Editors, Writers, & Creative Writing Instructors: Scripts & Screeplays

Screenplays - Scripts

Editors

VIRGINIA CLARK has been an editor and proofreader of fiction and nonfiction for many years, working on more than 200 titles. She specializes in literary and popular fiction, detective/crime fiction, biography, self-help, history, music, and the visual arts, especially film. She was a staff copyeditor for Simon & Schuster in New York starting in 1989 for five years and has continued to freelance for them ever since, as well as for other presses including Algonquin; Duke University; Farrar, Straus, & Giroux; and the University of California. Fiction she has copyedited includes Richard Condon, The Emperor of America; Quinn Dalton, High-Strung; David Freeman, A Hollywood Life and It's All True; Kem Nunn, The Dogs of Winter; Kate Walbert, The Gardens of Kyoto and Our Kind; and Meg Wolitzer, Surrender, Dorothy. Detective/crime authors include Jan Burke, George C. Chesbro, Nick Gaitano, Alison Glen, Philip Harper, David Osborn, Ian Rankin, and Jan Roberts. She has copyedited autobiographies including Miles Davis, Miles; Faye Dunaway, Looking for Gatsby; Charlton Heston, In the Arena; and Neil Simon, Rewrites: A Memoir; as well as biographies such as Joseph McBride, The Catastrophe of Success: Frank Capra and McBride's Steven Spielberg. She has also worked on large collections including The Companion to 20th-Century Music, Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide, and The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. In addition, she has been proofreader/copyeditor for October Magazine since 1989, as well as for various other magazines such as for Condé Nast publications.

Copyediting
Proofreading
Developmental editing
Literary fiction, popular fiction, detective or crime fiction, true-crime, history, biography, music, film, television, visual arts, self-help, show business, humor, social science, psychology

Note: Virginia is not accepting submissions until September 2010.

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The award-winning writing of KAREN DAVIS prompted one of many loyal clients to call her his "secret weapon in attaining communications supremacy." She earned magna cum laude degrees in English and history and world-class journalism credentials from the London Times and Regional Newspapers. Since 1976 she has been an international correspondent and author of hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles; publishing house editor (several books won American Library Association Outstanding Reference Source awards); acclaimed advertising writer (First Place in the Pacific Northwest, direct mail campaign) and technical writer ($10,000 First Place in North America, engineering paper); director of publications and marketing; author of style manuals; university lecturer in writing; and published lyricist and poet. She brings clarity and conciseness to confusing language and organization to chaos..

Copy Editing & proofreading
Technical editing
Business, marketing, and advertising writing
Screenplays
Journalism and reporting
Writing instruction
Fiction: historical, mainstream, literary
Nonfiction: history, creative, literary, business

"You are a magician with language. The ms. reads much better now, which is amazing because it had already been revised at least thirty times and professionally edited. I've learned a great deal from you and it's been a pleasure working with someone so pleasant, extremely talented, and knowledgeable.... Now I don't think I'd want my agent to see anything you haven't seen first! Thank you for doing such a marvelous job. Don't be surprised if you get some referrals. You're brilliant."— Linda Dennis Richmond, author

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TIM GRUNDMANN, is an author, playwright and TV scriptwriter and story editor with 25 years of experience. His books in the Doug Chronicles series are published by Disney Press. He was part of the creative team behind Pee-wee's Playhouse on CBS (for which he wrote the show "bible"), and developed the HBO comedy Norman's Corner with Seinfeld creator Larry David. As head writer and story editor for the Disney Channel's New Mickey Mouse Club and Nickelodeon's Doug, he guided scripts from concept to final draft. He's written episodes of Allegra's Window and Welcome, Freshmen for Nickelodeon, and was developmental writer for Mowgli and His Friends and WaysideSchool for the Disney Channel and ABC-TV. As house writer for Broadcast Arts in NYC, he wrote scripts, proposals, treatments and show bibles for TV shows starring Gilbert Gottfried, Madeline Kahn and others. Recently he wrote scripts for the PC game My Scene Goes Hollywood for Vivendi Universal Games.

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Pulse-pounding high adventure, painstaking attention to detail, carefully drawn characters who step off the page and into your life ...
STEPHEN and ANNE MacEACHERN are the authors of over 81 internationally published novels (with sales in the tens of millions of copies) and numerous short stories. As a science fiction author, Stephen is best known for his postapocalyptic series, The Survivalist. Their books have been published in English (USA, Canada, Great Britain), French, Japanese, Spanish, German, Serbo-Croatian, Russian, and Portuguese, as general fiction, adventure, and science fiction and fantasy. They were commissioned by Dino DeLaurentiis to write two screenplays (unproduced). Their Horror Writers Award nominated short story, “Silent Pace,” was twice optioned as a film property and—the third time the possible charm—they have just inked another option deal for this property. Stephen has also written over a thousand articles, columns, features, and interviews for magazines and newspapers. He is considered a leading expert on concealed-carry techniques, personal small arms, and personal-edged weapons. He has lectured extensively before general audiences, police, civic and writing groups on these and various other topics. His articles have appeared in magazines such as Gun World, Satellite Orbit, Writer’s Digest and over 20 more.

As book editors, they look at the book as a whole and as a series of inter-related parts. It’s not uncommon for a writer to be strong in one area (e.g., character development) and weaker in another (e.g., setting).

Is the hook at the beginning?
Is the action shown/lived rather than told?
Is the dialogue realistic?
Is each character's motivation logical?
Are you engaging the senses?
Is the point of view consistent and clear to the reader?
Is the plot moving well or do you have places that drag?
Does each chapter end with a page turner?

The MacEacherns' goal is the same as the writer's: to get the manuscript inside the publisher's door and to get the royalty check in the writer's hands.

When they are not editing books, writing books or writing magazine articles, they are reading books, from biography to science fiction and everything in between. They have interacted with some of America’s most well-known authors and been published with many of New York’s top houses. They’ve been around the block, you might say—but always with a book!

Specialties: science fiction and fantasy, action/military/adventure, speculative fiction, thrillers/espionage, horror/vampires, detective/crime.

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KEVIN D. MILLER specializes in editing fiction of all kinds—including screenplays—but he has a particular fondness for science fiction and fantasy. As an editor and instructor of creative writing, Kevin has helped dozens of new and experienced writers hone their craft and prepare their manuscripts for publication. Many of Kevin's clients, such as Spencer Tillman of CBS Sports, have gone on to lucrative publishing deals with Thomas Nelson, Lyon Hudson, Crown and William B. Eerdman's. Clients appreciate Kevin's extensive knowledge of story structure, his attention to detail and his knowledge of the marketplace.

A professional writer, screenwriter and editor for the past 12 years, Kevin has worked as both a staff writer and as a freelancer. During that time, he has amassed numerous writing and editing credits. These include over 40 published books, including: Scoring in the Red Zone (Ghostwriter, Thomas Nelson Publishers; World's Easiest Pocket Guide to Buying Your First Home" (with Larry Burkett, Northfield publishing)

Kevin is also the co-founder of Fresh Wind Press and Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice. He has taught creative writing at various colleges and conferences across North America.

Services:

Script coverage
Manuscript critiques
Developmental editing
Structural editing
Line editing / copyediting
Writing assistance
Ghost writing
Market consulting (preparation of query letters, complete book proposals, writing samples)

Genres

Science fiction
Fantasy
Crime/Thriller
Detective/mystery
Romance
Horror
Literary fiction
Historical fiction
Children's/Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction
Christian fiction (extensive experience in the Christian marketplace)
Self help/How to non-fiction

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KARL MORGAN is a book editor, script doctor, and writer. He has written for Epicurious, Thinkwell, and nerve.com, and his fiction has appeared in the Austin Chronicle and been read at Borders Books and on KUT public radio. Books he's edited have been singled out by the Chicago Review Press and Independent Publishers Group and have been praised by Deepak Chopra, Jim Belushi, and David Zucker (writer/director of Airplane! and Naked Gun). In 1997, he was named Boston University's Helen Deutsch Fellow--the school's most prestigious graduate writing fellowship. He edited the film industry book Reel People, the sports biography The Last Sure Thing: The Life and Times of Bobby Riggs (finalist for the Independent Press Best Memoir/Biography award), and the horror novel Wind Walker by Tom Chaney (screenwriter of Mosquito and director of Wrath of the Wendigo). He specializes in genre and mainstream fiction, scholarly non-fiction, and screenplays.

Academic/scholarly/reference materials
Fiction: mainstream and literary, science fiction, horror, speculative fiction, psychological thrillers, suspense, mysteries, fantasy, erotica
Non-fiction: memoir, biography/autobiography, works in translation, regional and world history, psychology, theology, physical and biological sciences
Screenplays: all genres

"Karl's editing is precise and intelligent. He knows how to deal with the most complex areas of my writing and how to make it more accessible for the audience. Karl's assistance was of great help to my book." --Eiko Ikegami, author of The Japanese Path to Modern Civility and The Taming of the Samurai, Harvard University Press

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Submission

Cut and paste the questions and answers into an e-mail:

EditMyBook@Gmail.com

Alternates
2010@Book-Editing.com
Help2010@Airmail.net
Contact@Editing-Writing.com

You may send your initial submission to all addresses to make sure it's received.

Required:
Submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript (Word/DOC or RTF attachment preferred). Large files should be zipped. Attachment not required if writing has not started (e.g., because you're looking for a ghostwriter).

A sample is required to receive an estimate
for editing services

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 --

Copyediting / Proofreading / Line Editing (e.g., English corrections, typos, paragraph and sentence structure, word use)
Developmental (e.g., help with the big picture, such as flow/pacing, telling the story, characterization, structure, style)
Rewriting / Ghostwriting
Critique / Evaluation

(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?
$ ________________
(Note: The editors will quote their regular rates, but having an idea of your budget allows the editors to tell you what services they can provide to stay within that budget.)

(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.
(If no names are selected, your e-mail will be sent to several consultants chosen by the coordinator):

(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
We won't quote you one price and charge you another. When possible, we'll provide you with a per-word or per-page rate so you'll know up front exactly how much your project will cost. (Of course, we ask that you fairly represent the scope of your project.)

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.

LIVE AGENT

Note: Price quotes and time estimates for individual editors cannot be given over the phone or via chat. This is a network of freelance editors with varying prices and work schedules (see our FAQ). To obtain a price quote please follow the procedures listed on our quotes page. Contact live support if you do not receive a response within three hours. It is possible that your submission was not received. You may also page the network coordinator by leaving voicemail or sending a fax to 469-789-3030.

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 freelance editor / proofreader / writer, not with the freelance network as a whole or its coordinator.