Anybody out there with editing skills

[MaryF]

Hi, after endless and positive requests for me to publish a book of my blathering... I will be doing so, it means putting all my blogs into a book from start to finish, without them losing their wittering flavour too much. My plan would be I guess not knowing about publishing to if not in paper book form to do so in another way. I would donate 30 percent of every book sold to Thyroid UK, I hope that sounds fair as I write on here, and little old me who does not have a job could perhaps earn a few pennies... Can I edit?.... NO despite having always won the class award for precis most weeks at school, now I seem to just make them even longer. Really it would be a way of helping TUK earn funds, from the 30 percent... answers on a postcard please. Who knows if I manage to do this, it may give me the confidence to release the most beastly institutional based tale of hilarious corruption ever to have made glasses steam up in the UK.

MaryF

[Marz]

Sorry MaryF - I haven't a clue ! Good luck with it all and I look forward to making a purchase

[Apriljm76]

I have some editing experience but I'm in the US

[MaryF in reply to Apriljm76]

Thank you so much, would probably be better to have somebody in the UK, but I so appreciate your reply xxx MaryF

[hymermad]

I hope you find someone who could edit your wonderful witterings. I will certainly buy your book. X

[MaryF in reply to hymermad]

Thank you I get so many inquiries.... obviously I can't pay anybody it would have to be a good deed so that TUK made some money... who knows, it could bring in a bit. MaryF

[Hidden]

Does it need editing!!! Love your writing style as it is!

[MaryF in reply to Hidden]

Probably not a heavy edit, more of a tidy up, petitions removed etc etc... but thanks. MaryF

[LuxN]

I am an author but my editing is done in house by my publisher (I pay for it via royalties though). My advice is to self pub on Amazon. If you want a physical hard copy then use Createspace. If you are happy with an ebook which is also available as a paperback through print on demand, then you can use Kindle publishing.

My advice is to keep it in blog form, then you won't have the headaches about paragraph breaks, chapter length, etc.

Another bonus of doing an e-version is that if you spot an error after you publish, you can easily go in and edit your book and republish. Also, higher royalties on Amazon Kindle.

Smashwords is another place you can self pub and their books appear on all of the major retailer sites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google, etc.

[MaryF in reply to LuxN]

I probably just need help with proof reading... thanks . MaryF

[Jazzw]

Self publishing in the UK is easy to do. One of the best sites - and easiest to use - is Smashwords. I'll come back and paste a link later. Alternatively, you can set up an account on Amazon's Kindle Development Platform (again, I'll add a link when I'm not on a train!).

With Smashwords, having polished up your prose to a standard you're happy with, you copy and paste the document into the special tool provided, it does some crunching (they have another term which I can't remember now - meatgrinder??) and it publishes it as an ebook - very exciting! What's nice about that is that you can buy the ebook from Smashwords, or sell through one of its delivery partners, which includes the Apple bookstore, Barnes and Noble, Kobo - and several others. You can download the book to a Kindle reader or to any ebook reader. Smashwords keeps a small percentage of the sale price and every quarter you can be paid the rest - mine is paid into a PayPal account.

It's imperfect, as both sites are US-based and you pay 30% withholding tax automatically. On the tax front, by rights if you start selling books you're trading and should register your self-employment with HMRC.

It does give you a great sense of achievement though, seeing your book selling, getting comments - worth it!

[Jazzw in reply to Jazzw]

smashwords.com

kdp.amazon.com

[MaryF in reply to Jazzw]

Thanks I had looked into this, and they do take quite a whack... MaryF

[Jazzw in reply to MaryF]

There are ways of getting it back, but it's not straightforward.

I've not found a cheaper alternative to Smashwords or Amazon - there doesn't seem to be a UK equivalent (well, unless you manage to sell your wares to a proper publisher. You never know!).

It depends if you want to make any real money for yourself out of it, or just have it as a break-even hobby (which is how I see it). Like you, I was pestered by readers of a site on which I used to write to publish in book form, so I did. I've never made mega bucks - perhaps a couple of hundred pounds a year at best (and that's after tax) but it was never really about making money out of it - I have a full time job and these days have little to no time to write anyway, so it's not an issue.

[MaryF in reply to Jazzw]

thanks... I can't see a fortune with this, but if it ticked over and made some money for TUK as well as me that would be great and also make me get on with a 'DREADFUL' novel that I have started. M x

[LuxN in reply to Jazzw]

Just a word on the withholding tax, you won't pay it if you complete a W8BEN after obtaining an ITIN from the US. It is a complicated process that takes weeks and involves sending your passport to the American Embassy in London, but it has been done by many UK based authors and there are lots of step by step blogs that explain the process in detail. If you earn any kind of decent income from your writing, it is well worth the time and effort to sort out.

[MaryF in reply to LuxN]

Thank you. MaryF

[Hidden]

Can't wait will definately buy one. Good luck

[MaryF in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. MaryF

[Angel_of_the_North]

I'm a proofreader and copy editor.

Or, go to gpuss.com Forum and post your request in the work section. You don't have to register to post work requests

[penny]

What a talented lot you are! Good luck.

[elayneg]

Hi

I live in the UK just outside Nottingham would love to help I am not a proof reader but Have got a degree and a Masters degree under my belt so am used to working to specific amounts of words.