Editing

What to expect if I edit your book

1. Please provide the book in Word. All changes will be tracked using track changes in Word.
2. I will return a version with an amended title, to distinguish it from the version you give me.
3. On my first pass, using track changes I will fix obvious typos and leave lots of comments about what works, what’s confusing, what could be edited if you want, what directions you might want me to explore, etc.
4. After accepting or rejecting any changes I made, and leaving answers to comments, you will send the book back to me.
5. On my second pass, still using track changes, I’ll make edits to fit our comment conversation. At this point I will probably email you with further questions and examples, so I can fine-tune my editing to your writing voice. The file I return to you will probably represent my third or fourth pass.
6. I would expect the whole process to take perhaps a couple of quick-fix passes after this.

What to expect if I format your print book

1. Please provide all documents in Word; please send pictures in separate files, and include instructions on where to place them.
2. Please give me the answers to the following questions, if possible. Otherwise we can discuss them later with sample pages, but this will take longer.
   1. Do you want a contents list?
   2. Do you want page numbers – top, bottom, center, side?
   3. Do you want chapters/stories/poems to start on new pages?
   4. Do you want them to start on right-hand pages?
   5. Do you want headers to list the book title, section name, chapter/story title, author name…?
   6. Do you have a preferred font?
   7. Do you have a preferred font size ?
   8. Do you have images?
   9. Do you want me to convert your images to black and white for printing?
3. On my first pass, I will combine the files, set up sections and preliminary page headers, insert any images (still in color), and rationalize the text fonts and styles.
   1. If you have double spaces after periods, spaces or tabs to delineate paragraphs, or blank lines after paragraphs, the process will take longer.
   2. If you have documents written in multiple different formats the process will take longer.
   3. Also, if you have complicated requirements for your images, the process will take longer.
4. I will send a pdf version of the new file for you to inspect.
   1. We can make decisions about fonts and sizes at this point – I can send more pages in different styles if you wish.
   2. We can change the locations of pictures as needed.
   3. We can discuss headers and footers, contents lists, etc. and anything else you feel needs to be addressed.
5. On my second pass, I will make appropriate changes and produce a preliminary version of the final document. This may take more than one pass.
   1. If you have pictures and need them converted to black and white, I will do that at this stage.
6. Once the preliminary document is approved, I will work on removing and rationalizing widows and orphans, cleaning up page appearances, etc.
7. Once the final document is approved, you will have a pdf file ready to upload to Createspace.

What to expect if I format your e-book

1. Please provide the document in Word.
2. Please let me know if you want a kindle or smashwords version.
3. Please indicate preferred locations for pictures.
4. Pictures will be inserted centered, with text above and below. I don’t have the software for anything more sophisticated in e-book formatting.
5. Sections/chapters/poems/etc will start on new pages on kindle, but will be separated by blank lines on Smashwords. (I’ve not done a nook or ipad version yet, but I’m happy to learn.)
6. I will test uploading on kindle and view the result on various kindle devices.