Meet The Editor

JW: Today my guest is Adele Brinkley, a professional editor who can edit anyone’s work ranging from letters to novels and short stories. Good morning, Adele!

Adele: Morning, John. Thank you for an opportunity to promote my editing service, With Pen In Hand.

JW: Tell us a little bit about your background and qualifications to be an editor.

Adele: I’ve been a professional editor for nine years and a high school English teacher for nearly 30. Editing comes as naturally to me as shouting Amen during a southern Baptist tent meeting. I truly try not to walk around with a red pen in my hand, but so far I have failed.

I want my clients’ works to be the best they can be. If they look good, then I look good. It’s a financial ego trip!

I’ve edited papers in all genres from practically every state in the Union. I actually have a couple of clients overseas, one in Sierra Leone.

Also for your Atlanta/Georgia area readers, please note that I am a local editor, located just south of Atlanta in the shadows of the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Please go to my web page (www.WithPenInHand) to “meet” me and review my credentials.

JW: Do people most often employ you for manuscripts and query letters, or is there a broad range of services requested?

Adele: I do edit a broad range of materials, but manuscripts (fiction and non) and dissertations make up the majority of my work. What I have found with the latter is that doctoral candidates do know their material, but most of them do not know the fine points of grammar that APA requires.

I have edited some wonderful manuscripts. There are so many good writers out there who spin wonderful tales. They have not yet reached the level of Anne Rice, John Grisham, or Agatha Christie, but they produce some awesome books. I hope to see them one day on best seller lists.

I also have several clients who pay me a yearly fee to edit their business letters, journal entries, notes, or whatever they need.

JW: Since much of my network consists of writers of prose, short stories and novels, tell us about your fee and approximate length of time between submission and completion.

Adele: My fee is quite reasonable, especially compared to the fees of editors with major publishers or editing companies. I am strictly a freelancer. The cost for an initial novel of any length is $1.00 per double spaced page in 12 pt. font size and Times Roman font. Because I am not editing works of authors such as Rice or Grisham, I cannot charge exorbitant fees.

I had an author tell me one time that he regretted that he could not use my service because I didn’t charge enough. No problem, I’ll raise the price if people feel more comfortable with a higher fee. I wrote to him that he would get the same quality of editing for $1.00 a page that he would get if I charged him $15 a page. Several weeks later, he contacted me again, saying he had reconsidered. After checking out the “big guys,” I looked good to him!

JW: Adele, in editing novels or short stories, is there any one item that stands out as the most common mistake made by authors?

Adele: Verb tense, verb tense, and verb tense! After that come misplaced modifiers and/or dangling participles, word choices, repetition of words or phrases, and the usual culprits: subject-verb agreement, punctuation (especially with quotes and attributions), switching the POV, etc., etc, etc.

JW: During your career, have you had any published work(s) yourself?

Adele: No manuscripts. I can’t sustain a thought that long. I wrote for a newspaper for 15 years and had hundreds of stories and columns published, some of which were recognized and rewarded by the GA Press Association. The wire services even picked up several of them.

JW: What’s the best way to get in touch with you to discuss a proposal of any type?

Adele: On my web page at www.WithPenInHand.net , your readers will find a contact link. Click on it, and we’re in business!

JW: Thank you for an informative interview, Adele. I know my readers are always looking for reliable, professional people who can help them polish their work. It has been a pleasure.