I have been asked this very question over the years and have answered it by saying that it depends on the type of editing you need. The Editorial Freelancers Association, for which I am a part of has an entire cheat sheet of Editorial Freelancer Rates, which I find helpful.
I hope you also find these rates helpful in your quest to finding a good editor for your manuscript or project!
Are any of you surprised at the cost of these services? Let’s talk about it!
Good luck!
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a pleasant holiday!
I wanted to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart – organization.
This past December, I was looking for some business information, but couldn’t find it. I tore my office apart and still couldn’t find what I needed. I spent so much time looking for this paperwork that I grew frustrated with myself. I knew I needed to get organized and vowed to go into 2018 clutter-free. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but I was up for the challenge!
I started by writing down what I wanted from this process. I wanted to be able to find the information I needed in minutes, I wanted to go paperless, and I wanted less physical clutter in my home. My main reason for getting ultra-organized was because I knew it would help me with writing.
How does being organized help me with writing? The less time I spend looking for items, the more time I can spend on writing. Also, I’ve noticed that when my home is clear, my mind is clear. This allows me to be more creative and focused.
I began this process of going clutter-free by gathering all of my business information and putting it in a clear bin. Then I moved onto the piles of paper in my home. I scanned each page using an app called Fast Scanner Pro. It is a genius app that everybody should have, which allows you to scan directly from your phone and e-mail it to yourself or save it on a site like Box.com.
You do know about Box.com, right? It’s a cloud content management service where you can upload, save, and share your files. You can even make custom folders on your account to house your scan’s by category and then by year, etc. It’s essential if you’re attempting to go paperless like me!
My next step was to purge. I started by placing items my family and I no longer needed into bags and then took those bags to the Salvation Army as a donation. I honestly feel a lot lighter.
Here are some techniques I use to keep my space clutter-free:
I know what you’re thinking. Can I really do this? Yes, you can. All you need to do is set aside some time and commit to the process. Once you do, you’ll have greater focus and creativity for your writing. You can do it!
When you’re done, send me your before and after photos! I would love to see them.
Recently, I visited The American Writers Museum in Chicago and brought my son along for the ride.
One of the first exhibits we saw was the Children’s Literature Gallery. There is a beautiful mural painted on one of the walls along with ample seating and a bookshelf filled with children’s books. There is also an area where you can listen to Langston Hughes’ poems.
There is also an area dedicated to L.M. Alcott’s, Little Women.
Across from the Children’s Gallery is a room filled with plants! This temporary exhibit is called Palm: All Awake in the Darkness. It is dedicated to the life and work of poet W.S. Merwin. At the end of the exhibit, there is a pile of blank, white paper and pencils with a sign urging each patron to write a note. These notes are to be sent to Merwin to be planted underneath newly planted palm trees in his Hawaiian garden. This made my son and I feel connected to both nature and Merwin’s work. We wondered if a palm tree would be grown from our words. We loved this exhibit.
Afterward, we entered a room with a long hallway. There were interactive, glowing, rectangle tiles aligned on a wall. This exhibit was called the Surprise Bookshelf. My son was immediately drawn to the wall and began turning the tiles. Some were filled with more information, while others smelled like food. It was very interesting.
On the opposite side, there were portraits of writers. When you turned the tile, one could read more information about each writer including an excerpt from their work. One could spend hours here.
Here is something that has crossed my mind more than once:
Most artists find process fascinating mainly because we all do it differently and writers are no different. This area of the museum is dedicated to the mind of a writer. It is genius.
It’s been a long time since I used a typewriter, but when I sat down, I remembered how to set the paper and the margins. My son was fascinated by these ancient typing machines. He even requested one! It’s true what they say, everything old becomes new again.
I love this quote:
I found The American Writers Museum both interesting and well-put-together, which is why I recently purchased a membership. I urge you to all check it out if you live in Chicago or are in the Chicago area. It is fantastic!
For Spring Break, my family and I made our way out of Chicago and down to Key West, Florida. The weather did not disappoint as it was gorgeous!
While there, we stopped at the famous Hemingway House, which quickly became my favorite author house after the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion in Salem, the home made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The House of the Seven Gables. You can check out more information about our visit here: https://jr-williams.com/blog/?p=659.
As we walked through the Hemingway house with our fantastic tour guide, I couldn’t help, but feel Hemingway’s energy. Everything from the furniture to the typewriters, to the chandeliers, to the porch, to the cats screamed beauty and excitement. Check out some of my photos below:
Hemingway’s second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer really loved the house and it was evident throughout each room and the grounds, but the pièce de résistance was Hemingway’s writing room. I wanted to rummage through his books, sit in his chair, and type a letter on his typewriter, but I wasn’t the only one because the entrance was closed off by wrought-iron doors.
All in all, I found Hemingway and Pauline Pfeiffer’s home incredible. It’s definitely worth touring if you make it down to Key West.
Every year, I re-evaluate my life’s goals. I take into account, where I am, what I’ve done, and where I want to be in the future. I think about my health, my family, my career, and my friendships. This type of evaluation becomes more essential the older I get. If I know where I’ve been and I have goals, then I know where I’m going.
This year, there have been some losses and health scares in my family. These situations have made me realize that I must make better health choices to get my body and mind to its optimum state.
I also believe that being healthy goes beyond the physical and that I need to be as mentally healthy as possible. This is why I am learning how to take things as they come, surround myself with supportive and positive people, and think before I speak. I will also put out supportive and positive energy. I will be more appreciative of the happiness that surrounds me.
I love being able to witness the good that surrounds my family and friends. I love it when they not only what they want, but what they deserve. This year, my husband received his master’s degree, my son received an excellent report card, my sister went back to college, and my brother helped my parents move to North Carolina to be closer to him. They are all pretty happy, which makes me happy.
Watching my family succeed is motivating because if they can do it, then so can I. They make me feel invincible. I am determined to sharpen my writing, editing, marketing, and design skills. I will utilize these skills to be as successful as possible this year.
The older I get, the more I realize that time is one of the most important currencies in my life. I will not squander it away as I have done in the past. It is important to be selective about who I spend my time with and what I spend my time on. This year, I will spend more time with my family, on my work, and on myself.
I know how easy it is to lose your way. This is why it’s important to set goals with time limits and take action.
Here are some questions you may want to answer to help you with your own life evaluation:
This is your year and nothing will stop you. You can do it. Good luck with all of your goals!
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” -Thoreau
Happy New Year!
A few weeks ago, my family and I were at the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) to view the Christmas Around the World exhibit. The Christmas trees are decorated by volunteers and “represent holiday traditions from cultures around the globe.” They are quite beautiful and something you really need to see with your own eyes to believe. The amount of work that goes into decorating each one of these Christmas trees is quite remarkable.
While walking through the museum, we also stumbled across an exhibit called, The Art of the Bicycle. This exhibit examines the history of the bicycle and pays close attention to its design elements, which were meticulously folded into the construction and practicality of the bicycle over the years. This exhibit was equal parts fascinating and whimsical.
Check out my photos below for more:
If you’re in the Chicagoland area, I highly recommend taking a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry to check out the Art of the Bicycle exhibit. Happy Holiday’s everybody!
About a week and a half ago, I was in NYC with my family and we stopped at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a day of fun. While there, we saw the exhibit, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” It is about the place where old-school fashion techniques meet technology. It is also about how one technique isn’t better than the other, rather, how both traditional fashion techniques and new techniques in fashion using technology can complement each other. What I found most fascinating about the exhibit was watching the production of the pieces, the hand-beading and stitching, and the intention behind each piece. Great stuff!
Here are some of the most striking pieces I saw:
If in NYC, I urge you to check this exhibit out. It is quite beautiful.
I find that viewing beautiful things inspires me to not only find the beauty in life, but also to bring this beauty into my writing and other creative projects.
Happy creating!
Every couple of years, a family member or friend gets me a gift which I love and this makes me so happy I could burst.
This year, I received a 24-pack of Prismacolor Premier colored pencils and I have to say, they are quite nice. So nice, that I have begun drawing again.
This is the Prismacolor Tin:
And these are the perfect colored pencils:
Pretty, huh?
I have already started drawing and hope to do some more in the near future. Keep creating y’all.
I just had a piece published by Chicago Literary Map.
If you haven’t heard of Chicago Literary Map, you should check it out. Here’s what it’s all about:
“Beyond the bright lights and cityscapes, stories unfold. Some are true, others are fiction, showing you a side of the city that often goes untold. Chicago Literary Map is charting the text and putting it in the palm of your literary-loving hand.
Navigate Chicago on a new level, guided by the voices who have been, where updates bring new vignettes from around the city.”
Rad, huh?
Please check out my piece called Ohio Street.
If you’d like to more about the creator of CLM, Stephanie Plenner, please follow her on Twitter: @splenner. You can also follow Chicago Literary Map here: @literarymap.
Your turn. What was it like where you grew up in Chicago?
My life is always changing, which means that the space around me is always changing. After my first update, I worked on my office closet again and here are the results.
I stated that I wanted convenience, space, lighting, and color. I think I have achieved all of that and more.
Here is my current space:
And here is a close-up of the interior: 
Here is what I did to achieve my dream space:
For convenience, I had an outlet put into my dining room and it is wonderful. I no longer have to avoid cords sprawled across my floor.
For space, I purged a ton of paper. I still have one small bin that I need to go through, but everything else is in files on my desktop. Sure things need to be separated, but at least all of that paper is out of the way.
For lighting, I used a clamp lamp, which can be moved around anywhere. It’s a great tool to have. I couple that with my overhead light above and it works beautifully. I believe that a workspace needs plenty of light to be functional.
For color, I added a city scene that my son made and put up photographs and desk toys. These pops of color are like tiny pieces of happy energy that help me focus.
For organization, I added a DIY combination cork/dry erase board. I made it using an old cabinet door and a pack of square cork and dry erase tiles. I used stamps and white paint to make patterns on the cork, which gave it a little bit of personality. I love my cork/dry erase board and use it every day to keep track of ideas, to-do lists, and important reminders.
I also organized my writing books by color. Organizing books by color makes your space look well put together. Try it yourself.
The best part about my office closet is that there is a place for everything and when I’m done, I can just close it up and join the real world.
May you find your perfect work space in your home as well!
