Blogiversary Winners & an Announcement

Ta da! I made it to the three year mark for blogging. Appropriately, we had enough comments on the Blogiversary Contest post to earn three winners!

Yay! Or boo… Depending on if you’re one of the winners or not. *sad face*

I wish everyone could be a winner. Seriously. But random.org does its random thing without caring about what we want. *sigh*

What’s on Your Writing Worksheet Wish List?

You all are the reason I blog, and I’m so grateful for your friendship and support over the years. I’d love to do something for everyone as a thank you for being here.

So in the comments below, let me know your wish list for any writing-related worksheets or checklists you’d love to see. If I can work my magic wand…

*waves wand* Ffffsssbt. Er, let’s try that again. *smacks wand and waves again* *sparkles*

As I was saying, if I can work my magic wand, I’ll see what I can do about creating your wish and posting it here on my blog in the coming weeks. Think of me as your writing worksheet fairy godmother. *grin*

To Edit or Not to Edit—The Conversation Continues

The entries for the Blogiversary Contest weighed heavily toward requests for a beta read, and some of the commenters mentioned they’d be willing to pay for my services. That reinforced a post from last month, when I mentioned that I have an uncommon talent for identifying the broken pieces in stories. In that post, I wondered if people would be interested in my editing services.

The encouragement in the comments of that post—especially from those who have received my in-depth feedback in a beta read—along with the comments in the contest post, helped me reach a decision. As my time allows, I’d like to help others with their stories, so I’m launching editing services.

Announcing: Editing Services!

I’ll be offering several levels of developmental edits: editorial letter only, editorial letter and in-manuscript comments, and a full edit along with book doctor assistance for broken stories (which includes a follow-up phone call). My prices are in the normal range, but developmental edits are never cheap. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to do this if I couldn’t take the time to do the edits well.

To help with budgeting, I’ll also be offering several levels of book doctor story analysis: synopsis (includes critique), story outline, and an all-of-the-above-and-beat-sheets-too feedback session (which includes a follow-up phone call). These story analyses won’t find every issue, but they’re a more economical way to receive high-level feedback identifying many of the broken elements of a story and suggesting ways to fix them.

I’ll be honest, this latter category is an experiment. I’m not aware of other editors or book doctors attempting to diagnose and prescribe fixes to broken stories based on other documents. The quality of my analysis will completely depend on the quality of the material provided by the author.

I’m willing to try this experiment so I can offer some lower priced services too, especially for broken stories. Ideally, the author would be able use the analysis to fix many of the major issues before spending a lot of money on a developmental edit.

And Now… The Blogiversary Winners!

And finally, the news you’ve all been waiting for. Here are the winners of my Third Annual Blogiversary Contest:

Christina Chambers

Pauline Baird Jones

ChemistKen

Congratulations to you all! You should receive an email from me within the next day, so start thinking about what prize you want. Should I be worried? *smile*

What’s on your wish list for writing worksheets or checklists? Do you have suggestions for improvements to my current worksheets? What do you think about my plan for Book Doctor Story Analysis services? Do you think it can be done—and be helpful? Do you have questions about my editing services?