Hello everyone. I know I generally use this space to talk to you about things going on with my books, but this time around I’d like to do something a little different. From time to time I get messages from fans who have found errors, typos, plot-holes, etc in my books. More often than not, you are kind enough to point out one or two. Some of you have done far more than that. In the case of a reader named Claudette, she did much much more than that. Claudette did nothing less than read and notate every single one of my novels, marking off errors, bad structure, and awkward phrasing and sent them to me. For the final novel, Unstable Prototypes, I sent her the word doc and she sent it back with the full editor treatment: tracked changes, comments, and suggestions. Having had my books edited by a pro in the past, I was impressed by her thoroughness and professionalism, and told her so. It got her thinking. Could she do this for a living?
Well, she’s willing to give it a try, and I’m willing to lend a hand. If you are an author looking for an affordable proofreader/copyeditor, Claudette has opened for business. You can reach her at claudettecruz@ymail.com. For a first time editor, I’m truly impressed at what she’s been able to accomplish. She even had useful comments for the professionally edited books, and seldom took more than a few days to proof a book. As I understand it, she’s looking to price in the $500 range for a standard length novel. Her price for basic proofreading is $150, and for a full edit is $250. If that sounds like a fit for you, send her an email.
UPDATE: Claudette contacted me with brand spanking new prices, plus check out the comments below for a special discount for Book of Deacon fans!
500 Dollars?
Um.. Well. I have 2 british pounds, 14 pennies and a shilling which i found on the floor, (old money ftw) and an ounce of silver which has 1 dollar written on it (but is worth a bit more. it also smells like sugared almonds.), and….. I won’t be able to afford this will I?
Heh, no, I’d say she’s still a bit out of your price range. I suppose “affordable” is a relative term, huh. That’s quite an assortment of money you’ve got there. The strangest I’ll get is the occasional Canadian coin, and once I got an Indian coin with a thumbs up on it. That was pretty neat.
I got an indian coin once, i found it after pressing “eject” on a slot machine a thousand times. it was in the EXACT shape of a 50 pence. I think it was… 500 rupees? or was it 50? I think it was 50.
Hi there, editor here. I would love to work with you. You don’t have to pay anything until I am done, anyway, and Joseph’s readers get a steep discount–say, 25% off? On top of that, I am willing to lower the fee based on length. And if it’s just basic correction of grammar and punctuation, the price drops to $250. The 25% off applies to this rate as well!
That’s very kind of you. Hopefully there are some takers.
I found Claudette from this post, and I am working with her now on my YA novel “The Magic Shop.” She has been great to work with so far!
Advertise?
Liek hack sum websites and maek dem advertaise.Cute
When I said brave soul and Good Luck I meant it. I can not aford a good editor, so I do the best I can. Learning as I go and one thing, when I do have a book edited, they want to change my story. But the BEST of luck to you Claudette.
Hey, thanks for the good luck wishes!
Joseph, thanks so much for this post and for your support. I’ve gotten a few clients through you already!
Great! I’m so glad to hear it!
What is the cost to proof read (spelling, grammar, etc) a novel of 96,000 words?
Thank you.
Hi. You’d have to contact Claudette about that. Her email is in the post, but I think the price listed in the post would probably still apply.