I’m a librarian, and as much as I love being surrounded by books all day, I have come to realize that helping to create them is an even larger life goal of mine. I can write as much as I want, but helping others to craft their own fantasy worlds is a goal that I have long thought about. Well, I’ve decided to embark on the path, and so will be offering my editing and proofreading services to those out there interested in availing themselves.
My credentials –
- I have roughly twenty years of writing experience behind me, more if you count that time in third grade when I wrote a book about a dragon (the book won a state-wide contest, the dragon won immortality).
- Part of that experience includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing from Western Michigan University.
- I have been judging the annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off for the past two years, and have read hundreds if not thousands of fantasy books in my lifetime.
- I review books for Fantasy Book Critic and Fantasy Hive, most of which can be found on this blog as well.
- I am a writer of epic fantasy with an eye for detail and know what makes fantasy literature work and what doesn’t.
- I am a fair critic, but will not shy away from telling you what I think is wrong with your work (also what’s great about it).
- My main goal in this endeavor is to make your book better. That’s what I want. That’s what you’re paying me for. I want your book to succeed and I want people to read the damn thing.
My services and costs (these are my introductory prices and will likely increase as I get some credentials, but any of these prices will be grandfathered to any authors that I edit for provided we have a good working relationship) –
Proofreading – I will do a line by line proofreading of your manuscript, looking for punctuation and spelling errors (punctuation/grammar dictated by the standard of Strunk and White). If I see major plot holes or inconsistencies, you’ll hear about them, but I won’t go out of my way to find these at this tier.
Cost – $.00375 per word or a $50 minimum. (a book of 80,000 words runs $300)
Editing – This includes the proofreading tier, but I will also make structural suggestions, actively look for plotting issues, help with characterization and world-building. This is my eye for detail meeting your story and judging how best to make it shine.
Costs – $.00625 per word or a $100 minimum. (a book of 80,000 words runs $500)
SPFBO authors get a 10% discount, and if I’ve read your book for the SPFBO before, you get a 20% discount (and yes, I have wanted to edit almost every book I’ve read for the contest so far. Some of them could have been so good!) Please get in touch with me at dcstewart81@gmail.com or on Twitter@davidcstewart if you are interested in making that book better.
David C. Stewart 