Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyR
It's funny though, I literally just bought a book of short stories (on it's way in the mail) whose sole claim to fame really is that they actually haven't been edited.
Or rather, were edited once, but now have been painstakingly restored to the author's original words (by looking at original typed drafts). And every typo correction is noted in the back in an appendix.
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Piers Anthony's
But, What of Earth? is interesting to read for the same reason. After four editors were done with it, it barely resembled his original MS. Once he had the money, he reacquired the rights and published it with an appendix and commentary on the changes that were made.
Quote:
Originally Posted by greencat
I can see a rise in hobbyist copy editors/proofers. Basically these will be people who might have read your book anyway and in exchange for a credit/small sum/free copy/early access will spot the glaring stuff. Perhaps the 80/20 rule might start to apply - ie if most of your amateurs don't spot the error then most of the population won't either. Books might go through beta cycles - pay a dollar for a uncorrected version and get it now or a five when it's complete. Indie authors/small publishers with small dedicated followings might well start taking advantage of this kind of crowdsourcing.
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I'm surprised that no one has volunteered to be a hobbyist copy editor. The author and the editor would have to agree on terms. I like the idea of a per page rate, say $.25-.50 per page. The author could 'audition' prospective editors by sending them a chapter to be edited pro bono. This would give the editor an idea of how much work it would be to edit and the price could be set accordingly. It would also give the author an idea of the quality of editing. Once terms were agreed, the entire manuscript would be sent to the editor along with a down payment of 25% with the balance due upon return of the edited manuscript. A second edit after author corrections and comments, would be at the discount rate of $.10-.15 per page.