FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
When offering a variety of services, developing a price list can be tricky, since it must ensure that I earn enough to meet my expenses while not charging so much that people cannot afford my services. needless to say, it can be a, "Juggling act!" To begin, I will lay out my tutoring rates: For someone just wanting help studying for an examination or reviewing information they probably know, I tutor for $15.00 an hour. For someone who needs me to actually design test questions, help teach and perfect, "Study Skills," or "Educate," someone in an area where he or she is struggling and/or has no prior knowledge, I tutor for $20.00 an hour. My rates for proofreading and editing are more complex. My flat rate for proofreading is $10.00 an hour. For that rate, I just note or highlight where the errors are and return the document to you (it depends whether or not I am working with a hard copy or an e-version as to which method I use). Editing rates begin from the base rate of $10.00 an hour for proofreading, which would be paid whether or not any errors were noted. Initially, I begin by performing a page count and word count. Assume the document contains 1,000 words. for most students, papes are typed, double-spaced, 12-point font. That would usually translate to a 3-page paper (plus a title page and citation pages, if necessary). From there, it is a matter of basic mathematics. If the paper is 1,000 words long, then 100 errors = 10% of the paper contained errors. That percentage of errors then would be added to the base fee. In this example, the new rate would be $11.00 an hour. If you need me to design a cover page or title page for the project at hand, they are $7.50 each. If you need me to design a Table of Contents, that is $10.00. If you want me to insert all of the page numbers into the Table of Contents for you, that is fine; but, that will be done at the hourly rate set for the rest of the job. This is due to the fact that I must take great care going back through and ensuring that all of the pages are in the proper place and that all are set the same distance from the top of the page; otherwise, the uniformity you are seeking will be lost. If you are writing a book or Thesis and you require or desire to have a Dedication and/or Acknowledgements page included, these can be designed for $5.00 each. If you want me to create citation pages from the information that you provide, that can be done as well. the styles with which I am most familiar are: Modern Language Arts (MLA); Chicago/Terabian; and, The American Psychological Association (APA). Each of these is $10.00 an hour. If you want me to go back through each of your citations and confirm that they are accurate (such as the retrieval dates, URLs, publication dates, and so forth), I can accommodate your request; however, this will be performed at the hourly rate based upon the percentage of errors within the rest of the document. If you are interested in hiring me for my writing talents, the cost for that is $25.00 an hour. Please Note: For these rates, regardless of the service provided, you are entitled to a receipt (should you desire one), privacy and confidentiality (unless you are a minor and/or you waive it), a distraction-free environment in which to receive assistance and all services provided in a professional and timely manner. If the person receiving assistance requests or requires me to have access to a particular book, manual, video, or other extraneous material, that individual may need to fund this expense before we can proceed.
- What types of customers have you worked with?
Most people who contact me seek my help in one of two areas: Proofreading or editing research papers; and, tutoring someone who has a reading deficiency or difficulty in areas related to Study Skills. I would prefer to tutor people in English Composition, Essay Writing, Citing Sources, Pre-wrting Exxercises and Outline Development. Unfortunately, most people would rather have me correct what they already did instead of letting me teach them how to not need me in the future. It is the age-old concept of teaching someone how to fish, rather than just giving him a fish to eat. I would prefer they be independent thinkers and communicators. I feel the same way about teaching Study Skills. If I can teach someone the basic skills necessary to succeed in any subject, then it will not matter whether the person is an electronics major, a biology genius, or a student preparing to take the ACTs. That is also why I spend so much time working with young students to improve their basic reading skills. If I can make the student learn to enjoy ad look forward to reading, the student will have success in every subject area. A student who cannot handle three-syllable words will have difficulty with science, literature, mathematics, history, political science and just about every other subject he or she encounters. I help a student develop an interest in reading by allowing him or her to read material that is at his or her appropriate reading level. I also make sure that the subject matter is interesting to the student. I spend time teaching, "Syllabication," how to break words into beats. I teach prefixes and suffixes, as well their meanings. I help students learn, "Root," or, "Base Words," and their meanings, as well as how to recognize the word origin. This is important because,, if the student can develop these skills, often that person can figure out how to spell a word and determine its meaning based on these pieces of the, "Puzzle." By teaching these skills, the student begins to decrease his or her frustration level. As the frustration level decreases, the student begins to enjoy reading and increases his or her vocabulary. As the vocabulary of the student develops an increased sense of self-condidence. Thus, he or she begins to delve into more complicated reading selections. This helps the student develop a love of books. Ultimately, then reading becomes a joy!
- Describe a recent project you are fond of. How long did it take?
This time last year, I completed an editing job for a childhood friend. Her name was Joanne Findlay. Over the past twenty or so years, she married, raised two children, went o college, became an assistant teacher, a softball coach, a drama teacher and an author. Now married to Howard Durann, Joanne Durann write a book entitled, "Between Shadows." Currently, this book, which I edited for my dear friend, whom I met on our first day of Kindergarten, is available in papeback form Barnes & Noble. In a short while, Joanne will be finished with the sequal to her first novel. This one will be entitled, "Seasons Shadowed," will begin precisely where her last book ended. I have seen some of the early pages of the darft. They are posted on her website: www.joannedurann.com. When she is ready, I will bein editing this one for her as well. She was so pleased with my work on her first novel that she put a link to my webpage on her website. It can be found under the tab, "Friends of Joanne."