I am now an entrepreneur, a freelance editor/tutor. My business is very small but growing. What are my credentials? I suppose a writer clicks on to AD and looks at my academic and publishing history. No doubt there follows a reading of some of the stories and articles. Then the writer will ask: does Guy Hogan write well and more importantly is he able to convey clearly how to write well? That's it.
What do I actually do when a writer e-mails a story to my tutorial service? I read the story several times over a period of days to not only find issues that need attention but also to get a feel for the story, to sense the writer's intention.
If the issues are serious enough I'll ask for re-writes until I get something I can edit. So far I've asked for up to three re-writes. Re-writes cost the writer nothing. When I get something I can edit I type up the final draft myself to make sure of flow, grammar, diction and any other proofreading concerns. I never write the story. That's the writer's job. I just try to make the story I get in the mail a better story and therefore a story that is more publishable.
Sounds like a dream editor! Would you consider looking at re-worked stories which were originally posted on AD? Or - shock horror (!) would I have to submit a completely new story?
As someone who used Guy's editorial service, I can tell you the experience was great. The piece of writing I sent him originally wasn't even a story, it was just a sketch. He informed me of this fact and had me re-write it into a story. He sent me back the final cleaned up draft, and it looked great so I submitted it to Brilliant Quarterly, where it was recently published. Had I not taken this piece of writing to Guy, I'm sure the sketch would have remained a sketch and collected dust on my shelf. Thanks Guy.
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