EDITING SERVICES

My editing mantra #1:

Every writer needs an editor. Famous writers and not so famous writers need editors. Editors need editors. As an editor myself (who yes, welcomes edits to my own writing), my specialties are speed, candor (when requested), and a pursuit of the narrative thread. I help clients clarify what they want to say, almost no matter the subject. Because of my background as a television news writer, most memorably for CBS News in New York, I well know the challenges of making the obscure relevant, the arcane comprehensible, while of course being grammatically correct.

My editing mantra #2:

Keep the reader in mind. I approach all clients’ works as a representative of the would-be reader, a person who may be marginally interested in either the non-fiction topic or the fictional tale, or memoir (see below), but is easily bored, confused, impatient, or irked at condescension. My task is to keep the work interesting and logical, the pages turning.

APPROACHES

For any written work, I offer two basic services. The most basic is an evaluation (sometimes called an overview). This entails a careful reading, followed by a detailed letter spelling out what I believe works or does not, and how to fix what does not. In non-fiction, I look for consistency of message or argument, writing style, redundancy, tone, and flow, among other factors. In fiction, I look for story line, writing style, dialogue, scene setting – the works.

My second service is line editing, meant especially for developed works.  Here I work more closely on a finished style, while looking for smaller errors, such as repetition within a scene, hackneyed phrases, and awkward sentence structure. Note: Line editing is not copy editing. Copy editors make sure, for example, 6 p.m. is written that way, rather than 6pm or 6p.m. I don’t really care. I am more interested in what takes place at that hour.

If a client is unsure whether to request an evaluation or line editing, I can help. This involves a $200 fee for my reading up to 25 pages, that fee then applied to the work as a whole. Some clients first hire me to do an evaluation, then, when they have rewritten with my suggestions in mind, hire me to do line editing. For either service, I usually charge an hourly rate, starting at $200, and give the client an estimated range of hours, including a ceiling. For line editing, I offer the client the choice to come up with an initial number of hours they’re comfortable with — a first date of sorts — then at the end of those hours, usually 10 or so, let them read if they wish what I’ve accomplished and decide if they want to continue. Virtually all do, but it is their decision. I am also glad to consider an overall fee, which some clients prefer. My editing mantra #3: Respect the client.

CLIENTS

My clients have included therapists, media people, businessmen, lawyers, and a socialite celebrity (who praised me in her acknowledgements but misspelled both my names). Here are a few other testimonials.

“What Alison gives you moves you forward.” Dunbar Ogden, My Father Said Yes; A White Pastor in Little Rock School Integration

"Working with Alison was a complete pleasure. She has a sharp editorial eye and is an accomplished and gifted writer herself. She identified numerous concerns that had escaped the attention of others and brought organization and clarity to my project. I was extremely pleased with the results. " Joe Keon, The Alzheimer's Revolution: An Evidence-Based Lifestyle Program to Build Cognitive Resilience and Reduce Your Risk of Alzheimer's Disease (forthcoming).

"When Alison Owings reviewed my manuscript, I was able to see through the eyes of an enthusiastic professional who is passionate about good stories and the power of language. Her insights were exactly what I needed to polish and fine tune my rough draft from something I was struggling to nurture in an anxious, muddled way to a document I can now say I love.” Peter Albert, The Salt Pillars (a work in progress).

MEMOIRS

Some clients have not written a word, but want me to record or write their own story. As an oral historian, I have interviewed a wide range of people, not only in English, but in German, about a range of subjects from the ribald to the tragic, the personal to the philosophical. When someone engages me to interview herself or himself, or a family member, I do so in one, two, or multiple sessions. The results are then up to the client; most often I have the interview transcribed, then edit it into a cohesive narrative. Working with the client, we may add photographs or other elements of the person’s life, and the result becomes a limited edition book for family and friends. I can also arrange for a videographer if requested.

Questions? For starters, send me an e mail at alisonowings@gmail.com