Bettie Wailes
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Read excerpt from The Daydream
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My Rock-Bottom Fee Schedule:
Manuscripts, double-spaced 250-350 words/page: $2/page
Letters, short pieces, single-spaced: $5/page
How I started: I began writing a memoir about five years ago. Soon after, I joined a memoir writers critique group. The group soon encouraged me to put the first project on hold in favor of writing about a much earlier period in my life. Thus, I began The Daydream.
Before that, my writing was limited to technical writing. Wanting to learn how to create emotional, entertaining story-telling, I created my own writing school in the form of books on writing, e-newsletters, and critique groups. I joined Florida Writers Association (FWA). I read, wrote, read, re-wrote, read more, and listened to my critics. Finally, in 2003, I entered my manuscript for Royal Palm Award judging at the FWA conference in October in order to gain the feedback from the judges. Never imagining my manuscript would win an award, I was shocked when my title was announced as Second Place in category.
What I provide: I'm a reader with an eye for what works and what doesn't. My grammar, punctuation, and formatting skills are excellent. (Who knew there was a place for a left-brained person in the literary world?) I don't have the creativity that many of you fiction writers have, so my goal is to combine my editing skill with the your creativity to produce a quality manuscript. I find it difficult to separate line-editing from content editing. If I see something that is incorrect, or just doesn't work, or isn't necessary, I'll comment.
Why you need me: Many self-published books clearly have not been edited. It's easy to see why the manuscripts were found unacceptable by an agent or traditional editor. If you are confident your content is worthy, take that next step to be sure its grammar, punctuation, format, flow and continuity, etc., are also worthy.
What I charge: Since my credentials are few (although I did score 97% on an editing test), I provide my editing services at rock-bottom rates. I challenge you to find a competent editor with lower fees.