FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I use the Editorial Freelancer's Association rates as my basis. Please Google this or ask me, as Thumbtack isn't allowing a URL here. I offer discounts for a large volume of work and am known for setting up payment schedules that work for my clients. I also offer English instruction and my editing rates are comparable to what one should expect to pay for a high quality professional tutor's time. ***Though I have brought it up a multitude of times to Thumbtack staff, as it stands now, word count of requests is shown as a wide range that can vary by 80 pages, obviously changing the amount of hours required substantially--so providing specific word count helps a lot with my ability to provide an accurate estimate. Of course, manuscripts vary by writer as well--see answer to the next question.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I talk to a customer on the phone and invest a good bit of time (often an hour or more) to determine what the client's goals are and ensure I'm a good fit. I find a lot of my clients like that I will often start by editing for an hour, working on random pages throughout the manuscript, before being hired for the entire job. This allows me to determine a legitimate page per hour rate based on their copy and go from an hourly fee to a solid estimate or fixed fee.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Masters of Arts in Teaching, Secondary English, magna cum laude, Johns Hopkins University (currently #1 in the nation for Education programs). B.A. in Mass Communications and English (double major), magna cum laude, Salisbury State University. A.A. in General Studies, magna cum laude, Anne Arundel Community College, where I eventually taught non credit English (sentence skills), freshman English 1 &2, and Speech. Recently, AACC received #1 in a national ranking of community colleges by Academic Influence. I have more than 20 years of publications/journalism experience as well, particularly with magazine work as both a writer and editor. I'm happy to share my resume on request if I don't happen to attach it automatically in response to your work request.