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.

Spring Forward with Deep Discount Flash Sale!

I'm just finishing up the last manuscript from clients who took advantage of my previous sale! Yes, it took me three months, which shows you how many people recognize value when they see it! I had a lot of interest in my service and now I'm ready to offer you a new deal!

So, in celebration of Spring and the Time Change, I offer the Flash Forward Sale.

The Flash Forward Sale is only available for Developmental Editing Service. All genres. All story lengths from short stories to novels. Fiction or non-fiction.

The Flash Forward Sale is worth 20% off the cost of developmental editing.

You get 20% off the price but 100% of service!

For example, if your manuscript is 55,000 words, the cost of my DE service at regular price would be: $1100

With the Flash Forward sale, your cost for DE service is only $880.

That is a huge savings of $220!

How can you get in on this deal?

It's very easy.

If you put a $100 deposit today through Paypal at sephgiron@ rogers.com or by EFT, you lock in the price for DE service for the rest of 2016.

That's right!

Sale Extended to midnight on March 15, 2016!
For $100 deposit by midnight on March 13, 2016, you can enjoy 20% off all developmental editing services for the rest of 2016.

This offer is for developmental editing only.

So if you're working on a story or a book but it's not ready yet, a deposit will lock in the price for when you are ready!

Easy!

Get Ready for Summer and Publish Your Book!

Spring is nearly here in Toronto. In fact, we barely had a winter.

Sure we had the coldest day in one-hundred years.  A few cold days surrounded by weirdly warm weather of gorgeous sunshine and little need for heavy coats was nothing compared to the past few years of ice storms and Snowmageddon.

We also had a "big blizzard" but really, in the big picture, winter was rather mild this year.

Spring is time for blossoming and new beginnings!

Have you finished your first draft? Your last draft?  Are you ready for developmental editing?

I've cleared my desk from all of the clients who have sought my services over the winter months.  My last prepaid editing project will be completed by Sunday night.

That means I have room and time for new (and old) clients on a first come, first served basis.

I also can reserve specific dates for you if you send a deposit. Just pop me an email and we can discuss!

Getting your editing out of the way now means you might be able to publish your book in time for summer!

Check out my price list and pop me an email so we can discuss your book and how I can help you make it shine!

Clean Up Your Act!

How many times have you hired a cleaning person?

How many times have you hired a cleaning service?

Do you have a weekly cleaning service in place at your home?

Do you have a live-in housekeeper? A cook? A nanny? A dog walker? Someone to mow your lawn? Shovel your snow? Weed your garden?

Do you hire staff when you have a party?

A lot of people hire other people to clean up their messes. It’s always been this way.

Here's A Story

Way back in the seventies, in what was considered cutting-edge times, The Brady Bunch, a fictional TV family, had a housekeeper even though Carole was a stay-at-home mom and Mike was only an architect.

But Alice was there mopping and dusting and cooking while Carole ran around to PTA meetings.

It’s still the same today for many types of (lucky!) people.

Why?

Because no one wants to clean up a mess.

Cleaning wastes time.

It’s boring to clean. It takes time away from earning money or playing with the kids. Most people hate cleaning. And so they will find a way to have other people clean at least a few things for them, depending on their budgets.

A Clean Sweep

I have a friend who was laid off from a great job about a year ago. She set to work cleaning other people’s houses in the neighbourhood for extra cash. A year later, she has a multi-woman team, and is making a great living cleaning other people’s houses, and funny enough, pretty much in her own neighbourhood.

It just goes to show you how many people hate to clean! Or at the very least, don’t have time to scrub toilets and bat away cobwebs. They hate cleaning so much they will pay others to do it for them.

There is a rare breed, and I’ve met a few of them over the years, my friend being one of them, who love to clean. They are in their glory cleaning other people’s stuff. So yes, some people love to clean and they will clean for almost anyone, for a price.

The funny thing about house-keeping is that anyone can do it, even little kids, and yet people will pay big bucks for other people to come in and mop the floors or pick up after a party or shovel the snow.

However, we all admit, nothing in the world feels better than walking into a shiny, clean, fresh-smelling home after a long commute.

Cleaning Is an Art

People who clean houses for a living have it down to an art. They work quickly and efficiently, knowing the short-cuts and how to combat specific challenges.

Freelance cleaning people can make $10 to $100 an hour, depending on how fabulous they are at their jobs, the type of house they are cleaning, and the financial means of their client. Some cleaners receive great tips and perks in addition to their fees.

Clean Up That Manuscript

Editing is much like cleaning. 

An editor’s job is to help the writer reach his full potential without losing his voice or intent. An editor’s role is to remove the clutter of developmental or grammatical errors, trim the fat, tighten up the manuscript, which essentially is cleaning up a writer’s work. When an editor has finished the job, the writer is free to keep or discard the editor’s changes and advice.

Most editors have post-secondary degrees and other training. Years in the trenches as a writer and editor brings experience with the process though not necessarily the skill. Some editors specialize only in specific tasks such as developmental editing or copy-editing. Some editors are well suited to offer all levels of editing. 

Freelance Editors

Considering the cost of education and the millions that publishing houses generate, one would think that a freelance editor makes $100s an hour. But, sadly that’s not true for the average freelancer. The current average of set fees posted on the internet against real editing time, not including emails, phone calls, and meetings, would likely fall between $5 to $60 an hour. It depends on the size of the project, level of editing, the level of the author’s writing ability, and the fee.

When it comes to editing, you often get what you pay for. Editing done dirt cheap will likely be competent but things will likely fall through the cracks, as the editor is working quickly. A really high priced editor may or may not deliver the best darned editing ever invented. A fee in the middle from an editor who has been working for a few years will likely guarantee a good job.

And it’s the same with the cleaning services you use in your home. You likely don’t hire the cheapest cleaning lady on the block but you don’t want to shell out big bucks either. So you go with the middle priced candidate and get a decent job, sometimes excellent.

Start the New Year with a Clean Slate

The next time you decide that you don’t want to pay for editing or proofreading, think about how much you shell out on other people cleaning up after you, your kids, and your dog. Isn't that manuscript you poured your blood, sweat, and tears into worth a cleaning as well?

Holiday Sale for Editing Services Ends Soon!

Enjoy Discounted Editing Services for a Limited Time

DON'T MISS OUT!

Sale ends soon!

Enjoy discounted editing services for six months of 2016 by putting down a small deposit today!

Maybe you have a writer friend who is struggling to pay bills and is working really hard on a story, a book, a poem, or an essay.

Help ease his or her struggle by buying editorial services for him or her.

A deposit of only $100 today will lock in discounted editing rates up to June 2016 no matter how many books, stories, or essays the author wishes to have edited by Scarlett Editorial Services.  You don't have to declare what you want edited if you don't know yet. Just know that you have peace of mind to receive a 10% discount when you're ready to order any service at any time for any amount of work before June 2016.

This offer expires on December 31, 2015!

Every penny counts when you're a writer. You only get one chance to give a first impression. 

Retaining professional editing services is a must, especially for self-published authors in these modern times. Competition is fierce so help yourself rise above the others with professional editing.

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.

Questions? Just pop us an email at  sephgiron@ gmail.com

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!

Fall Writing Exercise

 For those of us who are lucky enough to experience seasons, fall often tops the favourites list. Although the weather can get turbulent, there are pockets of the perfect day.

It's not brutally hot. It's not cold. You can walk down the street dressed nicely, perhaps with a sweater or jacket, without getting soggy from some kind of torrential wetness, whether it's from rain, sweat, snow, or hail.

Fall can often provide a brief glimpse into perfect weather. Nothing's melting and making a mess. You aren't afraid you're going to break your hip. There's no worry about dying from being too hot or too cold (most of the time). Leaves blow around but are pretty while they do it and aren't that much of a nuisance. Squirrels are funny to watch as they scamper around in a frenzy collecting their nuts. Kids are back in school. You might be back at school. Even for those of us not in school, Labour Day routinely marks the end of fun in the sun times no matter what the climate is doing. The good weather days grow less frequent, and the days grow shorter.

As we hurtle towards Thanksgiving and Halloween, we grasp at the last glimpses of the sun as we enjoy our lunchtime walks, smell the change in crispier air with our layers of clothing increasing, and prepare ourselves for the impending months of darkness, inconvenience, and for many, cabin fever.

Why Do You Write?
You may have become a writer because of cold dark winters with nothing else to do. For those of us of a certain age, we remember the times when the three channels on the TV didn't come in because of a blizzard, and the power went out, and there was nothing to do but read or write by flashlight, candlelight, or fireplace. These days there are many ways to continue to stay connected to entertainment and the outside world, so there is no real "forced" reason to explore different manners of self-expression as we can be engaged 24/7 in other people's imaginations should we so choose.

Engage Your Imagination

This fall as the nights grow long, foggy, and cool, take some time to unplug and explore your writing. Get in touch with your senses, your imagination, and your creation of atmosphere. Try penning a spooky poem or short story with no second-guessing or self-censorship. Give yourself a set amount of time like thirty minutes. That's the only time you have to do this exercise.

Go to parks and graveyards. Sit by the lake or a pond. Watch the sun rise or set, depending on your schedule. Listen to and watch the migrating birds creating their flight patterns for their journeys. See bats and owls fly by in the moonlight. Take pictures of the changing landscape around you as the leaves turn colour and blow away. Take out your pen and notebook.

Breathe in the fall air. Let your imagination run wild. See what kind of poems and stories you can create as you take a few minutes to just play with your creativity. Don't worry about what you're doing. Just let the words flow onto the page and see where they go. Once you're finished your session you're finished. You wrote what you wrote and that's what you wrote.

Keeping little exercises such as this in a journal can help you chart your progress. Noodling thoughts in this manner can sometimes lead to bigger story developments later on when you return to reflect on past entries.

Keep Seasonal Affective Disorder at Bay
Giving yourself little tasks can work well if you're suffering writer's block, depression, or just need a nudge to write. Sometimes we can get too focused in the writing we're working on so giving our imaginations permission to "play" for a half an hour or so can free up creativity.

Fun with Dictionaries
If you need a kick-start, there are other tricks. Close your eyes and open the dictionary. Put your finger on a word. Open your eyes and write down the word. Do this for five words.

Now do the same with your name dictionary for one or two names. Now you have a character or place name.

Write these words in your journal so you that you have them with you when you find your writing spot. Use the words in your exercise. Free associate and see what happens.