Clergy Appreciation Day: Expressing Appreciation for God’s Servants

Today on Clergy Appreciation Day, I would like to express my appreciation for three special clergymen who have blessed my life at All Saints Anglican Church.

Fr. Jerry Sherbourne came to All Saints when he was still in seminary. He was ordained – first as a deacon, then as a priest – at All Saints and became the parish’s rector. Then he felt a call to a different kind of ministry and is currently serving as an Army chaplain. Fr. Jerry is a gentle, compassionate pastor to his flock.

Fr. Chip Harper enjoyed a career as a Air Force officer before the Lord called him to serve as His minister. As a member of All Saints, he completed seminary and was ordained, then he served another parish as priest. When Fr. Jerry left All Saints for the chaplaincy, Fr. Chip returned to the parish as Rector. He is a leader who always stands strong in his beliefs and tempers his strength with love.

Fr. Ed Morgan was called by God as a minister many years ago. After serving in other ministries, he was ordained as an Anglican priest last year. The Assistant Rector at All Saints, he is a practical and plain-speaking preacher and teacher.

All three of these servants of God love the Lord with all their hearts and with all their souls and with all their minds, and they love their neighbors as themselves. Though imperfect mortals, they practice in their lives what they preach in the pulpit.

And, through the years, they’ve all responded well to my nagging.

While they’ve been out saving souls and ministering to their flocks, I’ve been nagging them for information for the bulletins, for articles for the parish newsletter, for updates for the Web site. They respond with what I need – eventually! And they never nag me in return, though I need nagging right now to update the Web site.

Thanks be to God for these Godly men and for all ministers who faithfully serve the Lord.

Romans 10:14-15 (New International Version):

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Prayer for Clergy:

ALMIGHTY God, giver of all good things, who by thy Holy Spirit hast appointed divers Orders of Ministers in thy Church; Mercifully behold all thy servants in all Orders of Ministers [especially Fr. Chip, Fr. Ed, and Fr. Jerry]; and so replenish them with the truth of thy Doctrine, and adorn them with innocency of life, that, both by word and good example, they may faithfully serve thee in their Office, to the glory of thy Name, and the edification of thy Church; through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.

[tags]Clergy Appreciation Day[/tags]

Help! Where Did My Prices Go?

In my last post, I linked back to an article on the cost of self-publishing. At the time, I noticed all the amounts showed as zero and made a note to go back and correct the post.

However, the post was written correctly, but every number that had a dollar sign before it appeared as a zero when the post was published. For the time being, I’ve put a space between the dollar sign and the number – I know that’s wrong, and I hate to make deliberate mistakes. I’d rather do that, though, than to have the cost of self-publishing appear as zero in my post.

Does anyone have any ideas? What can I do to make a dollar amount print correctly? I suspect it’s something in the style sheet of my theme … but I have no idea what. Maybe the same glitch that puts all emoticons on the left of the post, regardless of where they were really inserted and that left aligns all images no matter what alignment I specify when I write the post.

Thanks for any suggestions you can make.

Note: This just seemed to be a quirk of the theme I was using at the time. After I changed themes, I had no more problems.

How Much Will It Cost? Average Freelance Editing Rates

We’ve talked about freelance writing and editing rates several times before (see Related Posts below). I found (rather found again – as I used to have the page bookmarked but lost it somewhere along the line) a simple, but excellent, chart of average rates.

The Editorial Freelancers Association, “the professional resource for editorial specialists and those who hire them,” publishes a chart of Common Rates for Editorial Services.

The chart gives an estimated pace and range of fees for various tasks.

Although the fees seem to be on the low side, the chart demonstrates the differences in time required between different levels of editing and the range of time required for different projects. The pace for developmental editing is 1-5 ms pages per hour while the pace for proofreading is 3-10 ms pages per hour. There are several levels of editing between these two extremes. The rates also reflect the degree of difficulty of the project – the low end of developmental editing is only a little more than the top rate for proofreading.

Clients don’t always recognize the differences. My rate sometimes shocks prospective clients: “So-and-so charges less than half that!” they say. But when I tell them what I intend to do for their manuscript, they have no idea if the editor offering a lower price will do the same. I have done proofreading only a couple of times … and I don’t like it. I get too wrapped up in how the story or article could be made better. I love developmental editing, and I love working with authors who need lots of help. But that doesn’t mean I won’t love working with you if you’re an excellent writer who needs just a little help.

I think you’ll find this chart helpful whether you’re charging for editing or paying for it.

Related Posts:
Self-Publishing Primer: Part 11 – How Much Does Self-Publishing Cost?
What are your prices for writing and editing services … and how much value do you give?
Working with a Professional Editor: Part 1 – Finding the Right Editor
Working with a Professional Editor: Part 2 – How It Works

[tags]freelance editing rates[/tags]

Blog Action Day October 15, 2007

I intend to stay on-topic for my blog and relate my post to writing and publishing. Will you participate?

[tags]Blog Action Day[/tags]

Comments and New Plugins

If you’ve made a comment here recently, you’ve probably noticed a couple of new plugins.

Live Comment Preview does exactly what the name implies – it gives a live preview as you type your comment. Most of us find it much easier to spot a mistake when a comment goes live than when we’re typing in the comment box. With Live Comment Preview, you can preview your comment as you type it.

But if you still make an error – and don’t we all from time to time? – there’s WP Ajax Edit Comments. This plugin allows the commenter to edit a comment for a designated amount of time. I’m using the default setting of 15 minutes, which is enough time to see the error as soon as it’s posted – when I see mine – and correct it right away.

If you moderate comments, the comment won’t be sent through moderation again. However, it will be sent through Akismet again. That precaution will prevent a spammer from leaving an innocuous comment, then changing it to spam after it’s moderated.

I wish every blog used these or similar plugins. I am embarrassed at the number of comments I’ve left all over the blogosphere with errors that I’ve caught … just after the comments went live, with no way to correct them. Errors in comments don’t reflect very well on me as a writer and editor, and I cringe every time I see a mistake I’ve made. I want to give my commenters the opportunity to catch their own errors.

As I state in my comment policy, I will correct typos in comments, but I prefer for my commenters to edit their own comments.

Thank you to each person who has posted a comment here, and special thanks to those who comment regularly. Blogging has become much more of a conversation than I expected when I started, and I love hearing from my readers. I’ve thought of adding a top commenters plugin, but my sidebar is already too crowded. Even if I don’t recognize commenters in a post or listing, I do respond to every comment, and I appreciate every one!

Updated 10/9/07: Commenter Misti Sandefur, reminded me of another comment plugin that I love. I’ve used Subscribe to Comments for a while, so it’s not new to me, but it’s an excellent plugin folks should know about. Maybe it’s new to some of you.

updated 10/9/07: Thanks to Mike Olbinski for helping me get Brian’s Threaded Comments working with my current theme.  this is a wonderful plugin that allows commenters to reply to specific comments.

[tags]comments, Live Comment Preview, WP Ajax Edit Comments, WordPress plugins, Subscribe to Comments[/tags]

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know: Eight Things About My Writing and Me

Misti Sandefur at Life of a Writer tagged me to share eight random things about myself. Since I participate in memes only when they fit my purposes for my blog, I told Misti I would respond to the tag but relate the eight things to writing.

Then David Bowles at Writing the Westward Sagas tagged me to write eight things others might not know about my writing and me.

Although I’m not sure any of this is new, here are eight random things about my writing and me:

1. The first time I remember being proud of something I wrote was in high school. Our school was very small, and there was only one English teacher. She read a humorous short story I had written to every English class – the entire (tiny) student body. When she read the story to my class, I basked in the sound of the other student’s laughter.

2. Looking back, I find it strange that my first writing was humorous. My mother always told me I was born old and serious. I’ve never considered myself funny, though my husband and I laugh a lot, and one of my friends in particular tells me I crack her up.

3. Although I know the most successful writers stick to a genre, my writing is all over the place. The four books published or to-be-published are a romance novel, the inspirational true story of victims of workplace violence, a network marketing guide, and my upcoming romantic suspense novel.

4. I’ve also written a humorous romance (there’s that humor again) that I’ve never submitted anywhere and have two partially completed manuscripts: a novel and a motivational nonfiction book.

5. The unfinished novel is really the book of my heart – the first story I dreamed of writing, long before I had the stroke which led me to write a romance about a woman who has a stroke. I still hope to finish it someday, but I’m too busy with other projects to get back to it.

6. I focused on fiction when a small critique group met in my home every week. I never wanted to be the only one without a chapter to share, so I wrote a chapter a week. However, when our group split up because no one seemed to have the time anymore, I quit writing fiction.

7. I consider myself a better editor than writer and a better nonfiction writer than fiction writer. However, when I re-read Dream or Destiny after it had been collecting dust on a CD for years, I was pleasantly surprised – it was better than I thought (she said modestly).

8. Like Helen Ginger and David Bowles, I work best when it’s quiet. In fact, I prefer to work at night so I’m not interrupted, even by phone calls. However, some of my clients and friends keep strange hours, also, so my phone often rings late at night. Sometimes I’m on the phone with a client who gets up early before I’ve gone to bed.

There you have it – more than you ever wanted to know about my writing and me. I’m not tagging anyone because these eight things (or five things or whatever) memes have been going around awhile and many writers have already participated. However, I’d love to learn more about each of you. So if you’d like to share eight things – either eight random things or eight things about you and your writing – please do so. Leave a comment so I learn eight things about you.

Related Posts:
Eight Random Things about Lillie
Seven Random Things
Five Things

[tags]meme, eight things, writing, Lillie Ammann[/tags]

Customer Service

Recently, I wrote about setting boundaries in freelance writing. Dealing with difficult clients is certainly an issue, but at the other end of the spectrum, what about customer service? If you’ve ever been stuck in some company’s automated phone system (and who hasn’t?), you know many companies don’t put a priority on customer service. As independent entrepreneurs, freelancers can’t afford the same bad customer service we’ve come to expect in today’s world.

I’m a fan of Robert Ringer – I generally agree with what he says and like the way he says it. As an advocate of self-publishing, I’m excited that he self-published his first two books, which made the New York Times best-seller list. He later sold the rights to a major publisher, and those books are listed among the 15 best-selling motivational books of all time.

He covered customer service in recent issues of his newsletter. Although he starts out by talking about large organizations, he ends the series with this reminder:

Finally, if you’re an independent entrepreneur, everything is in your lap, because you are both the employee and the employer. Without customers, you have nothing. Treat them like the valuable assets they are. The only rigid policy you should have is that the customer must be satisfied at all costs.

Customer Service Is a Mind-set, Part I

Customer Service Is a Mind-set, Part II

Customer Service Is a Mind-set, Part III

Of course, my favorite customer service guru is Johnny, whom I wrote about in The Simple Truths of Service: Will You Be a Johnny Today?

Related Post:
A Tale of Two Companies: the Worst and the Best

[tags]customer service, Robert Ringer, Simple Truths of Service[/tags]

Working with a Professional Editor: Part 2 – How It Works

In this post, the second in response to a question about how writers work with freelance editors, I’ll describe how I work with clients. Other editors may work differently, but you should have a general idea of how your editor works based on the questions you asked in the decision-making process.

A typical editing process includes:

• First, the editor should understand your goals and vision for your book. Why did you write the book? What do you hope to accomplish? Will you seek traditional publication or do you plan to self-publish? How do you intend to market the book?
• You and editor mutually agree on the timing and degree of the editor’s involvement. I prefer to begin working with an author early in the process and edit chapter by chapter rather than waiting to receive the completed manuscript. Many of my clients are first-time authors who haven’t fully developed their writing skills. If I start working with them from the first chapter, they can learn from the edits. As their writing improves, less editing is needed on later chapters. More experienced writers – or writers who have already completed the manuscript – can, of course, send the entire manuscript at one time. Some editors do not want to get involved in a project until the author has completed the manuscript.
• Cost and payment arrangements are determined. I require a deposit to begin work, then I invoice throughout the process as each increment is completed. Some editors require half in advance and half on completion.
• The writer sends the manuscript as a Word (or rtf) document in an e-mail attachment. You and the editor must be able to work in the same document, and Microsoft Word is the most widely used word processor. I learned long ago that trying to convert to other formats can lead to strange characters and formatting, so you both need to use the same program. RTF can be read in almost any word processing program.
• The editor makes changes and corrections. Although some editors work on hard copies or in a separate file, I like to make changes directly in the document using Word’s Track Changes. The writer can see exactly what changes were made and can choose to accept or reject each change. I return both the marked-up copy and a clean copy – reading the marked-up copy can become confusing. Most writers prefer to review the clean copy and use the version with tracked changes only as a reference. I do ask writers to read my comments and answer any questions I ask. If something wasn’t written clearly, I usually rewrite it so it is understandable, but I always ask the writer to make sure the changes accurately reflect what the writer meant. Often beginning writers have specific problem areas (such as not knowing how to format dialogue); I put the dialogue in paragraphs and use quotation marks appropriately, then explain in comments what I did and why. If the manuscript is being edited chapter by chapter, the author can write dialogue correctly in future chapters. I try to teach as well as edit.
• The editor returns the manuscript to the writer for review and revision. The writer accepts and/or rejects changes, answers questions, and returns the document to the editor.
• The process continues as each chapter or increment is completed. Even if the writer sends me the entire manuscript, I edit in increments. This ensures that I don’t get off-track. If the writer doesn’t agree with one or more of my suggestions, I discuss (usually by e-mail but sometimes by phone) why the author disagrees. If I believe not making the change will decrease the chances of the book’s success, I’ll explain my reasoning based on my experience and knowledge of the publishing industry. The writer is the final authority, but I take seriously my responsibility to make the manuscript the best it can be to achieve the author’s goals. If the writer wants the book to be a commercial success, I do all I can to make that happen.
• After the manuscript has been edited, the second round of editing begins. I don’t believe the work is done when the first edit is finished. Some errors always slip the first time (and several times after that), and the revisions may have introduced new errors. For example, moving a paragraph may result in an awkward transition. In the second edit, I go through without significant time lapse between increments. Often there are several more rounds of edits before the book is complete. More experienced writers may not need as much editing, but writers who have had no training or experience in writing may need a number of edits. If the writer is local, we may read the manuscript aloud – you’ll be amazed at the things you catch reading aloud that you miss reading silently.
• The final round of editing is a quick read-through, preferably after putting the manuscript aside for some time. Since I prefer to read electronically, I put what I hope is the final draft in my e-book reader to read for enjoyment. Whenever possible, this is best done a week or more after the final editing so I’m reading with a fresh perspective. Invariably, something will show up at this point as well.
• If the writer is self-publishing, the book will be proof-read at least twice: after the design is completed and after the book is typeset. Many of my clients like me to proofread at these stages, but others prefer to do this themselves.

Since I strive to meet each client’s individual needs, I remain flexible. This is a general outline of how I usually work, but if you choose me as your editor and prefer changes, I’ll be glad to do what I can to accommodate your requests. Other editors may work differently – understand and agree on how you will work together before you hire an editor.

Please share your experiences – as an editor or an author who has worked with an editor. If you have questions, ask in a comment. I will answer, either in a comment or in a new post.

[tags]editing, working with an editor[/tags]

Working with a Professional Editor: Part 1 – Finding the Right Editor

How much do you charge to help with editing of a manuscript? How does this work? I’ve never used the service of a professional editor before so maybe you could guide me on the inner workings of such a relationship.

Stephen Hopson asked this question in a comment on my post Inspiration: Two Heroes to Admire and Emulate.

Stephen’s question merited a longer answer than a comment, and if one person asks a question, usually other people are wondering the same thing. I’m answering the question in two posts to cover the topic thoroughly.

Each relationship between a writer and an editor is unique, and many editors work differently than I do. If what I say conflicts with your experience, please share what you know or ask any questions you have in a comment.

Details about how I work can be found in Information for Clients. In this series, I will approach the process from the writer’s perspective.

The first step of the process is to find the right editor. You may want to consider two or three editors to determine which is the best for you.

Ask for referrals from other authors and bloggers you trust. Search the Internet for “editor+____” filling in the blank with the genre or subject of your book. Visit social networking sites to look for blogs about editing. Contact a local writers group or ask teachers and librarians who they know.

After you have several prospects, find out more about them and interview them, either by e-mail or phone.

In determining whether an editor is the best one for you and your project, consider the following:

• Does the editor have the technical skills you need? Editing skill includes not only knowledge of grammar, punctuation, and usage, but also familiarity with style guides and conventions needed for your project. Ask for references, testimonials, and samples of work. Often you can find the information on the editor’s Web site or blog. For example, you will find information about me on the about page, in the information documents linked above and on the about page, on the testimonials page, and on my main Web site.
• Does the editor have experience in projects similar to yours? Different editors specialize in different kinds of work. I do a lot of business editing – proposals, letters, manuals, and reports – but I specialize in working with authors, both fiction and nonfiction (especially those who plan to self-publish). However, I’m not qualified to edit every kind of book – I stay away from genres and subjects that I find unfamiliar (fantasy, science fiction, children’s books) or offensive (erotica).
• Do you feel comfortable with the editor? This is especially important if your project is large, such as a book manuscript. If your project is a business letter, you won’t be working as closely with the editor and certainly not for such a long time. But if you’re getting a book ready for publication, you’ll spend a lot of time with the editor. My clients become my friends – you don’t necessarily have to be friends, but you certainly don’t want to grit your teeth every time you have to deal with your editor.
• Is the editor as passionate about your project as you are? Your book is your baby, and you should trust it only to someone who believes in it and wants its success as much as you do. Read through my archives and you’ll find a number of posts about my client’s books. I’m as excited and proud of them as I am of my own work. Although my passion about the project grows as I work on it, I don’t want to edit any book I don’t really love and believe in.
• Will the editor provide the level of editing you want and need? Some editors only correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage. Others, like me, look at plot and characterization in fiction and at content and organization in nonfiction. For example, in a current project, I moved several scenes and deleted the first four chapters of a novel. I did this only after lengthy discussion with the writer, of course. After I explained my rationale, he agreed the first few chapters were backstory and not really needed and the story flowed much better when the scenes were moved. Of course, that also meant that some of the backstory that was relevant had to be woven into the storyline. The manuscript was very different after editing, but the story was unchanged.

• How will the editor make or suggest changes? Some editors still work the old-fashioned way by marking edits in red ink on a hard copy of the manuscript. Some send a separate list of recommendations for the author to incorporate. I make changes directly in the manuscript using Word’s Track Changes. The author can see exactly what I did and either accept or reject the change. I also use comments liberally, especially at the beginning of the project, to explain what I’ve done or to ask for clarification. I’ll cover more about this in the next post, but you need to know how the editor will mark changes before you can decide who to hire.

• Will the editor improve your work without destroying your voice? Your editor should suggest changes that make your book better – otherwise you wouldn’t need an editor. However, an editor should never change your writer’s voice; in fact, a good editor will help you find your own voice and ensure that it shines through your story. My goal is to make my client’s work sound like them – only better. To ensure that I understand what the client wants, I give a free sample edit to every author who considers me for a project. I ask for a representative sample of the work – about five pages for a book-length manuscript – to edit so the client can see exactly what I will do.
• How much will the editor charge? Editing prices vary widely. I gave some ranges in What are your prices for writing and editing services … and how much value do you give? I charge by the hour rather than by the word or page because there is such a variation in the amount of editing different manuscripts require. I give an estimate based on the sample edit but make sure the client understands it is an estimate. If I discover a major plot problem two-thirds of the way through the novel or a hole in logic near the end of a nonfiction book, I may have to revise my estimate to help the author resolve the problem. Usually I stay within the estimate, and I always keep the author informed if it looks like I might need more time. You should certainly feel confident that the price of editing fits your budget, but I don’t recommend that you base your choice of an editor solely on price. Consider the value you will receive.

In the next post, I will discuss how you will work with the editor you have chosen.

Related Posts:

Who Needs an Editor?
Ten Tips for Self-Editing
Self-Publishing Primer: Part 11 – How much does self-publishing cost?
Self-Publishing Primer: Part 12 – What do I need to do and when do I need to do it?

[tags]editing, choosing an editor[/tags]

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