THE Group for Authors! discussion

Hi,

I'm and indie author and I'm looking for someone to help me edit my two contemporary romance books, Finding Pride (60,427 word count - 296 pages) and Discovering Pride (56,599 word count - 287 pages).

I have a few people who help me out, but I'm still having reviews saying there are issues with run-on sentences and grammar problems.

I would love to find another author who wants me to do the same. Just another pair of eyes to help clean up some small issues.

I'm not looking to pay anyone, so please don't respond if you're trying to sell your service.

Please email me if you are interested and I will provide a digital copy. Serious inquiries only please.

[email protected]

Hi Jill,

Have you tried using the free website, Critique Circle? I'm a member and use it frequently to trade crits with other writers. I really like the way the site is set up, and I think the collective input has upped my writing another notch. I've tried other crit sites and wasn't nearly as happy as with CC's.

Another plus to using that site is it's international, many of the members live in other countries, so if you ever need input on locales/customs, the forums are a great resource. :)

Hi Alex,

Thanks! I'm getting an account now and trying it out.
Thanks for the info.


Alex wrote: "Hi Jill,

Have you tried using the free website, Critique Circle? I'm a member and use it frequently to trade crits with other writers. I really like the way the site is set up, and I think the c..."

Alex, this site is great for small writing.. I've submitted half of my first chapter for review...

I would still love to send an entire book to someone and have them help edit the small stuff.

So, if there are any other authors out there that want to do a book to book ratio edit, just let me know.

Thanks!

Alex wrote: "Hi Jill,

Have you tried using the free website, Critique Circle? I'm a member and use it frequently to trade crits with other writers. I really like the way the site is set up, and I think the c..."

Actually, you can use CC for entire books edits. There are several ways you can go at it. If you've already got the book written (which it sounds like), you can go on the forums and send a message asking for someone that would be interested in a full MS crit trade (someone might even offer to do the full without trading).

For maximum exposure, but the slowest method, you can submit large chunks of your MS, but have to crit other people's work to earn credits for each submittal (you get one freebie for joining). The credits given for critting are based on the length of the work, with the max credit being 2 credits for 3,000 words+.

If you join CC with an upgraded membership ($10/mo), you can post in the private critique queue, and set up the whole book on the front end, and fellow critters will crit it at their own pace.

Best of luck with however you go at it. I know from spending quite a bit of time on CC, most beneficial part of critiques/editing comes from trading crits with a couple people you click with, and who write in similar genre(S).

Cool. Thanks Alex, I will try that.

Alex wrote: "Actually, you can use CC for entire books edits. There are several ways you can go at it. If you've already got the book written (which it sounds like), you can go on the forums and send a messag..."

Are you a member of RWA? They have 'crit trading' requests in the forum posts on RWA all the time.

No, I would love to be, but at this time I can't even afford the membership. hahahaha Soon, I will make enough to justify the cost. (I hope!)



Alex wrote: "Are you a member of RWA? They have 'crit trading' requests in the forum posts on RWA all the time."

Have you tried the 'Grammerley.com' site? I find it quite useful for grammar correction, even if I don't understand all of the terminology ('squinting modifiers' is a good one!). You sign up (it's free) and then copy and paste sections of your book (I find 10 pages at a time is more than enough), choose the category and it will search your text for grammatical errors.

Thanks Elaine,

Good site to use.

Elaine wrote: "Have you tried the 'Grammerley.com' site? I find it quite useful for grammar correction, even if I don't understand all of the terminology ('squinting modifiers' is a good one!). You sign up (it's ..."

Hi Jill and Elaine, I am also looking for a new editor, I paid an editor to edit my first book and there were still errors. So then I found and amazing editor at Aptara, his name is Paul Selfa. He made excellent suggestions and really improved my book.

I will take a look at Grammerley.com and Critique Circle they sound interesting

Tony

Elaine wrote: "Have you tried the 'Grammerley.com' site? I find it quite useful for grammar correction, even if I don't understand all of the terminology ('squinting modifiers' is a good one!). You sign up (it's ..."

Thanks Elaine always learning something new!

Thank you all for the great tips. Alex I will look into the Critique Circle and Elaine I will look into Grammerley as well. Jill, I also work as a medical and legal interpreter and sometimes I am asked to proof read a translation, so you might look for a proof reader. I would happily volunteer to read and check your book, but I am working hard on typing mine (I wrote it on long hand and am 1/4 of the way there) and need to finish it before I can undertake another project. I will be checking in later and if I am done and you are still looking, I would love to trade with you. Best luck in the meantime! Saskia