It’s that murder mystery I am writing. I am getting really close to the point where I have to stop posting chapters… because I don’t want to give the ending away… because I want to sell copies when it is done.
I had fun writing it while you watched. I really enjoyed putting a bunch of you in there. (If you missed your chance to pick a name to put in the book, sorry, but I did posts asking for them)… I am also sorry if your character ended up something other than you were expecting. I should warn you that if you want to be in book five of the sci-fi series, you could end up as an alien or who knows what else? In the murder mystery, one of you ended up being a hooker… you know who you are… And she is surprisingly okay with that.
Now here is where I need help. The nice lady who is editing my sci-fi books charges me money. Not a lot, but some. And right now, I don’t have any money. If one of you wants to edit the murder mystery novel for free, then not only will you get to find out who the killer is before anybody else, but I will give you a whole big page at the beginning of the book that says thank you, with your name and blog info and whatever else you want in there. And I will send you a free signed copy of the book when I get some.
If nobody edits the book, I may not be able to publish it until after the other two books in the sci-fi series, because I have to wait for my daughter to have time to do it, and she is busy. Or maybe somebody out there knows how to send a book to the… never mind… it will all work out.
Pouring My Art Out 
I’m glad to see you got a big response to your request for editing. I would have done it for an editing credit in the book. I have an editing credit on a 112 page paper for the city which was really hard because I didn’t know anything about traffic patterns or different road surfaces. But luckily I caught a huge error which could have ruined the validity of the paper (matter of misplaced decimal point which led to a confusion about a percentage). I’m glad I was able to help out with the info. about London cabbies – don’t forget to re-write!
I think I fixed it already. I have two people each doing three chapters right now. Still got more, but I know how busy you are…
It’s a tad amusing what you discover when you ask. Imagine how willing I am to help edit when someone actually charges you for it. Heck! I might as well pay you to grant me the honour of editing your work.
I like that idea.
Hahahaha…. anyway, send to krystophyr@yahoo.com when the thing is ready.
Wait, first you have to win the contest… nice try.
Hahahaha… smartypants.
Read the fine print next time.
I’ll edit it. Just tell me what to do.
I love the fact that because you are from a country other than America, I have more faith in your English language skills, grammar, spelling and so forth than I would from someone born here…
All you would need to do is wait a couple weeks for me to finish the novel… maybe a couple weeks after Christmas, and then when I email it to you, you edit it, and then send it back… and then we wait for my kid to send it to the publisher… that could be the longest wait… then I order one copy to look for typos, and to see if they spelled your name right on the dedication page… which will be cool because you are already in the book, and I can do a short paragraph about that, then I order more, then I sign one and mail it the other side of the world which will cost more than having the lady I know just edit it here, I bet… ha
😀
I’m all for it Mr Browne.
That would be pretty awesome.
I should warn you that I haven’t edited a book before.
I’m just offering to do it for the fame. or infamy. Depends on how bad a job I do.
Well, we can test it easily enough… the first chapter is on the blog. Play ‘spot the stupid mistakes’. We can even turn it into a contest here. I repost it, and see who can come up with the most changes needed.
Sure. I’m sure there are plenty of people with nothing better to do.
😀
In this country, you might be surprised…
I was kidding.
Now we need a sarcasm font and a kidding font.
Yes, we certainly do.
Was that sarcasm or a joke???
🙂 😀
I’ll edit it.
Really? Are you good at editing?
I can spell. Trent reckons I can write. I can let you know if I can’t understand what is written. (Up to you to write it differently if you want!) If there’s anything that doesn’t read with a flow, or bits that come out of nowhere, or disappear without mention I can point them out. If that’s called editing I can do that. I won’t write your words for you. I can punctuate. The final check and proof will be up to you, before sending it to print. If that’s the sort of thing you want, then yes. I can read your stuff. I quite like reading your murder mystery, surprisingly. That is a compliment, and I wouldn’t edit anyone’s work that I didn’t like to read.
As long as you can punctuate and spell, that is pretty much it.
Cool. I’m good with that.
Cause I can’t do either.
Now, that’s not entirely true, however I do understand the creative writer’s resistance to editing… (my daughter writes)
No, I am just bad at it.
If you say so, although I notice you said so in seven perfectly spelled and punctuated words… 😉
I have spell checker on the computer. It stopped working once and had to type like a moron or end up looking like a moron.
I see…
You could just pay me, if it would ease your conscience. I have heard of where an author will pay an artist for illustrations. He sets an amount, say $300. Then when the royalties come in for his book, he pays an agreed percentage, up until the $300 is paid off.
I don’t use spell-checker. And I have done proof-reading for a printing company in my years before motherhood. It’s a picky finickity job. It paid a good hourly rate. I am certainly not wanting to charge you normal prices.
Put it this way. If my books don’t sell by January, I will have to look at doing other work. If I have someone to give me a current reference for proofreading, then perhaps I could do that work from home, and my little family will not be broken up.
The reference is worth a great heap of gold to me, dear Uncle Art. I am not after your money, I am actively seeking work.
Well this isn’t going to come out anytime near January. My daughter is just publishing the second sci fi book. She will want some time off.
It doesn’t have to come out in January. I feel like I am arguing. I would like to have done some of the proofreading by then. It’s okay, whatever.
I’m just saying there is no rush. But I could send you a few and you can just do them whenever. I am writing the big finish right now. But if it is too short, I might go back and add some new stuff. I can’t decide. I am freeking out…
No need to freeek out. Do send some through and I will do them whenever, and send them back. 🙂
You still need to win the contest…
You’ll probably find everyone finds the same typos.
However, this is a good thing, because professional publishers have about 4-5 people check a book before final proof is complete. You could even have sets of people working on 3-4 chapters at the same time, and the whole book would be finished reeeeealllly quick! 😉
You are a genius!
What?? Me?? A genius? Uh-oh, one step closer to insanity… sigh.
The two go hand in hand
…skipping down the street singing, “La, la, la.”
I just bet you are.
How many pages? I might know someone.
It should be about 100 typed pages when I finish.
That’s not too bad. I’ll call my friend in Seattle
I have relatives there… I love that city… you know this is a free gig, right?
Of course. If she can’t do it I could give it a shot. I left her a msg. She should get back to me soon. I read ch. 16. Obviously it takes place in England. A war was eluded to and Imperial HQ. If I’m not mistaken– hasn’t been an Imperial anything in England since Queen Victoria. So, is this a fictional time period?
No… world War Two… London… very real…
Love to help, but,my editing skills leave a whole heap to be desired LOL I hope you find the right someone soon and can finish your book 🙂
Me too… because I can barely spell.
Ha ha! 🙂
I wish I was kidding.
Now, we both know you are 🙂
If you insist.
🙂