A Clarification to my Update: Short Fiction Pricing
My schedule & rate updates described in my last post were made with book-length work in mind: the 90-day lead isn’t necessary for short fiction. So for all pieces under 10,000 words or so*, my standard rate is $40/hr, and delivery can be expected within 1-2 weeks. This doesn’t count as “rush” pricing because there’s a big difference in editing a 6,000 word story in 14 days and editing a 70,000 word story in 30 days. Usually I’m able to deliver short...
Read MoreJoin me at the Clubhouse! (Plus, Rate & Scheduling Updates)
To celebrate the release of her hilarious and heartwarming women’s fiction novel (plus WWII survival story) StumpStrong, my client Nicki Pascarella is hosting a series of “Bookclub” talks on Clubhouse. I’ll be joining her the evening of August 12 to talk about “Preparing Your Manuscript for Editing”: how to get the most from working with an editor like me. Preparing for the Clubhouse chat has got me thinking about what elements have led to the best editing...
Read More12 Words to (Almost Always) Cut
Strong stories are not necessarily short. They don’t need to be Hemingway-esque masterpieces of bare prose (even Hemingway didn’t always write that way). And it would be hypocritical to argue for only short sentences or short paragraphs when I have to make a conscious effort to write either. But in a strong story, every word counts. And no word is misplaced or ill-chosen. The vocabulary is vivid and usually varied, plus precise (though alliteration is optional). Words do not...
Read MoreAbout Therese
Therese Arkenberg's first short story was accepted for publication on January 2, 2008, and her second acceptance came a few hours later. Since then they haven't always been in such a rush, yet her work appears in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Analog, Daily Science Fiction, and the anthology Sword & Sorceress XXIV. Aqua Vitae, her science fiction novella, was released by WolfSinger Publications in December 2011.
She works as a freelance editor and writer in Wisconsin, where she returned after a brief but unforgettable time in Washington, D.C. When she isn't reading, writing, or editing (it's true!) she serves on the board of the Plowshare Center of Waukesha, which works for social, economic, and environmental justice.