ISO: Editor & Beta - Genre: Modern Fantasy - (60.000+) Novel - Lon

[metajinx]

Hi guys/gals!

 

I'm working on two somehow similar stories I need help with, both are at 40.000+ Words right now, one is 2/3 edited and proofread, the other isn't (and won't be posted until it is). I honestly don't know how many more chapters I'll have to write to wrap it up, but the end result could very well be around 100k if bad comes to worse ^^

 

I'm looking for a person who can help me with:

• grammar and vocabulary checks (it's not much but as English is not my native language I sometimes write strange things )
• storyline/consistency/pointing out unclear or confusing plot points ("wait, wasn't he injured just before? How the hell could he climb that wall now?")
• getting me unstuck when the darkest hour once more strikes and nothing makes sense anymore (happens in between chapters)

I'd like to work on a chapter by chapter basis, so it could become a permanent setting in relation to a story, but I'm quite slow, so I don't want to call it "long-time" because it'd probably be something like once every month or two months. The initial load can be adjusted to the editor's wishes.

The grammar stuff is most important to me. I want to write idiomatic English, so it doesn't have to be 100% correct, but it should at least be understandable.

A few other things - I tend to write a lot of violence and harsh actions, and I need someone who actually likes that kind of dark stuff. I don't write physical rape, but blood and violence and near-death-experience are part of the package (as is romance by the way!). I also like to work with one or two persons on a steady basis, so it should be someone who will be available for more than one month, and I'm very, very open to criticism and harsh truths. I don't get disheartened easily

 

Software-wise I'm using Scrivener as my main writing tool, but I also have Open Office, so *.doc and *.odt are just perfect for me. I like the correction-mode of those standard writing programs, and I can work best with comments and side-notes for plot inconsistencies and brute force corrections for grammar stuff.

 

I have worked with an editor before and quite enjoyed it, but he/she ran out of free time unfortunately.

 

Here's an unedited snippet of "Unwilling" (my main project at this moment, 2/3 edited):
 

~*Harry*~

It had been silent for too long. Something was going on up there, Harry was sure of it. His new ‘friend’, Rayne, had foretold another visit by either himself or— much worse— Carl, but it had been hours since then, and nobody had come.

There had been faint movement upstairs some time ago, but now there was nothing but silence and darkness, and, quite honestly, Harry was sick of it and sick of being scared shitless.

Since his hands were bound together at the wrists behind his back and his legs weren’t shackled, he could sit up without any troubles, but he had yet to dare to get up and walk around. Fear was a powerful thing, able to keep a person glued to the spot for a long time, but fear’s power was starting to lose its influence on Harry. Now light and a plan to escape began to look more promising than waiting for fate to come get him.

Harry got up with a silent grunt. The echo of his own sound made his heart pound fiercely, but when a few seconds went by without the world exploding he decided to keep on being brave. Slowly Harry felt his way forward, heading for the spot where he had seen the light switch before, careful not to run into a wall. Every step and every sound seemed magnified a thousand times, but that had to be nerves, just nerves.

If it were Darwin in his place, he wouldn’t flinch and just walk over there, Harry mused, and had to suppress a squeak when his shoulder hit the wall next to the door. Whatever problems Darwin ran into, he always seemed to just fly through without a second thought, consequences be damned. And here Harry was, kidnapped by Rayne the Walmart werewolf, afraid of a dark cellar with the light switch just a step away. He felt pathetic.

 

 

 

 

And here's a snippet of my other story "Shapeshifter", that I'm working on in between (totally unedited):

"Wait!" I cried with upheld hands.

"What for? You're a done deal, mate." Mohawk rasped, the corners of his mouth twitching at some private joke, while he armed the gun, taking his time. It was a Beretta, a big, powerful handgun with a chromed muzzle, and it didn't look new or fake.

For a second I had to fight against the urge to throw up as my stomach clenched into a tight ball, fighting to get back my voice.

"Don't shoot damn it! I've got money, if that's what you want!" I snivelled while gasping for breath, still holding up my hands as if I could summon a bulletproof wall. The sudden fear for my life made my conscience laugh silently, but at the same time it felt intoxicating to drown in this panic. Was it like this when you loved your life?

Too tense to even shiver I watched the thoughts work behind Mohawk's eyes, face empty and composed even though he too was aware of the fact that someone would be dying soon. His facial expression made my cock twitch. What would this man do to me if I brought him into my home? Would he even consider the money instead of the kill? Surely he'd been paid to come here and kill me. No one would kill a boy just because he'd been rude, now, would they?

"What kinda money?" Mohawk drawled after an eternity, gun never wavering. His steel-blue eyes pierced into mine with an intense gaze.

A short pause as my cock tried to pierce through the leather of my trousers, then I estimated the content of my safe, and purred with a hopeful lilt in my voice: "Three thousand dollars."

 

 

[alishead]

Hey Meta,

If you're still looking and don't mind working with a fairly new editor, I'm available.

I worked with the MM Romance Group as an editor for Love's Landscapes this year. Currently, I'm editing for Ariieboy, and I'm also working as a proofreader for Dreamspinner Press.

 

Please let me know.

[craftingmom]

I could help too, if you would like.  I've done a lot of editing as well having majored in English Education, so I can help with grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc.  I have Unwilling already marked as a story I want to read, and dark themes don't bother me in the least.

[metajinx]

Thank you for your replies! I sent PM's to both of you with a lot of questions and I'm really looking forward to get to work

[scotty94]

If you fancy a third set of eyes to iron out the little nooks and crannies I am your man, I do a lot of beta reading for several author on this site and I really like the concept of you story if you want send me PM and I'll get back to you ASAP after all 3 sets of eyes are better then 2.

 

Just to let you know I am not an editor, so I will be the last point of call after all the editing as been done and you ready to post.