Hello! I’m John, an author/book reviewer looking to make the jump into indie book editing. I have experience reading with fantasy and speculative fiction.
As a book reviewer, I have half a decade experience examining story structure, plot, pacing, characterization, and the various ‘undefinable’ elements which go into writing a modern fantasy/speculative fiction story. Here’s a link to my in-depth reviews if you want an example of my work. In those reviews, I provided analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of those novels, and how they could have been improved.
If you choose me as your editor, you’ll get an analysis of your text of similar to those I liked, but of greater depth and detail. Additionally, I’ll use the ‘Track Changes’ feature of Word to provide page-by-page thoughts and suggestions for changes I think you should make. My goal is to both provide positive as well as negative critique, telling you what works great in your text as well as what can use adjustment.
Developmental Editing focuses more on the ‘big picture’ of the novel. Is the plot coherent? Are the characters fascinating? How is the suspension of disbelief? A developmental edit is meant to address big questions, problems so big they might require rewriting entire chapters as an example.
Line Editing focuses more on the nitty-gritty details of grammar, punctuation, spelling and the like. Traditionally, you’ll go for developmental edits before line edits because you don’t want a line editor to edit a chapter which a developmental editor will tell you to later delete.
As I developmental edit, I’ll also try to fix small scale errors even as I provide suggestions on how to adjust the big picture issues. Just be aware, an editor is no replacement for editing a book on your own. The more editing TLC you put into your book before I see it, the easier time I’ll have giving your book the love and attention it deserves. Using Alpha readers or Beta readers wouldn’t hurt, either.
Speaking of which, I’m willing to Beta Read for pay. As a beta reader, I’ll provide you with my opinions on your book in a similar way to my in-depth reviews, but in greater detail. The difference between my editor work and beta work is the depth I’ll go in. As an editor, I’ll go into the nitty-gritty editing work on a page by page, line by line level, bringing to light grammar and micro problems; as a beta, I’ll focus on a chapter-by-chapter, macro level.
As an editor, my goals are:
- To help make your book the best it can be, and also help you improve as an author.
- To help you cultivate your own style. I believe you have your own unique voice, and I want to help you cultivate that voice, not override your voice.
- To provide both developmental and line-editing services in a single package. Editing is expensive, so I want you to get bang for your buck when you hire me.
- To help you with story structure, plot and pacing. Writing can sometimes be unintuitive, and a second set of eyes can help you see areas of potential improvement.
- To help you create memorable characters with great dialogue.
What I need from you:
- A finished manuscript
- A manuscript you have edited to the point that it is near as perfect as you can make it. The cleaner a manuscript you send me, the better the end result I can give to you.
Cost
As an editor, I charge [$0.005 a word] or [$5 for 1000 words].
As a beta reader, I charge [$0.0015 a word] or [$1.50 for 1000 words].
I am new to this business, so I charge less than industry standard while I earn a positive reputation for myself. Going off this blogpost, the industry average is around [$0.02 a word] or [$20 for 1000 words].
I offer to edit the first 3 to 5 pages of your story for free, so you know what you’re going to buy.
How We’ll Begin
Are you interested? Do you have questions? Fill out the form below and we’ll chat. I’d like to know what genres your book is, an approximate wordcount, and any other interesting details you’d like to share. I’m happy to discuss your story, to determine if we’re right for one another.
John Mendez- Book Reviews and More 