Editing Services

Editing. This is a word that either scares the heck out of people or comforts them, depending upon what their experience has been.

Are you looking for my green editing challenge? Look for the green throughout this page and at the bottom. Good luck!

“I don’t want someone to take over and change my work!” is one legitimate concern.

“Thank goodness for editors, because I know that even I am not perfect, but I want my work to be as close to perfect as possible,” is another perspective.

Having been an author, journalist, columnist, and freelance writer since 1993, I completely understand these concerns, and that’s why I will begin with…

MY PHILOSOPHY ABOUT EDITING & PROOFREADING

When I edit a book, article, or website, it is specifically my goal to NOT change the content. Unless you’ve hired me for collaborative/content editing (which is not what I’m referring to), what IS my goal is to ensure that your work is clean and professional. As close to perfect as possible.

Yes, I am the nutcase who will find that one spot where your quotation mark is facing in the wrong direction due to a wayward space. I know the difference between the ever-confusing lay and lie, and when to use each one. (It’s likely that you do too, this is just an example.)

In short… your book is not MY book. I have not gone over it 400 times the way you have. It may be a great book, but it is not MY child. Therefore my (OCD, far-too-detail-oriented) eye doesn’t skim past the one extra letter s that was left remaining when you edited a sentence six months ago. I do notice when the dog’s name is Fluffy one time in chapter 27 even though her name is Fuzzy the rest of the time.

This level of cleanliness in a manuscript is what makes a book NOT shout at a reader and announce, “This was written by an Indie author!”

Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with being an Indie author. I am one myself. However, in my opinion, if one expects to be a successful author—one whose readers recommend their work to their friends, their librarian, and the local bookstore owner—one needs to put out work that is of the same caliber as those published by the Big Six Four with their teams of professional editors and proofreaders. (For more about this, please see my article, “10 Tips to Being a Quality Indie Author.”)

Hey! Do you see an error? See the green challenge at the bottom!

INFO FOR WEBSITES, BLOGS, BUSINESS MATERIALS, ETC.

I guarantee that one of two scenarios have happened to you:

a) You’ve read an article on a website or blog, or even in a printed business brochure and said to yourself, “I can’t believe how many errors are in here!” (Followed by thinking or feeling, “That’s so unprofessional!”)

b) You have never found an error as described above, which means that you are not a “detailed word person.” Maybe you’re excellent at math (which I am not). Trust me, if that has never happened, it’s not because the errors aren’t there, it’s because you haven’t noticed.

WHAT KINDS OF BOOKS DO I EDIT? We all have our strengths and weaknesses, our interests and other things that just don’t click for us. Please take a look at the genres below. Don’t see yours? Just contact me and ask!

Manuscripts that I DO work on:

• General/mainstream fiction
• Women’s fiction/chick lit
• Crime/mystery/thriller
• Historical fiction (editing/proofreading, not fact checking)
• Nonfiction (many topics)
• Erotica
• YA and children’s books
• Others

Manuscripts that I do not work on:

• Science fiction
• Fantasy
• Anything with a ghost, vampire, or a supernatural occurrence of any kind (Sorry!)
• Nonfiction involving textbook level math
• If I feel that I am not a good fit for your project, I will let you know

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Will I get to decide which changes to accept or deny? Yes. You will forward me your manuscript as a .doc or .docx and I will apply my edits using the “track changes” tool. When you receive the manuscript back, you will be able to go through and accept or deny each and every edit.

Will I be able to brainstorm with you when I have an issue with a suggested edit? Yes, within reason. You are talking to a person who can easily spend twenty minutes deciding whether or not you always have to say whether or not, or whether you can sometimes just say whether. I understand how important these nuances are to you and I don’t mind spending a reasonable amount of time discussing them. On the other hand, I won’t spend too much time discussing cut-and-dried things, such as whether or not the period goes inside or outside the quotation marks.

Will I be able to list you in my book as the editor? Yes, and I would appreciate it very much, as long as you accept a minimum of 95% of my edits, and the other 5% we’ve mutually agreed to leave. If you choose not to accept them, I ask that you please don’t include my info.

What if my book is already published? If you’re an Indie author and your book is already published, here is my advice: Don’t beat yourself up over not having made it perfect in the first place. The beauty of POD and e-books is that you can upload a new version at any time. You may even be able to gain some good publicity by promoting the fact that you’ve invested in providing a revised and improved version!

Hey! Do you see an error? See the green challenge at the bottom!

Can using your services help me get professional reviews or more orders for my book? Most probably. When your media kit, cover letter, and promotional materials emphasize the fact that your book is professionally edited, industry professionals are far more likely to give it a closer look.

I don’t have a book! I have smaller projects, like individual articles, a brochure, or need a once-over on my website. Perfect! This is a big part of what I do. I enjoy working with businesses and want to help you ensure that before you spend money printing 1,000 brochures, they’re as professionally prepared as possible. Likewise, when someone visits your website, that is an opportunity for you to gain customers… let me help you prevent them from becoming disenchanted due to errors!

I’m worried that it’s going to be expensive! I understand. Having been a small business owner and Indie author myself, I realize that most of us don’t have huge budgets to spend on things like editing. The truth is, the main reasons I provide editing services are: A) I feel compelled to help move the Indie publishing industry forward. I think there is a necessity for a vast improvement in overall quality and would like to be a part of facilitating that. B) I enjoy helping businesses and people in general.

I’m concerned about my work being kept private and/or its copyright. I am a very ethical person. I would never “steal” or share your work in any way, shape, or form. If you want people to know that we’re working together, you can be the one to tell them. Your project is kept in my password-protected computer and is not accessible by anyone other than me.

PRICING

How do you price my project? Each project is priced individually and I will provide you with an estimate before we begin working together. For example, if you have a full-length book manuscript, I will request a sample of X number of pages and will provide you an estimate based upon that sample and overall word count of the book. If you have a project like a website once-over, I will ask for a link, take a look at the site, and provide you an estimate based upon what I see when I visit, number of pages in the site, etc.

What is your payment policy? For book manuscripts, I require 50% of the estimate up front and 50% just before I return the manuscript to you. For smaller projects like websites, articles, brochures, etc, I require 100% payment up front. Regardless of what type of project you have, you will receive your invoice online and will be able to pay securely using Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, or Paypal.

What is the turnaround time I can expect on my project? Depending upon how busy I am at the moment and the extent of your project, I will let you know up front what to expect. For a book-length manuscript, I can usually finish within 2-3 weeks. For a small project, like a brochure or article, 1-2 days is average.

This is all great info, but can you give me some sort of idea as to cost? Sure. Don’t quote me on this, but I’d estimate that for an average-length book manuscript (about 95,000 words), that is in mostly clean condition to begin with, it will cost about $500 – $700. Small projects like a 600 word article might cost only $15, and a website with about five average-length pages would be about $75.

INTERESTED? FANTASTIC! Please contact me for a no-obligation discussion of your project so we can decide how we might work together!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely, Lori Verni-Fogarsi

LET’S HAVE SOME FUN: There is one error that appears five times on this page. Know what it is? Comment below with the correct answer & you’ll receive 20% OFF my editing services. (No peeking at other people’s comments!… I’m trusting you!)

Know someone who might like to learn about this info? Please share! Thanks!

NOTE: I AM NOT OFFERING THESE SERVICES AT THIS TIME. IF I BEGIN OFFERING THEM AGAIN, THIS NOTICE WILL BE REMOVED.