but I also use GoogleDrive, Dropbox and OneDrive if you would prefer. This service will appear on your quotation, as standard, and acceptance of the service by no means obligates you to take the process further.
3. If you are happy with the sample edit and would like to take on my services, I will arrange a time when we can discuss an Editing Plan, and the time it will take to complete the work. I will also issue a Final Quotation based on those details. These details will then be formalised in a Service Agreement Contract which we will both sign.
4. The Final Quotation and Service Agreement are specific to one document.
5. If you prefer a hard copy rather than a pdf, please let me know.
6. If you would like to pay in instalments, this must be included within the initial Service Agreement.
- Instalment payment is subject to fulfilment of all of the following conditions:
- A proven track record of prompt payment. This will be in the form of either references from two other editors or a successfully completed contract with AnnaProofing.
- The instalments will apply only to the balance after the deposit has been paid.
- The maximum number of instalments is six, earlier payment is encouraged.
7. The work will also be divided into sections (chapter sets). Each section will commence only when payment has been received. To facilitate this I have accounts with Toggl and Pacemaker, which will enable you to see how much time is being spent on each set, and I and will keep you fully updated as to progress of each stage
- Once the agreement has been signed and returned, and the deposit/payment has been received, I will commence work on your manuscript as per the schedule.
- You have ten working days (Monday to Friday), from receiving the Service Agreement, in which to sign it and return it, after which your Service Agreement will be marked dormant.
- Dormant Service Agreements will be marked as Expired after ten working days (Monday to Friday) of the date on the reminder.
- You have ten working days (Monday to Friday), from signing and returning the service agreement, in which to complete payment, after which your Service Agreement will be marked dormant. You will receive a single reminder. After this time it will be marked as ‘Expired’
8. Expired Service Agreements will not be revived. Negotiation will have to begin again from scratch.
9. Please do not send full documents prior to signing and returning the Service Agreement.
- Submission of the full manuscript prior to the aforementioned stages does not imply any obligation to commence work in any form. If a manuscript is sent without prompting, the following process will be carried out:
- If no Work Unseen Quotation or Final Quotation has been issued I will raise a Final Quotation and Editing Plan based on the document word count and level of service that I believe it needs.
- If a Final Quotation has been issued, but no Service Agreement has been issued/signed, I will either draw it up based on the quotation or send a single reminder to sign and return the Service Agreement and request the deposit.
- If a Service Agreement has been signed, but the deposit/payment has not been received, I will send a single reminder, via email. This will allow you two weeks in which to send the deposit. If the deposit does not arrive within this time your commission will be closed and your manuscript will be returned unchanged.
10. I will commence work once the signed Service Agreement has been returned, and the deposit has been received.
11. I will deal with academic work for assessment at the proofread only level. I accept no responsibility for the final grading of your assignment.
12. AnnaProofing takes no responsibility for any changes made by the client after the return of the finished work.
13. Edited work will be returned to you in the format in which it was edited;
- A word document, with all changes tracked for you to accept or decline as you see fit. You are under no obligation to accept changes but the decision to reject changes does not affect your obligation to abide by the terms of the Service Agreement.
14. All orders of more than ten pages are subject to an upfront deposit of 50% of the quoted price, payable once the service agreement has been signed. Once the commission has been completed, the remainder of the payment will be due within 14 days of the invoice date.
15. Small projects, of ten or fewer pages (up to, but not exceeding 2500 words), are payable upfront and in full.
by | Jan 18, 2017 | Advice, Blog
Last week I talked about unnecessary content and scenes which do not drive your story ahead. This week I am going to continue on that theme because I cannot stress enough the importance of clarity. While a good structure is vital, don’t be in too much of a hurry, or try to race through to the end. Writing is a hike, not a 100-yard dash. Hiking means being able to take in the surroundings, enjoy the autumn colours, spot wildlife, and properly stretch your creative legs. Doing it at a flat-out run means indistinct settings and unclear description. By trying to go too fast, you risk missing out details which help to set the scene. It will not make your reader more alert but lead them to ask the wrong questions about your narrative. In turn, being vague or indistinct means you are leading the readers’ attention away from what they need to know about the story, and missing out on an opportunity to build some depth into your characters through observation of their reactions.
Look at the following examples from K.Weiland’s ‘Most common Mistakes’ post from 2011:
- Maddock looked at the wall, which seemed to be smeared with spaghetti sauce.
- The bomb fell approximately ten or twelve feet away from me.
- Elle was about forty-five minutes late for her dentist appointment when a cop pulled her over, apparently for speeding.
- Mark’s figures revealed that the addition to the house would take up roughly fifty square feet.
Do any of them really help you to set the scene or give the reader a feeling that they need to know this? Nor me. It makes me think this is just filler. Why is the author wasting my time in telling me this? Take out the supposition and the approximation, then we know that the information is important and we will probably need to remember it later. Being unsure of the measurement of the house could prove very expensive, but being definite about it has us asking, why he wants to extend? Is Mark trying to hide something? Is he building a secret den? We know when something comes out flat. It feels trite or contrived; as if it could really be done away with. Being vague has the same effect. If that information is important then the ‘seemed to’, estimations, and approximations need to go. Your author voice will come through the stronger for it.
Sometimes, however, you will need to guide the reader or drop hints about the action or something the main character has observed. There are ways to do this but many of them are wrong. K. Weiland has again offered us a handy list of words to avoid:
- Seem
- Approximately
- About
- Appear
- Look as if
- Roughly
- More or less
- Give or take
- Almost
- Nearly
Persuasive, and evocative descriptions are a vital part of any narrative. Being vague is apologising to the reader for knowing more than they do, or trying to point something out and trying not to sound too clever about it. Stop apologising. Your job is to direct the gaze of your readers. Do not hesitate to give a full sensory experience. In a crime scene, for instance, your main character would be looking for clues. Your reader will be asking what did the air smell of (decay?) or was there a lot of blood or how far the deceased’s head had landed from their body (have someone use a tape measure). ‘Seemed to’ writing will only serve to diminish their experience, as well as rob at least two people of the experience of imagining it. This is not to say that you cannot use metaphor to transmit your meaning, but be cautious. There is the risk that you, as a new writer, will be tempted to hold your reader’s hand and explain them. Don’t. If you have got it right, the reader will understand it. Likewise, if you show your reader what is there, then they will see it.
Sweeping statements and generalisation is another form of dithering to look out for, and eliminate. You don’t need to make sure the reader ‘gets it’. Long winded justifications of your action won’t achieve this either. By going around the houses in order to set the scene you risk boring your audience with the minutiae and they will miss things they are meant to see. It also hints that you are unconvinced by your own story. The message here is to slow down. Be bold enough to say precisely what you mean and what you want your readers to see. Your readers will thank you for it.
Sources
by | Dec 29, 2016 | Blog
Two more days left of 2016, and it has been quite an eventful year. In the latter half of this year, I not only finished my degree but have taken a somewhat, though not wholly, unexpected turn in my plans, career wise. It’s also about this time of year where I give myself a self-audit regarding where I am, where I want to be and how I plan to get there. Don’t worry I am not going to drop everything and start backpacking around Asia or something. Travelling is simply not feasible…yet. The other reason is that I would rather spend the money on my kit for Viking re-enactment.
I knew from the age of around 15 that I wanted to do something involving writing. Sadly, I allowed my parents and teachers discourage me. To cut a long boring story short, I am getting another crack at the whip. When I began my studies in February of 2011, I had my heart set on teaching History in a classroom setting. I got keener as I progressed but in the last year or so I have been considering my Plan B options: Open University grading policy has meant that my results were not what I needed them to be to get on to any of the training courses. I had certainly not seen myself as a self-employed Freelancer I cannot say that it wasn’t a disappointment because the same results from a ‘brick’ university would have got me a 2:1 or even a first, but what’s done is done. I still managed it while looking after 3 kids, so yay me. I am sure my sleep patterns will recover soon, and this (theoretically) lets me off taking my maths GCSE. Again (shudder). That said, I am thinking of taking it anyway just so I have that apparently necessary C that I have managed quite happily without for the last 16 years. I am yet to find a practical use, in my field, for knowing how to calculate the area of a circle.
A suggestion from a fellow editor made me give editing and proofreading a go and I am glad I took him up on his advice. I love it and have since set myself up as a freelancer. This means I have the freedom to set my own hours. It has also taught me that I not only need to learn when to stop working and think about something else for a while but actually do it. Looks like I have a New Year’s resolution to keep for next year. I am feeling extremely positive about this new direction. It’s a teaching role (of sorts), just the one I was expecting and I will get to use all my skills.
NaNoWriMo was an eye-opener, to say the least. I gave it a good shot, but I then ended up with a beta-read that I couldn’t turn down. Next year I’m going to make sure I schedule enough time to do my own writing. I have an idea lined up but I have a strict ‘no spoilers’ rule. It will give me plenty of time to finish the first draft of this month’s, edit and get it ready for publishing. I’m really excited about this too. NaNoWriMo gave me the boot up the bum to make a real start on it. The Densewords ‘Readworthy Fiction’ course (available via Udemy) is also proving to be a massive help where printed writers’ guides were not. I would recommend it to any author.
Finally, 2017 will be the year I get my driving license. I have procrastinated for long enough. I will be 36 in April and have decided that now it’s time to stop being a massive wussy and do it.
To-do-List for 2017.
- Finish first-draft of my first novel, (for publishing in December 2017)
- Learn to drive
- Retake maths (yuck)
- Learn when to stop.
Call to action!
What are your top four priorities for 2017?
