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Learn more about Word Refining, Hyper-Spelling, and getting a free proofreading sample
What does it mean to Refine?
1. Remove impurities or unwanted elements from a substance, typically as part of an industrial process.
2. Improve something by making small changes, in particular, making it (an idea, theory, or method) more subtle and accurate.
(Merriam-Webster and others).
How do I Hyper-Spell for you?
I confidentially proofread your written material, searching out the impurities: missing words, misspelled words, misplaced words, and multiple words.
You might be wondering, "What is a misplaced word?"
A misplaced word is a correctly spelled word but used in the wrong context. This problem is aggravated by the craziness of the English language. So many groups of words sound the same, these are known as homophones, for example: rite, write, right, and wright. They sound alike but have different meanings and spellings. Computer spellcheckers do not flag these misplaced words; the error remains, and your work suffers. Don't forget the problems caused by typographical mistakes. Many times, a typing error creates another word that is correctly spelled and missed by the spellchecker, like form, and from. Only one is correct in your context. You have seen these types of mistakes before without a doubt, I certainly have. I find these errors in more than 95% of the published books I read. Mainstream publishers or Indie, it doesn't matter. The mistakes are there, and I find them. I read 50 to 60 books a year.
In short, I seek spelling purity and clarity for your book or document.
Thus, your readers will more easily enjoy what you have written.
1. Remove impurities or unwanted elements from a substance, typically as part of an industrial process.
2. Improve something by making small changes, in particular, making it (an idea, theory, or method) more subtle and accurate.
(Merriam-Webster and others).
How do I Hyper-Spell for you?
I confidentially proofread your written material, searching out the impurities: missing words, misspelled words, misplaced words, and multiple words.
You might be wondering, "What is a misplaced word?"
A misplaced word is a correctly spelled word but used in the wrong context. This problem is aggravated by the craziness of the English language. So many groups of words sound the same, these are known as homophones, for example: rite, write, right, and wright. They sound alike but have different meanings and spellings. Computer spellcheckers do not flag these misplaced words; the error remains, and your work suffers. Don't forget the problems caused by typographical mistakes. Many times, a typing error creates another word that is correctly spelled and missed by the spellchecker, like form, and from. Only one is correct in your context. You have seen these types of mistakes before without a doubt, I certainly have. I find these errors in more than 95% of the published books I read. Mainstream publishers or Indie, it doesn't matter. The mistakes are there, and I find them. I read 50 to 60 books a year.
In short, I seek spelling purity and clarity for your book or document.
Thus, your readers will more easily enjoy what you have written.
Thomas Hay twitter.com/thomaslhay author of “Abduction Chronicles”:
“I am surprised with what you found. Thanks for pointing them out. Sometimes authors can't see the forest because of the trees.”
“I am surprised with what you found. Thanks for pointing them out. Sometimes authors can't see the forest because of the trees.”
What do I charge?
Level 1 Complete Word Refining: This is the deepest work and includes looking for plot holes, awkward sentences, and any misuse of words that will damage overall readability. This work includes Word Refining and The Synonym Search. The price starts at $5.00 per 1000 words and is dependent on the density of the errors found in the estimate sample.
Level 2 Hyper-Spelling: This is not as in-depth and detailed as level 1. I locate and highlight the misspelled words, misplaced words, multiple words, and missing words. This also includes The Filler Word Flush. Starting at $4.00 per 1000 words. The price is dependent on the density of errors found in the estimate sample.
Level 3 The Filler Word Flush: I find and highlight the filler words that are usually unnecessary. $3.00 per 1000 words.
My proofreading philosophy
First, I am a proofreader, I am not an editor. There are several types of editors and most of them are concerned with the big picture and how well your plot flows. The copy editor gets into some of the nuts and bolts of your book and the way it is written. As a proofreader, I am the cleanup guy, the polisher. Once all of the editing and rewriting are done that is when I provide the greatest value to you, an author.
I hold the written word in high esteem. I know that a writer has spent time and labored to find the correct word combinations to express their unique thoughts. I consider their words to be sacrosanct.
This is the primary reason why I do not use the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word. I ask authors to send me a copy with this feature turned off. My secondary reason is that the software I use as part of my proofreading process won’t function with Track Changes turned on.
I know this makes more work for the author and me. I apologize in advance for the difficulty this causes. However, it is the best way I can produce a polished manuscript for writers. The suggestions I make in the comment box on the side must be enabled manually by the author. There is no one click and it is done.
What does the work look like?
Here is a sample page. Imagine this is something you wrote, nothing has been changed in your work, I have merely highlighted those pesky impurities and made a suggestion to help polish your work. The dotted lines from the comment box to the error did not come through in the screenshot, rest assured the location of each is easy to determine. If you like the suggestions, you may implement them and the comment will disappear along with the highlighting. Upon completing all the desired corrections and recommendations, you simply delete any remaining comments at the same time with the button in the Review tab of MS Word. Everything is the way you want it to be.
You can rest easy knowing the spelling errors are found!
Level 1 Complete Word Refining: This is the deepest work and includes looking for plot holes, awkward sentences, and any misuse of words that will damage overall readability. This work includes Word Refining and The Synonym Search. The price starts at $5.00 per 1000 words and is dependent on the density of the errors found in the estimate sample.
Level 2 Hyper-Spelling: This is not as in-depth and detailed as level 1. I locate and highlight the misspelled words, misplaced words, multiple words, and missing words. This also includes The Filler Word Flush. Starting at $4.00 per 1000 words. The price is dependent on the density of errors found in the estimate sample.
Level 3 The Filler Word Flush: I find and highlight the filler words that are usually unnecessary. $3.00 per 1000 words.
My proofreading philosophy
First, I am a proofreader, I am not an editor. There are several types of editors and most of them are concerned with the big picture and how well your plot flows. The copy editor gets into some of the nuts and bolts of your book and the way it is written. As a proofreader, I am the cleanup guy, the polisher. Once all of the editing and rewriting are done that is when I provide the greatest value to you, an author.
I hold the written word in high esteem. I know that a writer has spent time and labored to find the correct word combinations to express their unique thoughts. I consider their words to be sacrosanct.
This is the primary reason why I do not use the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word. I ask authors to send me a copy with this feature turned off. My secondary reason is that the software I use as part of my proofreading process won’t function with Track Changes turned on.
I know this makes more work for the author and me. I apologize in advance for the difficulty this causes. However, it is the best way I can produce a polished manuscript for writers. The suggestions I make in the comment box on the side must be enabled manually by the author. There is no one click and it is done.
What does the work look like?
Here is a sample page. Imagine this is something you wrote, nothing has been changed in your work, I have merely highlighted those pesky impurities and made a suggestion to help polish your work. The dotted lines from the comment box to the error did not come through in the screenshot, rest assured the location of each is easy to determine. If you like the suggestions, you may implement them and the comment will disappear along with the highlighting. Upon completing all the desired corrections and recommendations, you simply delete any remaining comments at the same time with the button in the Review tab of MS Word. Everything is the way you want it to be.
You can rest easy knowing the spelling errors are found!
Michael Allan Scott @MAllanScott · @wordrefiner 6 out of 5 stars! I highly recommend you to authors who are serious about getting it right!
How to get a free sample of proofreading:
After all the editing and rewriting is done and you are sure it is ready to be published, send a portion of the middle of your book or document that you wish refined in a format compatible with MS Word 2019 with the Track Changes feature off. I will use my Word Refining ability to work magic on a 3k to 4k word sample at no charge, to provide you a #FreeSample of proofreading and an estimate for your document. Please include the genre, title, and approximate word count of your book.
Payment is accomplished through Zelle or PayPal. You can learn more about Zelle here. Then send me the entire book, since you loved the refinements performed on the sample from your masterpiece, and we will continue the process. With your permission, I will make very simple corrections as I work, such as adding spaces or removing any extra spaces between sentences or words, not including an ellipsis. In any case, I highly recommend you keep an original copy of your work safe until the entire process is complete, and I will do the same.
My exceptions and the workaround:
I love to proofread and almost anything in print interests me, except for erotica, BDSM, graphic sex or torture and other minor genres. If your book contains material like that, it's not an automatic no from me. If you can highlight those passages, in a dark color with the material I wish to avoid I can process the rest of your book. Let me know how many highlighted words or pages of material and I can deduct that from my fee.
After all the editing and rewriting is done and you are sure it is ready to be published, send a portion of the middle of your book or document that you wish refined in a format compatible with MS Word 2019 with the Track Changes feature off. I will use my Word Refining ability to work magic on a 3k to 4k word sample at no charge, to provide you a #FreeSample of proofreading and an estimate for your document. Please include the genre, title, and approximate word count of your book.
Payment is accomplished through Zelle or PayPal. You can learn more about Zelle here. Then send me the entire book, since you loved the refinements performed on the sample from your masterpiece, and we will continue the process. With your permission, I will make very simple corrections as I work, such as adding spaces or removing any extra spaces between sentences or words, not including an ellipsis. In any case, I highly recommend you keep an original copy of your work safe until the entire process is complete, and I will do the same.
My exceptions and the workaround:
I love to proofread and almost anything in print interests me, except for erotica, BDSM, graphic sex or torture and other minor genres. If your book contains material like that, it's not an automatic no from me. If you can highlight those passages, in a dark color with the material I wish to avoid I can process the rest of your book. Let me know how many highlighted words or pages of material and I can deduct that from my fee.
If you would like to help support the work of Word refiner, you may do so here by PayPal: www.paypal.me/MarkSchultz