“Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.” — Victor Kiam
CONTACT ME
To get started, just send me an email at dhgatewood@gmail.com. Be sure to let me know what kind of manuscript you’ve written, the approximate expected word count, the level of editing you’re interested in, and when you’d expect the work to begin (and end). If you know exactly what you want, great; if not, that’s fine too. We’ll work it out.
Also, please send me a short sample of the piece (about 2,000 words will do). Once I have a sample to review, and an understanding of what you’re looking for, I’ll be able to give you an estimate for the cost of editing the entire manuscript. If requested, I can also edit the sample and return it to you. This way, I get some sense for the amount of time that I’ll likely be spending on the project, and you get some sense of the quality of the editing work you’ll be getting in return, before you make any commitments.
(It’s also possible that I’ll find the sample doesn’t fit my interests, in which case I’ll tell you that up front, and refer you elsewhere. That doesn’t mean the manuscript is bad; it’s just that I’d prefer, when possible, to work on novels that would fit my personal reading interests to begin with. Besides, if I’m not the right audience for a novel, then I’m probably not the right candidate to help you perfect it.)
HOW THE EDITING PROCESS WORKS
Should we work together:
+ We’ll agree on a level of editing and schedule a date for the work to be done.
+ When the date arrives, you’ll send me the document for review, and I’ll send you an invoice for the work. (Payment is due when the work begins.)
+ I will review your piece based on the level of editing we choose (see Services).
+ I will make edits, comments, and suggestions, and return the work to you. All revisions will be marked with “Track Changes” so that you can accept or reject them individually. The final decision is always yours.
+ If you make additional revisions in response to my edits, then you’ll return the manuscript to me and I will then do a review of the new/revised material. Sometimes we may pass the manuscript back and forth like this three or four times in order to get every last detail nailed down and every question answered. This multiple-pass process is all included in the initial quoted price. (However, if you do significant rewriting that is unrelated to my edits, I may need to charge for the additional time. This is rare.)