Kia ora,
Last week I introduced coffee/tea/beverage chats that you can book with me. (More on the chats here.)
The other, even better, freebie I offer is free sample edits. I’ve talked a bit about them before, but here are the details.
Sample edits work in two ways. For me, they help me see where your manuscript is at and what kind of help I can offer. More importantly, for you, you get to see my comments, changes, and suggestions on your own writing.
This gives you an introduction to my editing style and personality. A try-before-you-buy scenario, if you will. And that’s super important because you’re going to be working through all those edits on a story that’s personal and meaningful to you. Before that happens, you need to know that we’re a good fit.
Pair the sample edit with a chat, and you’re getting a great introduction to me and my style. Plus, I love talking to authors and getting to know you and your story more!
The sample edit will show you:
- what my editing – comments, suggestions, changes – look like on 1,000 words of your own writing
- context for those changes so you know I’ve made them for a reason
- how small changes to word choice can deepen your storytelling
- the type of encouragement and support you can expect on a full edit
When should you get a sample edit? When you’ve done as much revising and self-editing as you can and you don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere anymore.
If you’re at that point, send your manuscript my way and get that initial feedback.
Got questions? Reply to this email or book a chat. I’m always happy to point you in the right direction.
Cheers,
Deborah
PS. I read this fantastic article titled How do I get my book published? 5 experts share their top tips. It’s written for an Australian audience, so here are my New Zealand takes on a couple of the points.
2. Get involved with the writing community. The New Zealand Society of Authors is a great membership for New Zealand-based writers. They also coordinate in-person writing groups.
3. Follow publishers you like on social media. I also suggest checking out the Publishers Association of New Zealand membership list. You’ll get a great idea of what genres publishers are interested in and who the actual people are. From there, you can check out their submissions guidelines.
📚 What I’m reading
Silverland: A Winter Journey Beyond the Urals by a legend of the genre, Dervla Murphy. This one’s going to take me a while. The typeface is veeeeery small and come evening, my eyes are veeeeery tired. But I’m enjoying Dervla’s travels so far. And I’m glad I’m not the one who had to deal with Russian bureaucracy.
📅 Availability
Booking projects from September. Get in touch if you want a sample edit so you can see what editing can do for your story.
✍️ Ways to work with me
Read the Base Camp Writing blog
Check out my self-publishing guides
Discover more from Deborah Shaw Adventure Editing
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.