Audio, Hips, and Other Things

I did something to myself at the gym. I’m pretty sure how I did it, too. I had an exercise where I knelt on a bench supporting myself with one arm and one knee, one leg extended and the opposite arm curling 25 lbs. At the time I didn’t notice anything and finished my work out pain free. I’d walked on the treadmill for my usual 100 calories.

I probably pulled a muscle in my thigh and late in the day it must’ve contracted with a vengeance, because yesterday the muscle over my hip hurt like a sonovabitch. I couldn’t get off the couch. Sitting down was an issue. Sleeping was a huge issue. It is a bit better today – I am typing from my chair – but that sucked so much. Ugh.

So picture me hobbling around in the house going, “Ow! Ow!” and asking Gordon embarrassing things like, “Could you please pull me off the couch?”

I don’t see the audio of Sweep of the Blade? Where is it?

We have gotten about 10 of these in the past three days. Do you see the listing for the ebook of SOB? No, because we haven’t even settled on a date. It will likely be the second Tuesday in July. The audio will be a little behind the ebook, because we are in the process of selecting the audio reader. We found someone who we think will doa good job and asked her to do a short demo of the fight scene.

We are also waiting on additional artwork. Because the story is no longer a novella, we asked Doris to create a couple of new illustrations.

You mentioned that it’s hard to find a good content editor. I’m wondering how does one get into genre and fiction content editing? (Especially if one already has an related Bachelor’s and doesn’t want to go back to get another degree.) Any resources, articles, blogs etc you can recommend?

A

It depends on what route you want to go.

If you would like to be an editor for one of the major publishing houses, they hire just like anyone else. For those jobs, your best bet is Publishers Marketplace. If you click on the link and scroll down, you will see current jobs available. Most editors start as assistants and work their way up.

If you are trying to be an independent editor, things are a bit more complicated. Most people will probably point you to some websites, like guru.com or getafreelancer.com. The truth is, this business works on word of the mouth and a handshake. Our content editor, Sandra Harding, worked for Penguin for 15 years and was once a Senior Editor at New American Library. She was recommended by our agent. Stephanie, our CE, originally volunteered to proofread one of the Sweeps and Jen, our new proofreader, was also one of the volunteer editors. We liked the quality of their work and we hired them. Writers get very comfortable with their editors, because it’s so difficult to find a good one, and we tend to hold on to them.

As far as I know, there is no centralized hub for independent fiction editors. I would suggest making a website – wordpress is easy to set up – and then volunteering to either proofread or content edit so you can accumulate some testimonials and recommendations. You can also get some mileage out of attending conventions that cater to independent authors. Arrive armed with some business cards and try to network.

You can also try to do some digging and find agencies that help their authors self-publish. They often use editors, but they usually prefer someone with experience. Content editors who work for a flat fee make anywhere from $1,000-$2,000 depending on the depth of edit, sometimes more if the project really needs help. Content editors who work by the hour tend to be more expensive and least preferred by writers. I won’t work with a content editor who charges by the hour, for example, because I want someone who will think about my work instead of staring at the clock. For that amount of money, people prefer to have some assurance of competency, which is why I recommend getting experience first.