Need An Editor?

Happy New Year! Now’s the time people buckle down to write that book they’ve always wanted to. Maybe your resolution this year is to get your manuscript out of the closet and finally published. And if you’re looking for an editor to help with that, I offer services for three stages.

Developmental Editing:
Get feedback and suggestions on plot development, character development, pacing, and structure for your novel.
$0.02 per word

Content Editing:
I provide a thorough examination of sentence structure, syntax, flow, and clarity. I also specialize in helping make your descriptions vivid and three dimensional so the reader can fully immerse themselves in your world.
$0.01 per word (minimum–heavy editing may require a different estimate)

Copy Editing/Proofreading:
An extra set of eyes to look for typos and correct any grammatical errors.
$0.005 per word (minimum)

I provide a sample edit of your first 1,000 words so you get a sense of my style to see if it will be a good fit for you. If interested, please fill out the contact form below with the type of editing you are interested in.

I use the Track Changes feature so you can see every suggestion and decide for yourself how best to implement them. Turnaround time will depend on length, but standard novel word count will take approximately two weeks.

*Note: I accept all fiction genres except horror and erotica. Will also accept non-fiction.

Testimonials:

“Angela Wallace is great for both content editing and proofreading.  I’d definitely recommend authors add her to their editing process!”
–Susan Illene, Amazon best-selling author

“I have used Angela on several projects and have been very happy with her attention to detail, her insight, and her ability to point out/give suggestions on concepts I had overlooked.  She communicates on a very professional and personal level and always ensures I understand her comments.  I am confident in her ability to guide my projects through the development process and polish them as they become the final product.  I highly recommend her services.”
—Diana Murdock, author of Souled

“Angela has been a blessing during the writing process. Not only are her suggestions and critiques helpful for catching grammatical errors and sentence variation, but also for stimulating creativity and enhancing the story itself. Angela helped turn my ideas into words; more importantly, she helped make them come to life. I would highly recommend her to any writer looking for an editor who is friendly, encouraging, and inspired. I myself will continue to trust my work to her talents.”
–Jackie Martin

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Write Like an Onion

No, I do not mean your writing should smell bad.  Rather, writing a book is like growing an onion–it happens layer by layer.  One doesn’t typically bust out a perfect best-seller in the first draft.  (And if you do, well then kudos, but most of us aren’t gods.)

Writers are told the most important thing in writing is to just get something on paper (or Word, since most of us are computer trained by now).  A messed up paragraph is easier to fix than a blank page.  I, for one, enjoy watching my novel transform from superficial first draft to detailed final product.  There are so many aspects that make up a good book–plot, description, characterization, emotional investment, grammar.  (It’s amazing how much that last one comes up in book reviews.)

I don’t know about most of you, but I’m guessing that like me, you can’t keep all those aspects at the forefront of your brain at the same time.  Maybe you’ve got one down really well, but it takes a few rounds to nail another.  That’s okay because it’s all part of the process of writing/growing a novel.

Everyone’s process is different too.  My first drafts are all about plot and pacing.  That comes easiest to me.  Then I have to go back and work on adding subtle characterization to make my characters really pop.  Grammar is not an issue, but there are some technical aspects that I need to focus on one at a time, like passive voice (“was”) clusters.  In the revision process, I go over each chapter again and again, each time with a different focus, adding another layer.

When it’s over, I’m exhausted.  But seeing how my novel changed and grew makes all that work worthwhile.

What’s your growing process like?  Do you know which layers you tend to apply first?  Last?  Do you struggle with this concept, pushing yourself to write down the first words perfectly? 

Take a look at this video of flowers.  Notice how the first petals push out, and then later how more petals emerge and fill in the center.  Like a fully bloomed flower, a great novel is full of rich complexities–and they didn’t come together all at once!

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Phoenix Feather is on SALE now on Amazon for $.99!  A sweet romance with a slight supernatural flair.

Writers, Our Families, and Support Systems

Kristen Lamb wrote a blog post yesterday about how being a career writer is serious work, and it takes a lot of training, organization, and multitasking.  To read the full pep talk, click here: “Training to Be a Career Author.”

Her post got me thinking, not about writers, but about those in our lives who depend on us, whether it’s friends, family, or those we provide for.  I’m blessed to have a very supportive mom.  She truly believes I can get published and supports me in my pursuit of my dream.

That said, she also depends on me.  I will need to take over the bulk of the responsibility for supporting us–something I am completely willing to do!  But as I’ve come to realize in the past few weeks, being a career writer involves so much more than writing.  Kristen’s post goes into more detail about what is required of us: research, marketing, social media, learning the business side, not to mention continuing to write those novel-length works!  And that’s just a few things that will make up the schedule of a career writer.  For those of us still working towards that, we probably also have day jobs to balance, in addition to family and friends.

I hope that every one of you writers has friends and family that support you in your pursuit.  But people can be supportive and still reach their limits.  I imagine it might be hard for some of them to understand why we have to do all this work.  Maybe they support our writing, but wonder why we “have to” blog or Tweet.  Maybe they have the same idea about publishing we did before we learned the truth, that writing a book is all you need.

I don’t have any wisdom to offer in this regard, as it hasn’t been a major source of conflict in my relationships yet.  Ideally, we should be able to say that if we multitask properly, no one will feel neglected.  Well, feelings and reality hardly ever align.  I’m still working out my own balance in this new world, and feeling a little guilty about it, even though I know it will help my career in the long run.

So let me ask you, does your family, spouse, partner ever feel neglected or frustrated by the time you spend on these “other” writer activities?  How do you deal with it?  Do you try for an equalized schedule to multitask, or do you allow that schedule to be fluid according to who needs you more at any given time?  Do your loved ones want to support you, but sometimes just don’t understand all you’re trying to accomplish?

Sometimes The Muse Just Won’t Shut Up

It’s a little after 5am.  I’ve been awake since 3, and am not feeling particularly endeared to my creative gears at the moment.  No one likes Writer’s Block, and I do appreciate my muse when it’s on fire, spouting out plot ideas and crafting sentences…but why must my muse be most active *after* I’ve gone to bed?  I am not nocturnal, by any means, though it appears my muse keeps a vampiric schedule.

 

I keep a notepad and pen in my nightstand for such occasions, quickly jotting down ideas so I don’t forget them come morning.  Sometimes, though, my muse starts writing out a scene in my head, and my hand just can’t keep up with the pace.  So with a heavy sigh, I turn on the light, get out of bed, and go to my computer where I can hastily type up the words swirling around in my head.

Then I try once again to go to sleep.  Do I have visions of sugarplum fairies dancing in my head?  No.  I get more plot ideas and scenes running through my mind like an internal movie screen with no off button.  Sometimes, after laying there for two hours, I can get back to sleep.  Then there are nights like tonight (now today?) where I might as well give it up.  Maybe if I didn’t already have problems with insomnia and sleep deprivation, these little bursts of creativity wouldn’t bother me as much.  But I do, and then my muse makes me cranky.  I had planned on devoting the entire next day to writing, couldn’t it have waited?  As it is, now I’m too tired to jump-start my editing goals.

I have a love-hate relationship with my muse.  What about you?  When does your muse tend to strike with brilliance?  Is it at inconvenient times, inconvenient places?  Or do you have the opposite problem, and your muse broods silently for longer periods of time?

The importance of feedback–and how you take it

 

Writing has been called a solitary pursuit, and while this is mostly true, every writer needs a support system of critique and feedback.  Moms are usually great at support, but not so much on objective comments.  This is where a writing group comes in.  Not only do you get objective feedback (as objective as anyone can be, because let’s face it, writing and reading is a subjective business), but you also get a variety of perspectives.  Everyone interprets things differently based on their schema, the filter with which they see the world that is formed by their background and experiences.  It’s good to know beforehand how a reader might interpret something.  Then you as the writer can decide if you are comfortable with that interpretation, or if something needs to be changed to avoid misconceptions.

 

It’s also great to get input from people who’ve had different experiences.  As writers, we write what we know, but let’s face it, sometimes we have to use our imagination and a little research to go outside our realm of expertise.  We want the details right, don’t we?  I gave a character bruised ribs, and a person in my writer’s group said, “Hey, I’ve had bruised ribs.  Here’s what it’s really like…”

Not all feedback is created equal.  As the writer, you have to take it or leave it, though you should always listen to it first.  We use the word “objective” to describe the ideal kind of critique, but there really is no such thing.  Each reader, however well-read or accomplished in writing, still has their own tastes in what they like to see.  Sometimes a writer and reader click like brain twins.  Sometimes some serious deliberation is needed.  Sometimes we feel like the feedback is coming out of the blue and misses the mark.  That’s okay.  It’s all part of the process.

 

It’s also important for a writer to know his or her tendencies when accepting feedback.  Critique should be a discussion, not be perceived as a personal attack.  It might even help to figure out how you best receive it.  Maybe you need a sandwich delivery: positive/needs improvement/positive.    Maybe you’d like alternative suggestions, or just have something pointed out and you figure it out later yourself.

Yeah, the writing itself is a solitary activity, but writers themselves are not alone.  There’s a huge community out there waiting to embrace each other.  If you don’t already know about the #MyWANA hastag on Twitter, go to Kristen Lamb’s blog and read about it.  http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/join-the-love-revolution-mywana/  #MyWANA means We Are Not Alone (writers).

Happy writing and critiquing,

~Dreaming wide awake