DON MCCLAIRE
LET ME EDITOR-PROOF THAT MANUSCRIPT!
Here's the deal. I've been a professional editor for more than 40 years. I’ll edit your manuscript, correcting things you may have been doing wrong your whole writing career. Areas will include appearance, hooks, plot, motivation, dialogue, setting, point of view, research, conflict, voice, and more.
But--just as important--I’ll also edit weak verb forms, strip away author intrusions, identify character filters, ban redundancies, eliminate foggy phrases, correct passive voice sentences, slash misused and overused words, and correct other writing bugaboos. These are all problems an editor or agent won't tell you about. But they could keep you from being published!
Do I know what I’m doing? I practice what I preach. Please consider the following review by Fallen Angel Reviews, of my young adult novel titled "Attack of the Killer Prom Dresses":
"I enjoyed every page. This author writes with such vivid descriptions that I could see and feel everything.
"The nuances of dialogue, the characters’ emotions and even the fearful realization that something evil lurked just outside the reader’s range of vision were all brought fully to the story. The reader is present on every page and that is what makes this story so special."
If you wish, I’ll edit only your first chapter (up to 25 pages) and provide you a completely edited and annotated version, plus another version in which all the suggested changes have been made. I’ll also include a detailed, 4-6 page letter identifying your specific problems and their solutions. This will be a major education, tailored to help you identify and overcome specific, personal writing challenges found in your whole manuscript...and in your writing in general. When you apply this new knowledge to the rest of your book you'll immediately make it a better read. I also offer complete book edits.
Ready for me to get to work?
Just e-mail your manuscript as an attachment. Please format it as a MS Word.doc (or docx) or .rtf file, double-spaced in 12 pt. Courier New or New Times Roman font. I’ll get back to you to discuss rates and timeframe. I look forward to working with you!
DonMcClaire@book-editing.com
Don's new book Editor-Proof That Manuscript! is due out in early 2013 (Quill Driver Books)
See Don's articles:
McClaire Tackles Tough Editing Problems
Don't Be an Information Dumper
Brenda Maxwell’s new interior design client tells her to “paint, wallpaper, whatever” his hundred-year-old landmark mansion, “but for God’ s sake, don’t go overboard.” When she figures her grandiose plans will fit handily into his edict’s “whatever” section, she launches them into a constant head-bumping mode.
Brenda’s poor money management skills (that’ s his view, but what does he know?) and lawyer David Hasbrough’s ridiculous need to control her life (that’s her well-reasoned evaluation of the situation) combine to keep the battle going. Add a dollop of “the other woman’s" interference, throw in secrets about the house and both their pasts, fold in a dab of parental abuse and a pinch of good old- fashioned mistrust, and you have a recipe for disaster. Is this couple’s romantic goose cooked? Well, he is a great guy. Headstrong, maybe, but she can’t be near him without sparks flying and goose bumps popping out everywhere. Yet–well, that mansion has to be done right!
When Erica Phillips visits choice inherited property on a Cumberland
Plateau knob overlooking a beautiful valley, she finds scientist Mike
Callahan camped there to study unique, fireflies which flash together. She
needs to sell it fast to buy a new building for her antiques business, but he
freaks out when a condo builder offers her a contract. Miffed, she tells him,"If I have my way, this place will be sold within the week. And, Mr. Callahan, I
will have my way!
Their budding romance is up for grabs as they realize her father was murdered, not killed in an accident as she was told. While she struggles with that she distrusts Mike’s romantic motives, and he believes he can never find love. They fight through these problems as they identify, pursue, and subdue his killers, then view the remarkable rare insects and finally realize their love is forever.
In this romantic comedy, young hairdresser BJ Stalnaker parlays her half of modest lottery winnings into an international hairdo business, thanks to her novel “wheel” business concept and financing from admiring local businessmen. Husband Milo’s new franchise schemes, meanwhile, go into the dumper. But his recently-departed daddy said Milo was supposed to earn ALL his family’s bread!
A wedge is thus driven between the two, until they’re reunited in a heartwarming conclusion by a wheel-shaped church, a “hairdo from heck,” actions of an oddball set of characters,and separate epiphanies.
Kim Howell, who is busy trying to beat the prom date deadline for finishing sewing dresses for three of her classmates, becomes an unlikely victim of a spanking new sewing machine run amok! It doesn’t take long before she realizes the sewing machine didn’t come alone, and those that accompany the machine are living in her closet. While those who love her wonder if she’s lost her mind, Kim finds the prom will have an ugly side to it, unless she can somehow find a way to change the course of fate.
Will Kim be able to redirect the course of events at the prom and change the world? Or will she become a victim to something far more sinister than a wacked out machine?
Matt McLaren was only a boy when Indians killed his parents and kidnapped his three-year-old sister. Blaming himself for the tragedy, Matt sets out on a journey of the heart to find little Mandy. He doesn’t get far,however, before he’s held as a virtual slave by a cruel innkeeper. Sick and barely alive, he’s rescued by a kindly old man who takes him in and teaches him the rudiments of survival in the wilderness.
When the vengeful innkeeper guns the old man down, Matt kills him. On the run and still seeking his sister, he heads through the Cumberland Gap into the Can-tuc-kee Indian Territory, where he joins a group of adventurous long hunters. He plans to amass enough skins to buy land and make a home for him and Mandy. But fate steps in. Matt is captured by Indians. After weeks in captivity he escapes at last, and learns a great deal more about survival. He returns through the Gap to the Virginia frontier, where he helps settle the rugged, majestic land he has come to love. Ultimately, he learns what “home” really is … and where it resides.
THE MAN ON THE PARK BENCH: What were the dark secrets from his past? And his future?
BEULAH'S GLOW-IN-THE-DARK JESUS: He was such a nice boy, educated and all. And Beauregard was gone;
BROTHERLY LOVE: Jack's big brother had just gotten out of prison and the police were already hounding him. If someone didn't help him, he'd go right back.
HEROES ON PARADE: A parade wasn't even scheduled. But there it was, and only she and Margaret could see it.
HOME IN TIME: Carl Nichols might be in his nineties, but maybe he could still save his parents.
THE CHIPMUNK SIGN: Farmer Ben O'Malley finally visited the ritzy sister who abandoned him and their father years ago. But he sure wasn't expecting this.
THE CLOSET APPRENTICE: Where do old sayings come from? This retiring "old sayings" professional is ready to explain it all to his new apprentice.
THE GREEN BRIDESMAID DRESS: That dress was sure purty and all. But would it do what it was supposed to?
THE LIAISON: Richard Smith was ready for a midlife fling. Or was he?
THE MERIT BADGE: If Don had earned that merit badge fifty years ago, his life would probably have turned out a whole lot different.
THE OLD FURNITURE POLISH WAREHOUSE: When Stacey Jenkins's mother ran away with the chemical salesman thirty years ago, she didn't get far.
THE QUARANTINE BOAT: 1770's pioneer Aaron Reeder thought he knew what love for his young daughter was, until he ran into problems going west on the Tennessee River flotilla to settle the land.
DELIVERANCE AT LAST: If God Couldn't save him, he'd have to do it himself.
Professional Experience
40 award-winning years editing and writing for others in the following capacities:
- Magazine Editor:: For 12 years I wrote features and oversaw work of staff and freelance writers for national trade magazines, including Baking Industry, Hardware Merchandiser, Hardlines Wholesaling, and Construction Equipment Distribution.
- Senior Account Executive for a Major PR Firm:
I edited staff-written features for Burson-Marsteller for six years, while writing and placing hundreds of my own articles with appropriate trade magazines and writing and producing three company magazines. I also developed and ran client communications programs, winning the nation’s top PR award—the Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil—for innovative programming. I also won Chicago’s top PR trophy (the Golden Trumpet) three years running. - Independent PR Consultant: As owner of McNair Marketing Communications for 22 years, I traveled the country visiting my clients’ customers to write features showing how they used the clients’ services and products to solve problems. I placed those articles in trade publications read by other potential client customers.
Four published novels, earning a Romance Writers of American "PAN" status.
- The Long Hunter
Historical novel, Medallion Press, 2006
Won PAN status in Romance Writers of America - Maxwell’s Mansion
Romance novel, Red Rose Publishing, 2007
Released under the pen name Donna McClaire - Attack of the Killer Prom Dresses
Young adult novel, Calderwood Books, 2007
Released under the pen name Donna McClaire - Valley of Love
Romance Novel, Red Rose Publishing, 2009
Released under the pen name Donna McClaire
Three commercially-published how-to books
- How to Make Holograms
Tab Books, 1983 - Building & Outfitting Your Workshop
Tab Books, 1983 - House Craftsmanship, a Guide to Restyling& Refurbishing
Tab Books, 1985
Author and editor Don McNair is shown with five prestigious awards he has earned for his writing, editing, and public relations creativity.
Feedback "Don ... a professional writer and editor for forty years, discovered the answers years ago while editing a manuscript on an airplane trip for a public relations client. Months of follow-up research showed him there were twenty-one problems that “fog up” a manuscript, diminishing its clarity and power. The big secret? Remove one or more ....." Read Full Article by Louise Behiel "I couldn’t be happier with the network, and the editor I found via it. Don knows how to polish a manuscript, thereby yet keeping the writer’s style. He has great suggestions and helps you to develop your story." (On file with network coordinator) "Last edited pages look really good again. Your editing sure has added a lot of character development that the literary agency recommended, and also the improved emotional impact they also thought it needed. You’re also providing the proper POV in each chapter. I'm learning more about how POV is used and applied correctly. It can be tricky with several key characters. I look forward to your continued masterful editing. You are bringing out the best in my historical novel." (On file with network coordinator) "Don teaches a fantastic course called 21 steps to fog free editing. I edited the first chapter of Catch Me A Catch in his course, then made my first sale - and I'm convinced what I learned from Don played a large part in that." (On file with network coordinator) "I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the wonderful job you did editing my manuscript. I never quite understood POV (as you could tell) but with your help, a little light went on in my head. I have thoroughly read all of your suggestions, and hope you will edit my second manuscript in the Brotherhood series, when I complete it. I hope to show you my improved writing ability. Thanks again for your help and encouragement." - Ed Torba "Oh my Lord. I never expected anything like this. Where have you been all my life? I agree with almost everything you've pointed out, and can already see a dozen sentences in my current chapter that need changed. And I'm only on the fifth page! I'll recommend you and your skills at every opportunity." - Martha Kreiger w/a Allison Knight, Fairhope, Alabama "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you with sugar on top. I appreciate your editing soooo much. It will help me a great deal as I continue writing the rest of this manuscript. I've already revised two chapters of my previous novel (21 chapters, 101,000 words) and am ashamed to admit that, thanks to your advice, I can cut as much as 1,000 words per chapter. You've shed a genuine light on my writing, and I feel like I finally have the chance to grow as a writer." - Stacy Thompson, Pascagoula, MS "I wrote an 80,000-word novel and proudly showed it to you, and you suggested dozens of changes. After the shock wore off I realized that, thanks to your "21 Steps to Fog-Free Writing" editing process, you improved both that manuscript and my future writing. I believe your unique first-chapter offer is the greatest new writing concept since the pencil was invented. Really!" - Mike McNair, Richland Center, WI "I'm going back and redoing everything I've ever written...ever! When you edited the first chapter of my latest manuscript, you opened my eyes to a whole new world - and that's way too cheesy to be an exaggeration! I can't thank you enough for the profound impact you've had on my work. I don't think it was coincidence that I received my first contract hardly a month after you set me straight. I'm referring all my writing friends to you whenever they need help. I definitely won't be the only person you inspire!" - Amber W. Shedeck w/a AMber Leigh Williams, Fairhope, AL
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Submission Cut and paste the questions and answers into an e-mail: Alternates You may send your initial submission to all addresses to make sure it's received. Required: A sample is required to receive an estimate Along with a sample, the following information is required. Ignore questions that do not apply to your project (e.g., footnotes). (01) Word count of complete project (under "Tools" in MS Word): (02) Put your 100-word (approx) synopsis/description here (or attach): (03) Describe your genre and topic (e.g., nonfiction/self-help, science fiction, horror, romance, mystery, Western, young adult, children, poetry, Christian, creative nonfiction, literary): (04) Deadline date, if any, for return of complete project. (Please be realistic. Remember that professional editors usually have a project in process.): (05) If you have no immediate deadline, when do you want to start the editing process?: (For instance: within 30 days, within 60 days, within 90 days, 4-12 months) (06) Level of editing desired/expected --
(07) Number of charts/tables/pictures (if any): (08) Writing style/format manual (e.g., Chicago Manual, APA, MLA), if applicable: (09) Number of footnotes/references: (10) Do you have a contract with an agent or publisher?: (11) Do you plan to self-publish?: (12) What is your budget for the entire project? (13) Your name: (14) E-mail addresses: (15) Day/evening phone numbers (required -- in case the response to your e-mail bounces or the editors need clarification regarding the scope of service needed, deadline, etc.): (16) City, State, Country (or time zone): (17) The name(s) of the editor(s)/writer(s) you'd like to contact. (18) Do you want the coordinator to reroute your submission if you requested editors/writers who (a) are not available by your deadline date, (b) do not handle the type of material you submitted, and/or (c) do not perform the service(s) you want? (19) How did you learn about our service?: (20) Attach the first 50 pages of your manuscript (include prologue/preface, proposal, query) Notes: No hidden charges To learn more about the rates charged by professional editors, please see: Editorial Freelancers Association It is a mistaken notion that freelance editors work "on spec" (speculation) with no payment to the editor. It is basically asking the editor to work for free. There's no guarantee that a book will see a profit (or even be published). The editors posted here do not work on spec. Note: Questions about price and turnaround times cannot be given over the phone or via chat.
Contact live support if you do not receive a response within three hours (M-F, 9a-7p central). Expect longer response times if you submitted after U.S. business hours or on weekends. Help2012 at Airmail.net You may also leave voice mail for the network coordinator: 469-789-3030. This number is for verification of e-mail submissions only. Please be as complete as possible in representing your project's scope and size so you will receive the most accurate estimate. Disclaimer: Your agreement, whether oral or written, is with your editor or publishing consultant, not with the editing network as a whole or its coordinator. |
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