Showing posts with label copy editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label copy editing. Show all posts

Sunday, November 1, 2020

NaNoWriMo Is Back!

 


Nanowrimo is back!

Are you going to join in?

I'm tackling a couple of projects myself during it. I find it's helpful to get motivated and stay motivated if you're in a group with some other writers. It's fun to share updates with your little pack. There are tools on the Nanowrimo website that can help you reach your goals. 

Don't forget that once you're finished writing your manuscript, you can contact us to help you with editing or proofreading.

Happy Writing!

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Now Booking Editing Clients!






Don't hide your work away! 

Hire an editor to get it all polished up to purrrfection!

Here at Scarlett Editing, we offer all levels of editing:

Developmental Editing

Line Editing

Copy Editing

Proofreading

Book Reports


We offer special prices for a combination of services!

We are now booking clients for September and October. 

Reserve your spot now!

Our prices range from .01 to .02 cents a word, depending on the service!

Ask us for a free estimate today!

sephgiron @ gmail.com


Over fifteen years experience as a professional freelance editor!

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Editing Doesn't Take a Vacation...But You Can!


Have you spent the summer banging away on the keyboard?

Getting that first draft or tenth draft finished always feels so good!

But after that moment, the editing needs to begin.

It can be difficult to edit your own work.

Let us help you!

Here at Scarlett Editing, we will work on your manuscript so you can go swimming or hiking or just play video games all day!

Whether you need to know if your plot makes sense or if your commas are in the correct place, Scarlett Editing can help you out!

In fact, we're having a Back-to-School Sale!

From now until August 31, 2017, Scarlett Editing is offering a 5% discount on all levels of editing services.

Developmental Editing
Line Editing
Copyediting
Proofreading
Book Report

Pop us an email with your word count for a quote!

sephgiron @ gmail.com

We have limited spots for August and September!

First come, first served!

sephgiron@ gmail.com

Happy Summer!


Thursday, July 6, 2017

Enjoy Your Summer While We Work on Your Book!


You've spent all winter working on your book. Now, it's time to edit. Do you really want to miss all the fun and games of summertime by being stuck inside working?

Why not pass along your book or story to professionals who will stay inside for you while you enjoy all the fantastic adventures that summer has to offer you!




Scarlett Editing is now accepting clients for the month of July.

Our services include:

Developmental Editing
Copyediting
Proofreading
Book Reports

Decide what ones you need!

Contact us today for great rates!

Discount for a combination of services.

We work with beginners as well as seasoned professionals!

We work in all genres.

We work with books, novellas, and short stories.


sephgiron@gmail.com

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

It's Time to Edit


Feeling boxed in by your current work-in-progress?

Don't despair! We are here to help!

Scarlett Editing was massively busy all winter and we're finally clearing up room to accept new clients.

Like most writers, you were likely working on your book all winter. Now that spring is here, it's time for you to turn over your work to a qualified editor so that you can go plant your garden and enjoy the beautiful weather!

We provide:

Developmental Editing
Copy Editing
Proofreading
Book Report
Book Doctor
Ghost Writing

We work in all genres with all levels of authors!

Contact us for a quote today!  sephgiron@gmail.com





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Sunday, February 12, 2017

Valentine's Day Special! Half-Price Editing!


Just in time for Valentine's Day, I'm offering deep discounts on my editorial services.

Give as a Gift!
Lament your bitter, broken heart or celebrate your happy, loving heart! Whatever is happening in your love life this year, just know you can do a happy dance about your writing life by getting a Fantastic Deal for your book, story, poem, or letter!  You can give this deal as a gift as well to your favourite author!

Most of my services are regularly priced at around two cents a word although I always provide a custom quote for each and every client or potential client. I'm always happy to work within your budget if you tell me what it is and if it will work out well for both of us.

From now until February 14, 2017, at midnight EST, I am offering Developmental Editing or Copy Editing for only one cent US a word.

This special is for manuscripts of any size, in any genre. You can send a love poem or you can send a 200,000-word space opera.

A Deposit will Hold Your Spot
The only catch is that if you're not ready to go by February 14, then you must make a deposit of $50US by PayPal to sephgiron@rogers.com  to get your discount for your manuscript. If you make a deposit by February 14, you can send you manuscript for the deep discount price ANY TIME in 2017! You don't have to know the final word count when you book your spot with your deposit. We'll worry about that later.

As with all of my services,  you can send half of the payment when you send the manuscript, and the balance when I return it.

This deep discount of 50% off expires at midnight on February 14, 2017.

Book your spot today and don't miss out. This is the only time this year I will offer a sale that is So Huge.

Email me today for your quote!  sephgiron @ gmail.com

Happy Valentine's Day!


Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Happy New Year from Scarlett Editorial Services




Happy New Year from Scarlett Editorial Services!

We are here to serve you seven days a week.

If you have a question or concern about editing, drop us a line!

Now Accepting Clients!
Currently, we are booking clients for January and February. Reserve your spot early so that you don't miss out.

We never take on more clients than we can service properly so don't delay when booking your spot.

If you have a deadline, let us know.

If you don't know what kind of service you need, send us an email describing what you need and we'll help you out.  This is an easy breakdown of some of the types of editing we offer: Editorial Services

When asking for a quote, please give us a word count, genre, and if you have to meet any specific deadline.

We offer discounts when you use a combination of services such as developmental editing and copy editing. Members of the Horror Writers Association always enjoy deep discounts!

It is recommended that you hire a proofreader who isn't your developmental editor or copy editor in order to have as many eyes as possible to catch any mistakes.

Hire an Editor
There are many articles about self-publishing these days with people trying to figure out the best shortcuts and advantages. Some offer great advice, some offer not so great advice. The best advice is to hire at least one professional editor. After all, a traditional publisher would hire four or five editors to work on your book before it's released into the world. Yes, they do! There's the acquisitions editor who bought your book, a line editor, a copy editor, and a proofreader at the very least. That's not including input from the publisher, the marketing team, or even the cover artist who might have something unofficial to offer. And that's just one round. Many authors working with a publishing house go back and forth with various editors in different stages of the process several times until each word is perfect. And even then, mistakes happen, as we've all seen.

As a self-publisher, you need to provide the same professional attention to your own book. Never skimp on editing. You are competing with companies who sink thousands of dollars into a product; you need to do the same. If you can't afford to pay an editor, get a job and save up until you can.

I just read an article about someone offering to edit entire books for five bucks because she thinks it's fun and books need to be edited. Do not take this offer.What professional offers any service at all for five bucks? I'm not even talking about Fiverr, that's something different. People who offer to edit your book for free or five bucks or even fifty bucks will likely not give it the professional workout that you need. Sure a book worm can offer great advice, this is your audience and you should at least listen. However, there are things that happen under the hood that bookworms or your mom or your beta readers won't know or understand as they are not professional editors.

Real editors have to pay rent like everyone else and charge accordingly. Real editors edit for a living and therefore charge professional rates. Google the rates, real rates for real editors. Editors, like us at Scarlett Editing, who have actually taken courses, have a degree, and have years in the trenches as professional, working, good quality editors will charge rates that a lot of writers don't want to pay. However, who likes to pay for the dentist or the cleaning lady or a lawyer? An editor is the same. A professional providing a valuable service that takes years of training to achieve shouldn't give it away for five bucks or fifty.

You will see people offering editorial and proofreading services on Fiverr. On closer inspection, many of them aren't "giving it away" at all. They have figured out how to charge a living wage on Fiverr once you look at the process. Scarlett Editing is also on Fiverr (as Sephera Giron) and our rates on there are the same as when you order directly from us on here except there will never be a sale or combination of services discounts on Fiverr.

Eleven Years in the Business
We have worked with self-published authors for over eleven years and hundreds of books. We have not only watched the evolution of self-publishing but have been working in the trenches for years. We were here before it was "cool" to self-publish. We know what to look for and how to help you create a book that will be professional.

We care about your book, your hard work, and will do our best to make it shine!

Happy New Year from Scarlett Editorial Services!

Please think of us when you are looking for an editor for your next book!

sephgiron @ gmail. com

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Back to School Sale!

Wow! How did it get to be August already?


Busy Times
I've been working hard all summer on your books and stories. It is truly a joy and a thrill to be privy to so many magnificent ideas!

I'm only now looking up from my desk as I've had non-stop editing work since May!

Now I have room on my desk for new projects once again.

Please sign up early to get a spot in the queue if you need your manuscript completed by a specific date.


Deep Discount
For a very limited time, I'm offering a deep discount on my editing services.

This is my back-to-school sale!

Send me a deposit of $50 US by Paypal to sephgiron@rogers.com by August 25, 2016

This will ensure that you have a discount rate of 20% off for all editing work that you order between now and December 31, 2016.

This includes books and stories.

All genres.


Get a Free Quote
You can email me for a quote about your work at any time.

sephgiron@gmail.com



Wednesday, May 4, 2016

May the Fourth Editing Sale!


It's Star Wars Day!
We are huge Star Wars fans here at Scarlett Editing so what better way to celebrate all things Star Wars than to hold an editorial services sale!

All levels of editing are included in this sale!

After all, Star Wars was written on paper long before it was ever filmed.

All movies begin with a screenplay!

There are novelizations of Star Wars as well. Hundreds of them!

Perhaps you are working on a Star Wars novel or a fan fiction story! We'd love to edit it for you!

All Genres! All Writers!
We have edited over 1000 books and hundreds of short stories and articles. We provide book doctor and ghost writing services as well

We have experience in fiction and non-fiction, poetry, YA, and children's books. There is no genre or story we won't edit.

All genres qualify for this sale. Your story doesn't have to be science fiction or space opera.

Flash Sale!  
25% off all services for the rest of 2016 when you place $100 deposit today.

For the rest of 2016, you may enjoy 25% off ALL SERVICES you order no matter what kind. 

That's right, you can come to us as many times as you desire for the rest of 2016 and enjoy 25% off any and all services that you use!

The manuscript doesn't have to be ready to send today but the deposit needs to be received by MIDNIGHT May 4, 2016

Please feel free to ask any questions about how the sale works. 

Use this button right now to reserve your special price of 25% off all editorial services for the rest of 2016!




May the Force Be with You!


Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Are You Writing?


There are a million gadgets for writers to use to write. You can spend hundreds on programs and spend hours learning about software to write novels, make notes, and more.

However, at the end of the day, all the gadgets in the world aren't going to make you write better.

A story is still a story no matter how many bells and whistles you drape over it.

A story needs to have a beginning, middle, and end.

A story needs to be compelling.

If you don't have a plot or interesting characters, it doesn't matter how many thousands of dollars you spend on your laptop.

Writers write.

You can put pen to paper or fingers on a keyboard.

As long as words are going onto paper, then you are writing.


Are You Writing?
Talking about writing isn't writing.

Reading is part of the writing process but still isn't writing.

Going to a reading series is part of the process but isn't writing.

Sitting in Starbucks with a laptop isn't writing unless you're writing.

Applying for grants isn't writing.

Wearing scarves and berets isn't writing.

Having long debates about writing isn't writing.

Attending conventions is part of the networking process but isn't writing.


Writing is Writing
Scribbling notes while the kids are at class is writing.

Rewriting paragraphs and sentences is writing.

Staring out at the lake and creating stories in your head that you will later use is writing.

Putting words on paper is writing.

Sharing words on paper with others is writing.

Sending your work to publishers and editors is writing.

Listening to (though not necessarily taking) well-meaning editorial advice from friends, family, peers, and editors is writing.

Writers Write!
So stop talking about it and get writing!

And if you need professional editorial advice, pop us an email!

We are taking new clients this week!

sephgiron @rogers.com


Flash Sale!  
25% off for the first five clients who book services with a $100 deposit.
The manuscript doesn't have to be ready to send today but the deposit needs to be sent by MIDNIGHT May 4, 2016

Payment sent to sephgiron @ paypal.com

Please feel free to ask any questions about how the sale works.



Friday, April 22, 2016

Time for Editing


Summer will be here soon which means long, lazy vacations or maybe it means rushing around with the kids. At any rate, the last thing you're going to feel like doing is editing your manuscript.

If you've been working on a book or a story all winter, you're likely sick of it by now. Why not turn your work over to the professionals at Scarlett Editorial Services?

While you're off having a life, we'll be here bringing your work to life.

Summer is a fantastic time to make notes and start working on your next book. So feel free to jump ahead into the next project while we wrap up what's left to do on your previous one.

For rates, please go.here .

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us.

Members of the Horror Writers Association always enjoy a discount. Be certain to tell me that you're a current member.




Friday, December 4, 2015

Holiday Discount for All Editing Services

Scarlett Editing wants to help you finish up your book in time for 2016 publication!

We will be accepting a limited number of clients before the new year at a big discount of 10% off.

Did you just finish NaNoWriMo and now need to hammer that book into shape?

Once you've tackled a few drafts on your own, you will be ready for a professional to go through your work.

Have you been writing your memoirs?

Did you finally get around to writing that romance novel you've been dreaming about for years?

How's your children's book going?

Most writers begin with a developmental edit. This is a very thorough service that will pinpoint all the areas in your book that may need more information or even a bit of re-arranging. You can read more about DE services elsewhere in this blog.

The DE is returned to the writer and then corrections are made. This can take the author weeks or even months. There is no right or wrong way to edit. There is never a hurry. The goal is the best book possible, not the fastest. No one cares how long it took you to write a book or how many rewrites you went through to make it perfect. All your reader cares about is holding a professionally edited book that won't be confusing and annoying.

Once the DE work is completed, most writers order a Copy-Edit service. This is the service that most people think of when they say they need editing. This service tackles spelling, grammar, and all that technical stuff.

After the author has gone through very thorough DE and CE services, some will order a Proofreading service. It is often advisable to use someone who didn't work on the DE and CE to perform proofreading. This service is what happens just before you click the "publish" button if you're self-publishing or it's the final draft before you send to that big New York publishing house. 

The manuscript should be absolutely perfect in your mind when you send the final proof to Scarlett Editing. Of course your editor will find a few things, that's her job. However, this isn't the time for rewrites or discovering recurring grammatical issues. All that should be under control. Proofreading catches that last minute typo or things like that renamed chapter isn't reflected in the TOC.

Writers write and let the editors edit!

Book your slot today with a deposit of $100.

You can take advantage of this 10% off sale by sending a deposit of $100 to Paypal or by EFT to  sephgiron@rogers.com by December 31, 2015.

If you send $100 deposit, that will ensure you receive the 10% off rate when your work is ready to be edited as long as you send in your manuscript before June 30, 2016. 
NO REFUNDS.

Once your manuscript is ready to be sent, estimate the cost of the service by the word count. When you send your manuscript, you can send the rest of the deposit if it is more than $100.

Example:
For instance, you send $100 on December 10, 2015 because you're working on a romance novel and know you will want DE or CE or even proofreading at some point. You don't know what you want, you have no idea how long your book will be but you know you'll need a professional editing service at some point so you send $100.


On January 15, 2016 you finish your novel and you're ready to send it in. You've decided that you want DE work. The novel comes in at 50,000 words.

The cost of a DE for a book of this size is:  $1000. 

The SALE PRICE for your DE since you reserved your spot in December is now only $900.

This means that the first half of your payment plan is $450 that you would send when you send the manuscript.

However, you put a $100 deposit down back on December 10 towards this work so you only have to send $350 when you send in your manuscript.

The DE will take anywhere from one week to one month. When the corrected manuscript is returned, the final balance of the payment is due which would be $450.

No surprises. No added on fees. No taxes. No bloated hourly rates. The fee is the fee.

If you want to proceed with more services, you will receive a discount of some kind, depending on what you want and the length of the material.


HELP A STARVING ARTIST!

If your significant other is a writer, why not surprise him or her with the gift of an editing service?

Even if you don't know what kind of service your writer may want or need, you can send $100 deposit in his or her name by December 31, 2015 to reserve a spot for editing. 

Scarlett Editing can send a special "gift certificate" email that can be printed out to include in a card or other present.

When the writer is ready for editing, he or she can contact Scarlett Editing and we'll work through what service the author wishes to use! Then the writer can tell you what the next two or three payments will cost over the next few months and they can be sent either by you or the writer, depending on your arrangement with each other.

EASY!

Any questions, just email and ask!  sephgiron @ rogers.com


The response to the previous sale was pretty intense so do note: first come, first served! 

This offer might be withdrawn at any time before December 31, 2015 if the limited spots are filled.

There are limited spots available for this sale so that each manuscript will receive full and careful attention.

Quality is always the priority at Scarlett Editing!

HWA members receive a discount in addition to this discount!


Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Summer Journals and Self-Publishing




This summer, why not keep a journal or diary of all your adventures?

This is especially wonderful if you have small children or are taking a unique vacation or working at a new and unusual job.

It doesn't take long to record your memories into a date book, on Instagram, or even by voice recording on your phone.

Then in the cold months of winter, you can relive all of those magical times.

Perhaps you did something truly amazing that you'd like to share with all of your friends.

Maybe there was a fabulous family reunion you can share with the family.

These days, it's easy-as-pie to compile your adventures into an eBook or even a print book.

Create wonderful souvenirs for the summer of 2015 that you can look back on for years to come!

If you need help with compiling, editing, proofreading, or any other aspect of your creative endeavours, give us a shout and we'll see if we can help!

Friday, June 12, 2015

Five Reasons You Should Self-Publish





There will always be arguments from all sides about the value of self-publishing. There are traditionally published authors who complain that self-published authors are sloppy and lazy. There are self-published authors who complain that traditionally published authors are snotty and elitist. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion when it comes to the pros and cons of publishing.

At the end of the day, your writing career is yours alone. You are in charge of your own career. You can steer it in whatever direction you desire. And these days, you can be in full and complete control of every step of your writing career if you so choose.

Many authors choose to self-publish because they don't want to wait months or years for agents, editors, and publishing houses to get back to them. Others are impatient. Others want control.

There are dozens of reasons you should self-publish your book just as there are dozens of reasons you should NOT publish your own book. However, here are five reasons that some people use when they choose to self-publish.

1. You are in control of your own content. 
No one is going to tell you to remove chapter sixteen because it sucks. No one is going to tell you that the story doesn't have a proper ending. No one is going to squash down your idea of telling your story from three points of views in one paragraph. No one is going to tell you that your choice of genre is dead. You can tell your story in whatever manner you desire in as many words and chapters as you want.

2. You are in control of your own cover.
Gone are the days when authors freak out over cover art that doesn't reflect their books. You can hire and fire as many cover artists as you desire in your quest for the perfect vision for your opus. You can even save money and design your own cover. Many of the self-publishing platforms provide templates to do just this. Your book cover art, author blurbs, and book description are under your complete control. You no longer have to suffer with cover art that you hate.

3. You don't have to wait years for your book to be published.
The minute you type "The End" you can upload that baby and have a published book within a day or two, depending on which platform you use. You don't even have to invest any additional money for the print version if you use a platform such as CreateSpace.

4. You earn a way bigger royalty.
You will discover that if you self-publish you can earn huge royalties. If you publish e-books, you have virtually no overhead except for hiring your developmental editor, your copy editor, your proof-reader, and your cover artist. After those expenses, every penny you earn goes back to YOU! No publishing house is scooping the majority of your royalty money. No agent is scooping up 15 - 20% of your earnings. Nope, you get to keep every single shiny penny for yourself! Forever. Unlike traditional print publishing houses, your e-books and p.o.d. books will never go out of print until you unpublish them.

5. You are in control of your own career.
If you burst awake in the night with an idea for a sequel to your book, you can spend a few weeks writing it, send it off to your favourite freelance editor for a month of vigorous editing while your favourite cover designer works on your new cover, and boom, your sequel is ready within weeks. If you wanted to write a sequel with a traditional publishing house, you would have to pitch it, wait for the sales team to crunch your numbers, your editor would decide if it's financially viable, and then you would have to wait for a contract IF you passed all the financial hurdles. After the contract, you can get started on your sequel which likely won't see print for another year or two. When you self-publish, you can get your work out to your fans at your own pace without wasting time for others to dictate your fate.


Self-publishing isn't for everyone but it can be way for authors with entrepreneurial spirit and a bit of money in the bank to get their work out into the world. If you approach your writing career like a business, you will likely have some measure of success. As long as you write the best book that you can, and get it professionally edited and proof-read, you have as good of a shot as anyone else for a long and possibly even financially successful career as a writer.

If you need a developmental editor, copy editor, line editor, or proof-reader, please contact us today at Scarlett Editing.  sephgiron @ gmail.com

Monday, May 11, 2015

Proofreading: A Fact of Life




Sometimes when we're in a hurry, simple things can be overlooked. We forget our keys, we leave our coffee cup on the counter, the kids forget their lunch, and we overlook grammatical errors in our communication materials.

A Fresh New Look
A simple proofread by a fresh set of trained eyes can often catch those last minute typos that weary editors and copy editors may miss in their own corrections.

A proofread can catch missing sentences and paragraphs that may be out of order from other manipulations the text may have gone through in the revision and formatting process.

Proofreading may be that last chance to notice that Jimmy's name is spelled Jimmie for half the book.

Why Can't the Editor Proofread?
Editors do proofread their own work. When they send the work back to the author, they believe they have found everything they can find at that time. An editor who has gone through the developmental and copy editing process with the author may become as blinded to the story as the author when it comes to catching random typos and grammatical errors.

A developmental editor helps the author shape the story and create engaging characters. Grammatical corrections aren't performed as the work is still mutating.

The copy editor and/or line editor, (depending on how many editors with whom you work), will go over the manuscript with a fine tooth comb. If you want a quick turnaround, you can expect a few things may be missed. Even when a editor has time to do several passes there are ways that errors can occur once the manuscript leaves his or her hands.

How Can There Be More Mistakes?
When the author receives a corrected manuscript from an editor, there will likely still be revisions that the author needs to perform. Even very simple revisions can result in more errors, depending on the skill of the author.

If the author is self-publishing, he will have to put the story into the correct format if it isn't that way this far into the process. Sometimes when work is reformatted, words can be dropped or punctuation can be changed. The author should check the work himself for errors and correct them before sending the work on to the final proofreader.

The best person to proofread a book is someone new to the story. Most proofreaders don't actually read the book for the story, so they don't get bogged down in details. Some read the book like a book but most treat the book like a text book. They are looking for mechanical and technical errors.

Some proofreaders even read work from the end to the beginning to really search for errors.

A proofread is the very last service to be performed after a work is deemed complete and ready to publish/send/upload.

Keeping Your Reader Engaged
Your number one job as a writer is to tell a great story or share information.

Your next job is to be certain you are using the best presentation possible.

Readers fall out of stories or get bored with information if there are too many typos or formatting issues. Don't irritate your readers with missing words, wrong spelling, and irregular formatting.

There is fierce competition out there for your attention created by millions; from other talented artists to corporations with deep pockets. Think about how you're going to compete for that attention whether it's with your book, your website, your brochure, or your essay.

Everyone has a story to tell. Be certain that your reader can understand it. Show your respect for your reader by presenting a clean and easy-to-read document. Editors and proofreaders can shine up your product to its full potential and give you the confidence to share it with your audience.

Contact Us!
If you'd like your story, book, website, email, or any other document proofread, please see our rates and email us.  sephgiron @ gmail.c om