Monday, June 18, 2007

Say Hello To A Writers Best Friend Heather Froeschl

Heather Froeschl [heather@quilldipper.com

I work from home. Really? Yes, really. I’m a Book Editor. Most everyday people I meet respond with, “I’ve never met anyone who does that!” Well I do. Then they want to know if I’ve worked with Stephen King. Uh, no. I wish, but no. I work with a couple of publishers but mostly I am a freelance book editor. I work directly with authors. Technically, and this is a quote from my Service Agreement, Quilldipper’s content edit service consists of: carefully screening the work for typos, misspellings, grammar usage, character and overall story development, or in the case of non-fiction, clear purpose and message conveyance. Suggestions for changes will be made directly on the manuscript, which will then be returned to the author. I am Quilldipper (www.Quilldipper.com ); it’s my business’ name and has been for ten years. In reality, I like to think that I do so much more than that though.

I’m an author too, so I feel I can say this freely, writers are dreamers. We love to weave words into images and tales that won’t be forgotten; we dream of becoming the next bestselling author. Our manuscripts are our precious babies; our hopes and sometimes our life goals. As an editor, I help to make those hopes realized. I work with authors to help them fulfill their dreams of being published. No, I’m not an agent. See above…I catch those typos, make sure you’ve used those clichés correctly if you are going to use them, I ask if you really want to slam that mother-in-law character so hard, I suggest that maybe the killer should be leaving some clues that the detectives can pick up on, and I leave red ink on your pages. I love what I do.

I suppose I’ve become pretty good at it too. I have return clients who are selling their second or third books. I get new clients who have heard from so-and-so that I am perfect for their project. I won First Place in the Preditors & Editors Book Editor contest for 2006 and placed in the top ten last year for the 2005 results. (They do the contest at the beginning of the current year, to reflect upon the past year. I know it’s a little confusing. Yes, that’s how they spell Preditors.) http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

I absolutely love being able to polish up a manuscript. Sometimes this means suggesting the removal of a subplot that has no real contribution to the story, sometimes it means adding one. I like working with authors on development too. I enjoy hearing about their research and how the planning is going. This usually only happens with local authors or someone I’ve already worked with though. I need to get know someone a little and be able to understand their vision for this type of thing. I also do book reviews and have been doing so for as long as I’ve had my business. (See www.BookReviewJournal.blogspot.com for a good sampling – over 300) I know this helps me to evaluate manuscripts all the more. I am able to tell when a book is complete or if it needs just a little something. Reviewing offers me an abundance of reading materials in all genres. My office is literally a library, though I imagine a librarian would cringe at the piles and stacks of books that surround my desk in no order whatsoever, except the to-be-read pile.

I’m still an author too. I have a book coming out with Zumaya next year. http://www.quilldipper.com/pages/spiritual.htm I have a YA novel plotted and the characters are calling to me, but they have to wait until any given current client is satisfied. My clients come before my characters!

I work from home. I’m a Book Editor.

Guest Blog by Heather Froeschl

www.Quilldipper.com

www.BookReviewJournal.blogspot.com

www.LittleHouseontheMountain.blogspot.com

www.SpiritualVisitations.blogspot.com

2 comments:

Kim Robinson said...

thank you so much for coming Heather

Heather Brush said...

Absolutely my pleasure Kim! Thank you!