Now that you’ve had a chance to watch me begin the editing process on my first novel, it’s time to turn the tables. I hope that you learned a little from what I shared with you of that self-editing process. I intended to go longer with it, but the same mistakes kept cropping up, and I didn’t have much new to share.

So I thought, why not ask my readers to submit samples of their writing for a free edit–with the stipulations that I’ll do them as I have time and that I can share it all right here on my blog with the rest of the world so that we can all continue to learn together. Writing and editing are skills that evolve, so it never gets old and I never stop learning.

Here’s what I’m offering:

Send me an email with no more than your first 2,000 words INCLUDED IN THE BODY OF YOUR EMAIL. NO ATTACHMENTS. (You’ll benefit most from this if you send the FIRST 2,000 words–that’s what readers see when they crack open your book to decide if they want to buy it, and it’s what an agent sees when they are deciding whether or not to ask for additional pages.)

Give me permission to share your writing along with my editing marks and comments here on my blog.

Understand that I might have time to edit it and post it within a week, or I might not have time for a month or more.

Understand that I’ll throw both developmental and copy/line editing at your work, wherever I think it’s needed.

In addition to posting it here on my blog, I’ll return it to you in an email so that you can see what it’s like to work with an edited document.

I’m offering an hour of my time for FREE to help you and others learn the value of a professional edit as well as some skills you can apply in a self-edit, prior to hiring a professional.

Sound like a good deal? I’m excited about it, and I’m looking forward to hearing from you all. Send me an email at [email protected] today with your sample included, and let’s get started!

And, as always, if you’re already to the point where you’re ready to hire an editor, send me an email so that we can discuss your book and your needs.