Editor, Proofreader and Researcher for hire!

[RheaZeamoll]

Note: Edited on 5/3/2014 to revise some parts and add the discounts.

Hello! You can call me Rhea, and I'm a 22 year old female veterinary student, queer identified. Online, I'm an aspiring writer, an editor and an artist. I'm also a passionate hobbyist (read: gaze at pinterest boards for hours) and after lurking about for months, I've finally made up my mind to honor my favorite author's suggestion to offer myself as an editor.

I'm a fairly nice honest critic, as in, I would be point out your errors, but I would give thumbs-up for your especially good work as well. I have 7-8 years of experience as a writer, and 3 years of it as a beta reader and an editor. As you have probably seen from my sidebar, I'm a non-native English speaker, but I'm very fluent, to the point that I've actually become bad in my native language.

So....to the topic!

I would like to offer myself as a semi-professional editor, proofreader and/or researcher for your upcoming projects. Paid positions are preferred, since I have need for the money for personal reasons, but for noncommercial projects that catch my fancy, and wouldn't cut too much into my college time, I'm up for you too!

What I'd like to work in: Ah, that's complicated. My favorite genres are fantasy, sci-fi, speculative, reality, romance, GSRM, young-adult, highschool and otome, but I would gladly read any gem from any genre. I insist it's PG-13, though. No amount of gore would flinch me (look at what I do irl xD) but horror, I read and work on it only in bright daylight. Mild sexual content is okay, but nothing too graphic. I have a soft spot for sweet and romantic GxG.

What I would NOT work in: Racist, sexist or homophobic material, unless they're in negative light AND as a necessary part of the plot itself.

My assets:

• - Veterinary student

• - Writer and Editor with years of experience

• - Aced English back-to-back for nine years, Highest marks in English Literature

• - Science enthusiast - practical and evolving knowledge in research, biology, medicine, toxicology, physics, chemistry, psychology, anthropology, astronomy, scientific method, engineering, design and architecture

• - Theorist, good in predicting outcomes by considering all possible causes and their conjoined effect; a handy tool in world building

• - Variable but detailed knowledge on sensational history, law, cultures and traditions, sports techniques, world religions, early civilizations (esp. Egypt and Greece-Rome), child care, performing arts, astrology, numerology and occult arts, supernatural and mythical phenomena

• - Data-happy researcher, would go to any lengths to get facts as right as they are known

• - Experienced hobbyist of cookery, arts and crafts, and singing

What I will do:

• * Only one job done at a time. If I cannot accept a job at a given time due to real life concerns (*cough*college exams*cough*), I would inform it here first. Any undertaken projects will be finished before that, and in unpredictable situations I will inform as soon as possible to arrange for a solution.

• * For Editing and proofreading, I work in word documents (MS Word or Google docs) for their versatility.

1. Editor

Speed: 3,000 - 10,000 words per week. My goal is that not only the story is in its best shape, but the writer has grown a little wiser at the end of the project as well. For this, I use my own legend* in editing so the writer can see the errors and fixes for themselves. However, if that is not required, it can be taken into the contract, and the speed would increase accordingly. From the second revision onwards, of course, I would be able to work faster.

At the end of my work, your novel would have,

• - Correct grammar, punctuation and usage

• - Clear, sensible sentences that best deliver the feel of the story.

• - Consistency, fluency and fluidity of story telling.

• - Ability of reaching to a diverse audience, even if it follows a highly specific storyline.

• - Accuracy of facts, cause and effect, and true to known physical laws of the world of the story.

In world building, I can help the author consider various aspects of the new world and point out how they would influence the story in tiny, but important ways that we tend to often overlook. With a little back story, I can provide plot insight as well as look at it from the reader's point of view and help keep it mysterious but clear. I'm very good in providing possible causes and explanations when you're stuck, with my own imagination that usually runs wilder than a sugar high dog.

Recommended for writers and producer-writers.

Payment:

• - Substantive editing - 1 CENT per word on the first draft.

• - Copy editing - 0.5 CENT per word on the first draft.

• - Upon receiving the file, I would inform the price depending on the word count as indicated on the word processor. At completion of 25% of the editing (of the first draft), I require a 25% of the full payment as an advance, at completion of 50% of editing, another 25% of the payment, and the last 50% at the completion of the first draft.

• - I'm willing to edit and proofread over several versions until both the writer and I are completely satisfied with the product, and as such, the second, third and fourth revisions will be done completely free.

• - However, if the revisions are done more than five times, I would have to charge again for the job as if it was unrevised, for every fifth revision, starting from the fifth time.

*Legend

• Yellow highlight - all changes

• Slashed - errors

• Bold purple slashed - delete this word

• Slashed and rewritten in Bold pink - correction of the errors

• Underlined and rewritten in Bold green - Better wording of the same

• Italized blue - explanations, facts, inconsistencies pointed out as comments

• Italized orange - Editor's own comments and reactions

• BONUS: Highlighted in blue - for the writer - to point out the places they want specially considered.

• Highlighted in green - suggestions for the above.

• Proofreader

Speed: 3000-15000 words per week, depending on how much work has to be done.

My work would be mostly similar to the above, depending on your wishes. I would not use the full legend; just the yellow highlight to mark the places that I have changed. I would also comment on the inconsistencies and the flow, and correct them accordingly. Basically, my proofreading is more or less the same as what I do as a copy editor.

Recommended for producers who themselves are not the writer.

Payment:

• - 0.5 CENT per word on the first draft.

• - As above, the payment is required in 25%-25%-50% installments, and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th revisions are free. For the fifth revision and then every next fifth revision, it shall be charged again.

• Researcher

Speed: variable.

As said above, I'm happiest when surrounded with numerous, variably useful facts. (I have been called a walking encyclopedia more than once, from more than from one person. ) As such, I have an arsenal of data at your service, and means to find out more fast. So, as a researcher, I can be your other google, available for regular communication through facebook and skype. Also, as said above, I can be your sounding board to smooth out the wrinkles in the plot, sew in the hanging threads, foretell the questions from the reader (without having to consult a globe, too!) and help you hide the secrets.

Payment:

• - As my work cannot be quantified, the price will be negotiated between myself and you, upon the only condition that it is no less than US$10.

Payments and Discounts (for all packages)

Payment via PayPal only. While I have mentioned a standard, my prices are all negotiable.
However, the minimum price is 0.4 cents/word (USD); any less, and I have nothing left after the taxes. (*grrrrrr*)
BUT, listen on. For stories that exceed 10,000 words, a 10% discount will be added to every next full 10K words automatically. If you're working in a very tight budget and need even more space, the discount can be negotiated up to 20%, but no less.
In large projects in which even the installments are above US$1000, I would like to arrange a plan for shorter installments with you, so that I won't singlehandedly break your purse at once.

------

If you have reached this point, congratulations! Here's your complimentary ice bag for your oncoming headache. But, if it seems like that I'm that one person who you have been searching for all this time, (except romantically, I'm very blissfully taken :3) for your next story, then, drop me a line and tell me your story!

[Greeny]

Sounds like you really know what you're doing! Just one thing, I ran some quick numbers... at your pace, it will take you an entire year to edit a medium-sized Visual Novel. I thought you might want to know.

[Omniknight]

1 cent per word for an original composition is extremely expensive, especially considering you're not a professional......

[Tempus]

1 cent per word for an original composition is extremely expensive, especially considering you're not a professional......

Uh, let's be perfectly clear here: they are charging nothing compared to average professional editors. Google the rates for professional editors and halve them — they're still about ten times more than RheaZeamoll is charging.

Edit: and just for future reference: on average, every single person that has ever posted here in this subforum has charged basically nothing compared to the respective industry of the skill they're offering. And that's fine if they want to do it, but it really irks me when I see people complain about already cheap prices or PM myself or others with low-ball offers. This sense of entitlement (arising, I hope, from ignorance rather than just contempt for those offering services) is something that really needs to be confronted. Too many skilled people are afraid to charge something decent (for themselves) because they think no one will pay for it, which just isn't true. They think this because a bunch of well-meaning, know-nothing people in their lives and online constantly remind them of how little their skill is worth by trying to get them to do more for less or indirectly devaluing their abilities. It's bullshit, but if they believe it they'll end up cultivating a circle of friends, followers and clientèle who also don't understand their skill or respect it (or them) and so it'll become true for them. It's rocky starting out when no one knows you — that isn't helped in the least by people complaining about the already significantly discounted rates of those offering services.

[Omniknight]

Since I don't how much writing is worth just PM me with an offer and writing examples.

A good way to figure out estimated word count is hours times 15k-20k (average reading speeds per hour). So what you'd need is around 300k to 400k, though that also depends on the number of routes, reused script, ect.

Sadly, I'm too busy to help. Good luck though!

If I wasn't barred by a conflict of interest issue with my day job, I'd like to jump into something like this, especially if it's paid, but since you don't know how much writing is worth or how long the script needs to be, and Komi put up a word estimate for playtime, I thought you might want some numbers. This may be important if you intend to sell this as a commercial product (which I think you might be doing judging from the comments in your link).

When I write professionally, I accept a baseline of $0.06 US per word (it's the soon to be accepted standard in the science fiction and fantasy fiction writing community, bumping it up from the old $0.05/word). Payment by the word is important because the more a writers writes, the more they should be paid. If you had a script that is 300k-400k (which, by the way, is the size of a Game of Thrones book) you'd be looking at upwards of $18000. It sounds like a lot of money, but you probably want whoever you hire to write a 300k-400k monster to do it in less than a year, which would require a lot of time and sacrifice because living off $18000 for a year's work is not a lifestyle most people can take so your hypothetical writer will probably be holding down another job. Writing at NaNoWriMo speeds, 300k-400k would take a writer 6-8 months to draft, and then probably 2-3 months after to edit. It's a very time-intensive demand. Some people can do it, but those who can (and do it well), usually write full-time for a living and can ask for much higher than the baseline pay.

I know you didn't mention how quickly you wanted the script, but since it seems like you don't know much about the requirements for the job, this gives you an idea of the time involved.

You can make compromises, such as making the game shorter, reusing a lot of the script for the different branches, or paying less. You probably won't get anyone with professional experience if you pay less, but there are definitely skilled amateur writers out there who might be willing to do it for love of the genre, or a chance to get a writing credit. (At my worst payrate when I was in college and just starting out, you could extrapolate my requested pay to $750, but I probably would have turned it down due to the time commitment. Writing your own stuff for cheap is more fun that writing someone else's for cheap. My college self would also need three years to write 300k-400k words because she's not as fast as I am now.) Or you could get creative. A writer of any stripe might take a smaller fee in exchange for a share of the profits.

By the way, I apologize if I sound very blunt in this post. I am very glad that you are offering to pay your writer, but combined with Komi's post I don't think you knew what you were asking and I don't like the idea of some poor writer writing something the length of a of GoT book for a few bucks.

I know how difficult writing can be at times, because I myself am a professional writer. But trust me, 1 cent per word? That's 16% of what professional writers accept... I sincerely don't know, especially considering you'll have to pay $3500 for a 300k script......

[Asceai]

$3500 sounds like a reasonable sum for a thorough job proofing a really long script like that. I don't think it's an outrageous sum, although it would be out of the range of anyone creating a free work.

[SimonLayton]

I've worked with RheaZeamoll for a long time, and I can vouch that she's good at her job. But take my testimony with a grain of salt, since I've known her for years and worked with her closely. Rhea is reliable, thorough, and when I'm unsure of something, especially when it comes to fact-checking, research, and cause-and-effects in the subjects of the writing, I come to her. She's really good at explaining and theorizing. I especially like her job in editing and improving my latest work, and I trust she'll do the same with my other future projects.

[RheaZeamoll]

So many replies already! I'm really excited!!!

Let me clear up a few things, though. I'm sorry for any misunderstandings, and I must ask forgiveness for not telling about the planned discounts earlier. But I have edited the first post adding them now.

Just one thing, I ran some quick numbers... at your pace, it will take you an entire year to edit a medium-sized Visual Novel. I thought you might want to know.

I'm sorry for the error I made there, I should have said that 3000words/week is my absolute minimum. I'm a pretty fast reader actually, so...I can actually work much faster than that. I revised my first post to include my actual speed, thank you.

I can work even faster than that...but you'll have to really push me into a deadline for that. XD

1 cent per word for an original composition is extremely expensive, especially considering you're not a professional......

Uh, let's be perfectly clear here: they are charging nothing compared to average professional editors. Google the rates for professional editors and halve them — they're still about ten times more than RheaZeamoll is charging.

If you had a script that is 300k-400k (which, by the way, is the size of a Game of Thrones book) you'd be looking at upwards of $18000. It sounds like a lot of money, but you probably want whoever you hire to write a 300k-400k monster to do it in less than a year, which would require a lot of time and sacrifice because living off $18000 for a year's work is not a lifestyle most people can take so your hypothetical writer will probably be holding down another job. Writing at NaNoWriMo speeds, 300k-400k would take a writer 6-8 months to draft, and then probably 2-3 months after to edit. It's a very time-intensive demand. Some people can do it, but those who can (and do it well), usually write full-time for a living and can ask for much higher than the baseline pay.

I know how difficult writing can be at times, because I myself am a professional writer. But trust me, 1 cent per word? That's 16% of what professional writers accept... I sincerely don't know, especially considering you'll have to pay $3500 for a 300k script......

First of all, let me get some points on the record.

1. I have read on how I should price myself, both here in Lemma Soft and outside. Granted, they talk about art commissions, but they have valuable information that's true for every freelancer.
2. I have checked what other editors usually charge for their work, both professional and non-professional.
3. I have thought long and hard about these prices, and tried to be as fair as I could be with the charges, both to the writer/producer and myself. If you would mind scrolling up again, you would see the discounts I added at the end as well.
4. I have read the entire Game of Thrones series, and know that even GRRM is slugging along in his novels; no one knows when Winds of Winter might even get finished, not even the author.
5. I have participated in NaNoWriMo and won, and know how it completely devours your soul and everything you hold dear to write that much, that fast.

So, believe me, I know.

But, hear me out. If a story is the child of the writer, the editor is their teacher; someone who can take the story and not just correct their errors, but improve them, develop them, and return a grownup that can stand up on their own. A GOOD editor can make that happen. Yes, I might not be a professional editor with my livelihood depending on it, but I want to, and would do the best of my ability. I'm not boasting when I say that I can hold my ground.

If you have participated in NaNoWriMo, you would know that what comes out at the end of that grueling month...might be the next bestseller in the plot, but in the quality of writing.... Not yet. Now multiply that by six months, add the stress and frustration and all that fun stuff. I'll leave you to imagine what it looks like. But my job is to take that and make it good enough compete for that best seller, and I can do that. Not in the marketing, no, but in the quality, yes.

A good, thorough editing by a passionate editor who cares for that story, takes almost as long as it takes to be written. In my opinion, an editor has to think in both the writer's and reader's mind at once, because they're the one that connects the two sides.

So...I do think my prices are very reasonable.

Not convinced yet? Let's have a math lesson then. (LSF moderators, please forgive me.)

The Society for Editors and Proofreaders suggests minimum rates for professional freelance editors on an hourly basis. (values are converted to US$ for convenience.) Since my main services are substantive and copy editing, and I don't like math a lot, let's consider only those two.

Substantive Editing

Suggested minimum hourly rate: £29.60 = $49.93
Average number of pages edited in an hour: 7
Average number of words per page: 250
Therefore, suggested minimum pay per word: 49.93/(7x250) = $0.03 = 3 cents.

My rate per word: $0.01 = 1 cent.
My rate per word WITH FULL DISCOUNT: $0.008 = 0.8 cent.

Copy Editing

Suggested minimum hourly rate: £25.70 = $43.35
Average number of pages edited in an hour: 8
Average number of words per page: 250
Therefore, suggested minimum pay per word: 43.35/(8x250) = $0.02 = 2 cents.

My rate per word: $0.005 = 0.5 cent.
My rate per word WITH FULL DISCOUNT: $0.0004 = 0.4 cent.

Oh, and also...a 300K word script is ~1200 pages long. Don't forget that I'm also willing to work for free, in noncommercial projects that particularly grab my interest.

*bows and curtsies* And you're welcome.

[Greeny]

A 300k script is also quite a substantial Visual Novel. I worry sometimes that VNs these days are going for quantity over quality of story...

Anyways I ran my numbers again, and they check out.
So I guess I'm just pitching in to vouch for a certain financial make-sense?

[Rozume]

Wow, you're extremely professional about this. If didn't already have an editor (and if I had the money) I would hire you in a heartbeat.

I'm curious, do you do developmental editing?

[Omniknight]

Hmm......
A potential competitor......?

[RheaZeamoll]

Anyways I ran my numbers again, and they check out.
So I guess I'm just pitching in to vouch for a certain financial make-sense?

Thank you! I'm glad for your reassurance, and I solemnly swear to do my best. *crosses fingers*

Wow, you're extremely professional about this. If didn't already have an editor (and if I had the money) I would hire you in a heartbeat.

I'm curious, do you do developmental editing?

With pleasure! Developmental/Substantive editing is my favorite, to be honest. It's too bad that I came in too late...maybe you'd like to have me in your team for your next game?

Hmm......
A potential competitor......?

You know...I really wish you don't put it like that. I'm merely offering my skills of which I'm sure of; it's up to the creators to decide whom and what they want. There's enough competition in the market without the individuals taking up arms as well... Besides, we indie groups and freelancers ought to stick up for one another. If I was looking for competition, I would have signed up somewhere else, not here, and made it my livelihood, which I haven't. A bit of healthy competition is good, but as Tempus said, underpricing and exploitation is not.

[Caveat Lector]

Nobody around here is a true "competitor" and there is no "competition", we're more like a group of authors or painters who share our work and offer to better each other wherever we can. I might consider you if I get around to finishing up a proper draft, but good luck!

[Taleweaver]

This thread isn't about Omniknight and his services. Back to topic, please.