I have some news

I'm delighted to announce that I've signed a contract with Dzanc Books who will be publishing Nirvana Bites and Trading Tatiana (originally published by Orion) as part of their rEprint series. Dzanc's ethos of supporting writing - and reading - at every level is close to my heart and I'm really happy to be with them. It's also really exciting to know that these novels will be out there again and available to a whole new readership. You can see more about Dzanc in this article in Publishing Perspectives.

While I'm sharing, I'll also say that my agent loves my latest novel and has begun pitching to publishers. There are no guarantees he'll succeed, of course, but having his validation is cause for celebration as far as I'm concerned.

The Festival Book is here!

The book is now available to download on Amazon.

 

Congratulations to all the contributors!

Coming Soon ...

What? What? What's coming soon?

Well, it all started with a tweet. Jane Smith of How Publishing Really Works and The Self-Publishing Review DMed me with an idea in the months before the Festival of Writing in York.

'How about producing a book of the Festival?' she said.
'Brill idea,' I replied. 'It could include contributions from all the people who were there. It would be great! I'll pitch it to Writers' Workshop.'

'Love the idea!' said WW.
'One catch,' said Jane. 'I won't be able to work on it.'

And so it came about that I was asked to edit the Book of the Festival of Writing York 2012. And what a pleasure that's been! Lucky me was given pretty much of a free rein. I knew from the beginning that I wanted the book to be a gift to the lovely people who make the festival so special. It could showcase their writing and be something they could mention in their CVs and in covering letters to agents. I wanted the book to appeal to everyone who had been there, as a way of bringing back the memories, but also to have a wider readership.

And that's exactly what we've ended up with. The bulk of the book is made up of blogs, articles, poems, writing tips and other insights by some of the many talented delegates at York. There's also a section by some of the professionals who appeared at York 2012 and another featuring interviews with many of the agents who were there.

The e-version is now complete and will be available very soon. It's also hoped that a print version will follow.

I'm really excited about this! When I floated the idea to the audience at York, I began by saying, 'You're all writers, right? Well, we can't guarantee that all of you will eventually land a publishing deal, but we can offer you all the opportunity to have your words appear in a book.'

We can. And we did. Watch this space for more details.

More courses and some good feedback

I'm almost halfway through another sell-out 6 week online self-edit course. Details, including dates of future courses are here.

Meanwhile, this is a great blog post from Isabel Costello about the value of a critique.

Next self-edit course

Emma Darwin and I are running another 6 week online self-edit course, starting 24 Sept, on behalf of Writers' Workshop.  See here for full details.

News from York - as it happens

Mad fool that I am, I've decided to attempt to live blog (again) the Festival of Writing in York this weekend.  See my main blog for details.

Is there an editor in the house?

Um ... yes, that will be me then. 

Regular visitors here will know that I have been editing and critiquing manuscripts for several years now.  (First mentioned here.)  During that time, I have worked on an average of 2-3 novels a month.


Most of the manuscripts come to me via Writers' Workshop but some authors come directly to me.  On Twitter today I was asked what I charge and what I offer and realised that info isn't readily available online without a lot of digging.  (I also realised how hideously out-of-date my website is, but I can't imagine having time to sort that out any time soon.)


Anyway, the point of this post is to tell anyone who's interested what my editing services consist of and how much they cost. 

The service
I like to be flexible and tailor my feedback to the author's needs, so the content of my report varies accordingly, though it will always be a minimum of 3000 words for a full length MS.  This will usually cover the following:

• the commercial potential of your concept and where your book fits in the market
• analysis, comments and suggestions re structure, plot, pace, characterisation, prose style
• if appropriate, feedback on your synopsis and covering letter

As an author myself, I'm very aware that I hold someone's beating heart in my hand when I work on their lovingly crafted book.  I'm always careful to point out where an MS's strengths lie, as well as those areas that need attention.


As I said, different authors have different needs.  Some people are hoping to be signed with an agent and achieve a traditional publishing deal, others may intend to self-publish, and some people might just love writing and want to make their novel as good as it can be.  My feedback is designed to provide each person with what they need to have the best chance of fulfilling their particular ambitions.


Needless to say, it takes time to read a full MS and prepare a detailed report.  I also offer further conversations after I send the report, to discuss any issues that arise or clarify anything where necessary.  None of this comes cheap, but, at the risk of sounding like a certain advert, I think I'm worth it. 
*tosses hair and gurns at camera*


Anyway, where was I?  Ah, yes, the £££.



The charges
I charge £4.50 per 1000 words for a full length MS.
£75 for feedback on synopsis, covering letter and first 5000 words.
Other charges, eg longer extracts, proof reading etc, are available on request.

I have experience of working in all genres.  Recently, I've had the enormous pleasure of seeing 3 authors I've worked with go on to be signed up with agents.  Roger Hardy has written a fast paced international thriller. Sean Walsh has created a magical children's story and Katherine Hetzel is the author of a fantasy adventure story for young adults.  See here for my blog post re Sean and Katherine and here for my post about Roger.



Please feel free to email me - info at debialper dot co dot uk - if you think I can help you. 
Or leave a comment here. 
Or message me on Facebook. 
Or contact me on Twitter @DebiAlper. 

I do sometimes wonder how any of us find time for writing.