Past and Past Perfect Tenses

January 28, 2015

A new year, and more notes! I had a very good conversation with one of the authors I edit for, so I thought I'd talk about it here.  A lot of authors have questions about the correct time to use tenses in writing as a general rule.  I was lucky growing up.  I had a grandmother who was chief of the grammar police, so things like tenses and correct word choice were ingrained into me at a young age. It now comes naturally to me for the most part, but for a lot of people, it doesn't.  There are a lot of great web sites out there that can help you as an author, but when doing research or when trying to learn, keep in mind that all websites are like television; you can't always believe what you see.  Remember that all websites are written by people like you or I, and every article is written with some bias.  Some of us are specialized in our areas (I have an honors English degree, and I've been an editor for over two decades,) but these things we write are still our take on things.  Having said that, I hope that some of what I talk about can guide you and shed some light on things that might be to date, as clear as mud.

So take a journey with me through the wonderful world of tenses. If you are writing from the first person's POV (point of view), then you will likely be writing predominantly in the present tense, with a possible smattering of past and past perfect. If you are writing from the third person's or narrator's POV, you'll be writing in a mixture of past and past perfect.

Present: walk, run, fumble, explode, sympathize.
Past: walked, ran, fumbled, exploded, sympathized.
Past Perfect: had walked, had run, had fumbled, had exploded, had sympathized.

The easiest way to explain it is if you're writing in the third person, or narrator's voice, using the past tense denotes what is happening as you read the book. Past Perfect is used to tell a story within the story, or to tell about something that happened before the "present" in the book.  I'm not talking about present as in using present tense verbs, but rather, what is happening as you read. Past can describe something habitual or repeated, whereas past perfect can also describe an action that has ended and will not likely be repeated.

 "Listened" is in the past, but when writing in third person, that talks about what the person is doing in the story as you are reading it. "She listened at the door, and the sound came again."  When you read this, you understand that it's happening.  The sound could come again as you are watching the scene unfold.  Her listening didn't end.

However, if it was something that happened in the current story's past (like at breakfast earlier in the morning), or only happened once, and then stopped happening, the perfect is used.  "She had placed the coat in the closet and had forgotten about it."  She did this a long time ago, and it was done with.  The action was not going to repeat itself, it was complete.

Part of it is using context of the rest of the paragraph or chapter to explain which to use.  If a chapter mentions something about time context, like Sabrina was washing dishes after supper, (and then she has a flashback or the story talks about what she did earlier that day),  the washing dishes part (the story's current present as it is happening now), would be washed, but the verbs in the flashback or description of earlier would be perfect: she had made breakfast for everyone that morning.

In any histories of your characters, it should all be past perfect.  had been, had lived, had moved, etc.  It was long ago in the past, and it's no longer happening, nor is it likely to repeat itself, it's complete.

All of the present things happening currently in the book should be washed, slept, changed etc. because that is still happening as the story is unfolding.

I find the best way to really explain what might be confusing concepts, is through examples.  It's easier to understand something if we can experience it and see it working. I was doing some editing of my own work, and I came across a passage that I thought might explain better the past and past perfect.

Master Zalice held in his hands a little wooden box with decorated metal bands across the top.  It was the same box he had procured from Cal’s trunk just after the boy had left.  He hadn’t stolen it, well not exactly.  It happened to have been his box in the first place.  He had just retrieved it from Cal’s room when the boy had gone. Thankfully, he had interrupted the child before he had had a chance to examine the contents that lay within.

As you can see, the first line is what is happening in the book's present tense, it's what's happening in the story now.  (it's written as past tense held, because it is written in the third person.  But as you read it, you know that this part of the story is unfolding as you are reading it.)  Then, the tense changes to past perfect, had procured, had left, hadn't, have been, had retrieved, had interrupted, had had... because the story tells about something that happened prior to this "present" time in the story. (It happened a day or two earlier).

So to sum up, if your book is written in third person, the tense to use when describing what is happening as you read, or of what is going on is past tense:

Sabrina walked to the table and sat down.

When you are telling about something that had already happened before the "right now" of your storytelling, i.e. about a character's past, or about something that had happened earlier in the day or earlier in the week, that is when had and had been are used:

She had been a wreck that morning, with great knots in her hair and mascara trails that had run down her face.  She had brushed her hair for almost an hour, and had scrubbed her face with a warm wash cloth. That had felt good, but it was only with a force of will that she had been able to make herself presentable before breakfast.

I am elated at the recent completion of my other projects.  Cauldron Cards is now published, and I must say, is an extremely fun game to play! (Also a great Christmas present!) You can check it out through thegamecrafter.com, or shoot me an email and I have a few for sale.

I am honored, and love working for other authors in many respects, as editor, illustrator, and cover designers.  The only drawback that I have found recently, and only because my other projects are coming to a head, is that I have come to the realization that I tend to put my own projects on the back burner in order to complete my "real work" for others.  I think that this is a necessity, and if I were a client of mine, I would expect nothing less.  I aim to please.  But, it has been nice to finally get back to some of my own projects, and be able to work on them without feeling guilty that I'm not working on someone else's.  I think I'm going to give myself a whole week to concentrate on just that, and give myself some "me time".  I feel that it's healthy, and necessary at some point, like being able to just blow off some steam.  One of my projects, the Bonesie's Blog (bonesies.blogspot.com), has been something that I am sticking to, and I have been diligently writing for every day or every other day when life is really busy.  I have been lax in that this week with Hanukkah, my school's concert, and my son's birthday all falling in the same week, however, this is not a project I intend to let fall by the wayside.  Please check it out, it's a little bit of awesome.  For now, I will leave you with a little brain teaser from my third book in the Binding of the Almatraek series, Enchanted Page, which should be out in January.  This is a riddle, and I'll post the answer in my next blog.

“I move across the land,

But I don’t require air,

I dive through the water,

But I don’t get wet there.

Some say I’m part of a free flying fowl,

Though I never make a peep,

Nor hoot like an owl,”

Books are a great gift to give for the holidays, please check out my website; www.reillybooks.com for books for kids, teens, and adults alike! Also, if you are looking to publish, go to www.reillybooks.weebly.com, we might not have all the answers, but we do offer a lot of help!

Dec. 9, 2014
This weekend, the author of my illustrated book Santa Almost Missed our Town, put together a reading/book signing book launch.  He and his wife, who worked closely with me on the project, invited me to be a part of it, for which I felt really touched and grateful.  There wasn't a real big turn out, but I was introduced to a beautiful location that always has things on the go.  It was held at the Bay Roberts Information Pavilion, and walking into the place, it was instantly comforting.  The whole place was decorated with Christmas paraphernalia, and though I'm Jewish, it was very cozy and inviting.  Talking to the lady afterwards, I learned that it takes approximately three weeks to decorate the two room establishment, and they redo the decoration for every holiday normally celebrated in Newfoundland.  I have found a new avenue to help promote my books, as she has invited me to come back during tourist season to do a book reading of one of my own books, which I am really looking forward to.  As an added plus, the lady who keeps the Bay Roberts website up and running, was there to take our picture and will be posting on the town's information page.  That's it for now, I have been working on another blog, Bonesie.blogspot.com, and it has become a new project that I am really enjoying.  I am writing religiously there, every day, or every other day on the outside.  Come, check it out!

November 23, 2014
I worked that big craft fair close to the city today.  Things went differently than expected.  On the plus side, it was housed at a high school, and a LOT of the kids were there to help out.  I mean how thrilled was I to be told upon registering that if I drove around to the back, there would be minions...(I mean students), to help me unload my car!  I went in feeling like a rich lady who had personal valets.  I was inspired and moved by the amount of work the school body did to decorate (all the figureheads on the gym walls were dressed with x-mas hats and there were large presents everywhere).  It really felt like the holidays, and the piped in repeating holiday music was even on a cycle that didn't make me want to tear my hair out.  So all pluses. On the down side, the large crowds I was anticipating, the droves of people promised, the throngs of buyers...must have been out to lunch...but not at the craft fair's cafeteria, if you know what I mean.  There were much fewer buyers than I had prepared for, though the ones that did buy largely bought more than one of my books.  I tried something new this time with the contest, a raffle for a free book that anyone was entered into when they bought at least two books.  Unfortunately, this craft fair was three times the cost to rent a table as the past ones, so I basically broke even on my costs.  The good news is that I drummed up lots of interest, including drawing the eye of a representative from the local university, who informed me that they keep copies of books from all of Newfoundland's authors.  Therefore, she's going to mention me to her board, and possibly order a (or some) books.  I did meet some wonderful people, one of which was an inspiring young man (teen) who created his own business called "Stranded".  It has a wonderfully powerful message, and I encourage you all to check it out. The only real down side to my journey today was that the helpful teens at the end of the day had become too scarce to help carry all the stuff back OUT to the cars.  I guess life is never perfect, but today was fun on the whole.

I also forgot to mention that I have started a blog called Bonesies Blog, a day in the life of our cat. Possibly humorous, cat lovers will get this, dog lovers should read it too, you know your dog thinks it's a cat ;)

October 15, 2014
I have mastered the art of multitasking to a fault. I find myself taking on a very heavy workload when it comes to my various writing projects, but as they are being completed, I feel the cloud lifting. I set deadlines for myself, and I find that because they are self-set, I am okay with not meeting them. Having said that, they give me a time frame to work towards, which keeps me on the job. I usually complete projects in order of importance: editing first for other authors, or cover work. Illustrations and kids' books next, because I find them both quicker than writing novels, and to be honest, the most enjoyable. Lastly, my own personal writing projects, my novel series. The only thing I find that disappoints me, although I think this is the most gainful way to spend my time, is that I lose the knack of daily writing. I find it harder to pick up the threads this way, and I let down my fans. One family in particular has come back to craft fair after craft fair seeking the next book in the series, and I feel like I am not doing enough. I have begun to recognize my own limitations, and I feel that it's helping to say "no" to some new projects, while excepting those that I will be able to manage. My last roadblock is in not having a set schedule due to work and staying home with the kids. I have two small children, and I find that life with them is pretty unpredictable at best, even when attempting to stick to a schedule for their learning. This means that I have to find time to work after they go to bed for the night, which for me, is my least productive time of day...perhaps I'll have to start drinking coffee in the evenings.

November 15, 2014
The workload grows lighter, as does the weight on my shoulders to get everything done. I have the pleasure of announcing to the world the end of and the birth of three long-lasting work projects that have all come to fruition. The Poetical Alphabetical Book, a colourful children's rhyming alphabet book both illustrated and written by me; Santa Almost Missed Our Town, written by Tom Christopher and David J. Fitzpatrick and illustrated by me (this is the book made from a song that I wrote about in my earlier posts), and the long awaited Cauldron Cards. Cauldron Cards is a card game based on my medieval fantasy novel series. I banded together with LilCon Games to create the graphics for this magical spin-off of their other popular game Cooking Cards. The game is now available, and has an expansion pack to allow for altered game play and more players at the table. I'm really quite proud of all of these projects, and to celebrate, I am doing the biggest craft fair yet in order to get the word out. I wanted to reach more readers, and this one is in a big town, close to the city, and promises to have a big crowd of all new readers who have yet to own any of my books. New exposure is great, so I have gotten pencils printed with my website, an all new set up for the (smaller) new table, and I have decided to do a draw for anyone who buys a set of books to encourage the purchase of more than one. I have taken on the square app to allow buyers to use credit cards to allow for bigger purchases, and my buyers will get to fill out a ballot for the chance to win a free book. Fingers crossed, I hope it goes well!

November 17, 2014
A quiet reprieve.  Now that most of my projects are done, I find I have a little more time for this.  I am on the fence though about my website, a sore topic for the last few months.  I have been begging my web creator to update my website for a while now, two books and a game ago, to be exact, and nothing is getting done.  My company has now published two other authors, that I want author pages for, and it should be updated with all of the merchandise I sell.  I am about to endeavor in a craft show this weekend, (Craft shows are where I sell the majority of my books), but this one promises to give new exposure and a LOT of people coming through.  I got swanky new affordable business cards from vistaprint, I paid an extra $25 for this raised ink bit and man, does it look swanky!  All my ducks are in a row, except the website.  It HAS to be updated before the weekend.  I am on the fence whether to create my own website on Weebly, which I have done for another author and another company, but the only downside is that I like the setup and look of my website, and weebly has set templates/flavours for you to choose from.  I put a lot of work into the graphics on my website, and I won't be able to use them on the new one.  Perhaps I will plug away at a new one and not activate it until it gets closer to the end of the week.

On an up side, I'm looking to start swapping blogs and have guest bloggers com on the site.  I've never done this, and am not really sure how it works, but I have found the wealth of information from my contacts on places such as Linked in to be invaluable, so perhaps some of that information will translate here.

Go check out Bonesies Blog, my new blog that's truly the cat's meow!

Birth of a Blog

I thought I would take a bit of time to rest and relax after completing the long awaited sequel to Knight's Surrender, Noble Pursuit.  I figured that although I don't consider myself to be an old dog, I still enjoy learning new tricks, 'cause let's face it, staying on top of technology is the best way to reach my audience.  (Not to mention the fact that I would like to be able to at least have the same skill set as the brilliant children I teach, when it comes to technology).  Therefore, tonight I bring into the world my first attempt at blogging, which so far seems painless and yes, a little fun.  I just hope that whoever reads this will not bore of my future ramblings.  Endalwynndale calls to me again, and so I will bid you adieu, to start my third novel in the Binding of the Almatraek series, Enchanted Page.

Jan 20, 2014
So almost a year later and my life has been turned upside down...in a good way.  I am halfway through Enchanted Page.  "Why only half?" you ask, and I can tell you about the lengthy editing process for Noble Pursuit, or simply give you the straight up good news.  My family has doubled, as we have been blessed by adopting our daughter and our son.  They were 15 months and 2 1/2 years old respectively, and they are a handful.  We have moved our family to Newfoundland, not wanting them to grow up in a place where it's "normal" for Mommy's car to get broken into.  Alas, it has cut deeply into my writing time, but I'm still getting it done.  I try to release a book each summer, and I am still aiming to try.

March 19, 2014
Enchanted page is further along, and I am happy to announce the release of two children's storybooks I have written and illustrated.  One is a rhyming and counting book about a mouse and a grandfather clock meant for younger readers.  The other is a fairy tale or Aesop's fables type of thing about a boy and girl, and why trees grow towards the sun.  Tock-Tick-Tock, the Mouse and the Clock, and The Tree and the Sun can be purchased on my website: www.reillybooks.com.

March 27, 2014
I'm making an effort to really start using my blog.  I find it both difficult and therapeutic to write a blog, simply because I am largely a fiction writer.  I generally have the power to take the story where I want.  I can change it if I'm not happy with it.  Life is a little harder to do that with.  I sit in front of my blog, cursor blinking, thinking what can I possibly write about today? Luckily, I have also discovered the usefulness to share my feelings to no one in particular, or everyone at once.  I am very excited to start really trying to make social networking work for my books, by using linked in, Facebook and Twitter.  I am filled with trepidation that no one will bother looking at my pages, or follow me on the accounts.  Having said this, the initial terror I have felt is beginning to subside as I have made some great connections with people through linked in and people are starting to visit my Facebook.  I am also redesigning my web page.  I love it.  However, I'm beginning to learn more and want to make it more user-friendly, so people can scan the information they need.  It's very hard not to be wordy and grandiose when you're a writer. Well, at least it is for me.

April 3, 2014
I read something that literally changed my perspective on writing and the way I will operate in the future.  It was a little thing, but to me, profound.  It was a post someone put on Linkedin, about writing a journal, how when you start and write a lot, it seems daunting to continue, so lots give up.  This talked about the importance of writing even one line a day.  I thought "I can handle that."  So today starts for me a change, I'll be making at least one line of an entry every day.  In honor of the poetry month that April is, I will be leaving a poem as well.  (Ok, so I never said I would write ONLY one line, but AT LEAST).  This poem I really love, I honed the skill of story telling through poetry while playing a bard in an online RPG game akin to Dungeons and Dragons.  I am a big nerd, and I am PROUD of it.  Here is an excerpt from my second novel, Noble Pursuit.  Our heroes are in a tavern called the Elder Bear, and this poem/song is being recited by one of our band, a bard by the name of Thornton:

“T’was on an evening quite like this,

The darkness rolling in,

That Almad Spurr arrived in town,

Upon his face, a grin,

He made his way into a pub,

This very Elder Bear,

He found a seat beside the bar,

And spotted golden hair.

The lass was small, the barkeep’s aid,

And he, a Dwarven lad,

With reddish hair and full blown beard,

Charisma not too bad,

He sidled up to the barkeep’s side,

An order for to make,

And pinched the rump of the serving girl,

A most grievous mistake.

The Halfling wench threw down her tray,

The crowd made her some room,

“You’ve picked the wrong one to accost,”

She cried, and seized a broom,

The mugs were swept up into hands,

As she leapt upon the bar,

But Almad laughed into her face,

As she prepared to spar.

A crowd drew round to see the row,

Exciting this would be,

And wagers passed from lip to lip,

When broom-tip whacked Spurr’s knee,

He yowled as though he hit the roof,

A goose-bump on his leg,

And used the pause to take a sip

Right from the barkeep’s keg.

He stood up tall, his wobble small,

And still he showed no fear

He went for her, but slipped and fell,

Through puddles made of beer,

Spurr went down hard between two stools,

Reached out with flailing hand,

He caught her foot, she tumbled too,

And upon him she did land.

She tried to roll clear of the fool,

He held her in his grasp,

Saying “Sorry, I’d no right to pinch.”

She yelled “With me, you ask!”

And so he looked deep into eyes

As stormy as the sea,

And said “Then dear I ask for you

To plant a kiss on me!”

She looked at all the men drawn ‘round,

And Almad let her go,

She helped him up and checked his knee,

Of that she made a show,

When all had laughed and then returned

To the solace of his drink,

She laid on Spurr a kiss so deep,

The poor man couldn’t think.

After that it seemed that our old dog

Learned a new trick,

For he asked the blonde again for kisses

In an accent thick,

She eyed the bar and sighed “I can’t,

I’ve work here, I suppose.”

He cried “Don’t leave me hanging here,

I’m ready to propose!”

Thanks for reading, till next time Adventurer, next time.

April 6, 2014
So I'm a huge Whovian.  For those of you slightly less nerdy than I, that means I'm a big fan of Doctor Who. I don't often write limericks, but this one I wrote as a greeting when I bought my friend a sonic screwdriver:
There once was a man called the Doctor,
Whose TARDIS was blue, and he docked her,
He cried out with glee
When he dropped his damned key,
My sonic screwdriver unlocked her!

May 29, 2014
I realize how sporadically I'm writing here, especially after my thoughts on only writing one line a day and sticking to doing at least that.  What you can't see though, is that I have been doing it, on the sidelines.  I've been writing poetry every day, though I haven't been posting it.  I've also been approached about doing the artwork for a song that will be turned into a book.  As a fellow songwriter/performer myself, the idea excites me very much.  What it comes down to, is that I've been sticking to doing one piece of work a day.  I'm currently finishing the colouring for my new Alphabet book coming out, which I've been madly trying to find time to work on when the kids are asleep.  (The pencil crayons come out, and they try to "help" mommy work).  I've also run into some problems with inking. My process is generally to write the words, then pencil art for the illustrations, then ink and erase the hard lines, then colour using various mediums (usually pencil crayon, Photoshop or water-colour paint).  My problem is that my pilot fine-liner, which I use to do all of my inking, runs when it comes into contact with water...found that out the hard way, and much cursing ensued.  Generally when I paint, I skip the inking stage, so running is not an issue.  There are two books that I'm working on now though, that I wasn't sure how I wanted to do the colour.  I need to ink before I scan, it saves hours of photoshop tampering later.  So I found myself on the market for a new time of fine-liner.  I love sharpie for a lot of things, so I thought I'd try that.  I took my new treasures home, inked the first drawing and was horrified when the ink bled and ruined the fine lines of my drawing!  My husband helpfully pointed out that I should have gotten a bleed-free sharpie.  *gritting teeth, deep breath*.  So now, I'm on the prowl again...for a marker that is.  Since I can't scan and print off and paint (the lines will run), I have to paint the original drawings, saving copies for the other types of colouring.  I like the sketch paper texture for my work though for both pencil crayon and paint.  Any suggestions (HELP!) my readers might have would be much appreciated.

May 30, 2014
I've been trying to help some other authors in my writing community with editing, and I thought some of what I had to say might be pretty poignant, so I thought I'd share here too.  Let me start off by saying that I hold an honors degree in English Lit, my College English aptitude scores on our three exams on were 94, 96, and 100%, and I have been a professional editor for a very long time (decades).

The first question was: how to decide if an editor is right for you? Some folks get their work edited, then feel lost when deciding whether or not to use all of the suggestions, especially if the author can't see why they were made, or doesn't agree with the change.

The best advice I can give you is to use more than one editor. When I get my books done, I usually have about 3-5 for each book (editors that is). Not all of them are professional editors, some are friends who have good English skills, and I myself have a degree in English, so I am pretty good at seeing any suggestions that are glaring. By having more than one editor, you can see if there's a change you're not sure you agree with, if they all or both agree. If more than one editor has suggested the same change, there is probably a valid reason why. (Sort of like getting a second opinion from a doctor). 

I write and enjoy reading fantasy for all ages, so I enjoy editing that type of book. In the past I have edited everything from fantasy, mystery, sci-fi, plays, and self help. It does help to choose an editor that at least likes the genre you're writing in.  Going into any situation, everyone has pre-conceived notions and opinions of what to expect.  I would be wary of hiring someone to edit a horror/thriller book that hates horror.  Even when being professional, they will go into it with the idea that it's not going to be something they'd be interested in reading. Will they give it a fair chance?  Depending on how much some people can distance themselves from their work, maybe, but I personally wouldn't chance it.  I'd rather choose an editor that will look forward to reading my work. If they go into it knowing they might enjoy it, they will work for me and with me, not just hard edit it.  They will possibly get into it and be finished in a more timely fashion, as opposed to someone who really doesn't want to read it in the first place because it's not their thing, but only a paycheck.  Most editors should offer a sample too so you can pick one you like (like 5-10 pages they do for you for free as an example of their work). 

The second question was to re-write or stick with the original?

I too went through a similar conundrum with my first novel years ago.  I ended up doing a complete re-write, and that's the one I use now...not because of suggestions to me, but because I felt by that stage in the game, I was making really good changes to help my story flow, cut out the unnecessary stuff, and make the reader to character bond richer.  (Basically, I had become a much better writer by that point and the story really is better for it).  

Which story will you continue with is the question.  The only one who can answer it is you, but try taking a look at it this way: which one do you feel tells the better story?  Go with the one where the writing is better.  I'm not talking grammar and spelling (those are easy to fix later), I mean which one will grab the audience?  If you feel like you did a good enough job in the first version, stick to it.  An editor making a LOT of comments isn't saying your book is horrible, they're saying the story is worth completing properly.  I myself do tend to write a lot of comments, mostly I find myself correcting things like grammar, capitals or punctuation used incorrectly, or word choice for redundancy (using the same word too many times in the same paragraph and such).  None of that reflects on the story itself though, you have to choose the direction the story will take.  If you are digging the newer version more, go with it.  If you are editing along the way though, I would seriously suggest a second complete edit when it's done (or wait till it's done for the editing).  When I write, I edit first what I had written last time, then continue the story. At the end, I edit the whole shabang again.  But that's just my anal-retentiveness to detail.

When making the decision, you should really try this: one of the hardest things I had to do (And it took me about 4 years to be able to do it with a vengeance...and it still makes me cringe), is to take a step back and stop thinking of my story as my baby.  I put so much work, so much time, patience, and love into it, as I'm sure you have too, but parents never see their child as the naughty one that needs to change.  You need to look at it from an objective standpoint, as a reader, not the writer.  Part of my re-writing was taking out or changing around the order of complete chapters...if it doesn't further the plot, take it out, no matter how sweet or charming or perfectly it fits in the story.  I found myself reading and thinking "wow, that was totally awesome...but what did that have to do with the story's end goal?"

The other part of my re-write was adding layers to the experiences the characters had.  For example, we use all five senses to take in information.  But I had written primarily in a narrative that explained mostly what the characters (or reader) saw.  I added tastes, smells, textures they touched, sensations of warmth on the cheeks when they blushed.  It made it much easier for the audience to put themselves in the place of the characters because they were experiencing my story the way they would in real life.  It helps with the suspension of disbelief that is really important for fantasy writers who write about things that happen outside the world's norm.

So it comes down to why and how are you changing your story in the new version/draft?  Is it necessary, and does it make the story better for the reader?

I hope you haven't been bored by my rambling, I hope it helps with perspective a bit and that I haven't just confused you.

The last question was: How much do you charge, and how does your editing work?  (Inserting shameless plug here).

I usually charge $50 for up to 200 pages, then an additional $25 for the next hundred and so on. (So if the book is 200 pages or less, it would be $50), then if it's 200-300 pages it would be $75, from 300-400 pages it would be $100 etc...you get the idea).

In terms of how my editing works, I've done it two ways: normally authors give me a printed out double spaced copy, and I edit it with a pencil. This is also the way I prefer.  I like having a hard copy to see what you've written and what I've written.   I'm warning you all now, I'll mark the ever loving [insert naughty word here] out of your work, so don't be alarmed, I promise it should help.  I add suggestions for word choices when needed, I'll pencil in comments and questions in the margins as well.  If there are some large or consistent errors or positive comments, I'll also add a one to two page comment sheet at the end of my own.  One of my authors has also preferred to have the editing done on the computer, as opposed to printed out hard copy.  We can do it that way too if you prefer.  As an editor it makes me feel kind of like I'm changing your story rather than giving you suggestions and letting you do it, but you see all the markups or changes I make, so it's easy to switch back to your original text (that also shows) if you disagree.  Keep in mind that you are the author, an editor gives you suggestions and pointers that will make your story better, but it's up to you to use the ones that work.  When I have a questionable edit, I read my version and the new suggestion out loud (sometimes to another person), you'd be surprised how it makes it easier to "feel" which way sounds right.