Thread: Editor needed.

Hi folks,
I'm in the process of writing up one last time my personal experience UFO book, to date I've amassed more than 25 personal sightings which appx. half of were independently witnessed. Having amassed a wealth of experience and insight from all my encounters after reading into the subject I knew I had a better book to give to the world.
I'm soon to be at the stage of self-publishing where I'm needing an editor, I was hoping someone from this group would agree to this work, or may be a moderator would be able to point me in the right direction.

Looking at online editing services i was a bit taken back at their prices and refusals to give sample chapters, then found people in writing forums who would give better services, with samples and who would work for a lot less than online editing companies.

I'm not looking for a genius with written skills, all I need is someone who knows a lot about sentence and paragraph structure, language, grammar and punctuation. I want this book to stay in its basic written form but to be more professional than my low education permits.

I need to pay to pay for an editor due to going down the route of self-publishing, and this will be my first book release too.

I'm on state benefits till getting income from online digital sales so cannot afford to pay an editing bill in one go. My initial payment could only be paid upon completion of the work and the rest being paid when sales of the book give me them funds. I would need a sample chapter up-front and my initial payment could only amount to £100/£150. I'm sure though any would be editors who are interested after reading the book will see its very high potential and that its a job worth taking on. The book is bound to sell well if marketed correctly, which is why I'm taking the self-publishing route before approaching publishers.

I more than anything need an editor who already believes in this sort of stuff, one who is only working to make my written work more professional than it is, I'm not wanting any topics, paragraphs or chapters deleted, all I want is the end product to be written by someone who has better written skills than myself.

I'm a deeply spiritual and trustworthy soul, a man of honour, I'd be more than willing to sign a contract of work for the money owed till sales begin but that will not be needed, I'll pay up the difference when agreed upon

A couple of points, m alexander -

I more than anything need an editor who already believes in this sort of stuff[1], one who is only working to make my written work more professional than it is, I'm not wanting any topics, paragraphs or chapters deleted, all I want is the end product to be written by someone who has better written skills than myself.[2]

[1] It is not an editor's role to believe in anything; a good editor will know enough to understand the subject matter and the language involved to ensure that the material and the author's viewpoint is presented to appeal to its target readership.

[2] If you want the end product to be written by someone else, then you are looking for a ghostwriter, not an editor -
if you want the end product to be written by you, but be of publishable standard, you are looking for an editor.

I wouldn't take a job, or even consider quoting fees for such a project, without seeing a sample chapter first.

If you would like to discuss it confidentially, feel free to send me a private message.

How many words are you talking about? 50,000 +?

Originally Posted by Cran

A couple of points, m alexander -



[1] It is not an editor's role to believe in anything; a good editor will know enough to understand the subject matter and the language involved to ensure that the material and the author's viewpoint is presented to appeal to its target readership.

[2] If you want the end product to be written by someone else, then you are looking for a ghostwriter, not an editor -
if you want the end product to be written by you, but be of publishable standard, you are looking for an editor.

I wouldn't take a job, or even consider quoting fees for such a project, without seeing a sample chapter first.

If you would like to discuss it confidentially, feel free to send me a private message.

Theres a chapter of this book on the net now free to view, I'll send you the url via private message.

I'm strapped for cash and due to my lack of education it will probably need many full sentence re-writes, so I know the fee is going to be a fair whack. I was probably hoping for too much thinking an editor would do a deal for half on completion the rest as soon as I can afford, my expectations of the book I suppose will be higher than most peoples who arent familiar with this market, so may be a would be editor would want all the fee on completion. I'm probably over confident it will do good but I do know this area quite a bit, my experiences do by a long way exceed other peoples but its a touchy subject in an ever changing area of interest, luckily for me its been a fast growing area of interest since the early 90s till now.
I do believe it will do good whoever publishes it, hence me going for self publishing on a shoe string budget.
Where I'm at with this 60k word book is half way through my last re-write, its going to be ready for editing round about December. I'm working on a shoestring budget to get it online in digital sales, I have £300 set aside for an ISBN number and the rest towards editing, but I have one loan I can apply for if need be for editing.
Rated alongside other personal experience UFO books its way ahead of everything else, would be editors may be best first viewing the chapter online then they'll know how much work the rest of the book needs.
I think the URL to the free chapter is in my profile.

I may have someone now guys, he is from my country too which is beneficial for both of us, and I'm not going to be ready for editing services till about December, thanks for you're interest, if i need anyone round about December i'll get in touch with you and we can chat about whats needed. Thanks again for youre interest guys, really appreciated.

Originally Posted by m alexander

I have £300 set aside for an ISBN number

Firstly, you don't need an ISBN number, but if you do want one, they are US$125. If you publish with Smashwords or Amazon, they will give you an ISBN for free.

Originally Posted by m alexander

I think the URL to the free chapter is in my profile.

If it is, I couldn't find it.