Lately, I have spoken with a handful of people about writing and editing for them. Two represent companies rather than individual authors. It’s interesting that these diverse parties have similar requests.

When it comes to completing and submitting applications, I’m one of those folks who won’t submit an application unless I can claim to have most of the experience and/or qualifications listed in the job description. We all know that job descriptions are wish lists, just as we all know that corporations all want to hire 18-year-old kids with MBAs and 10 years of professional experience who will work 60 hours per week on a minimum wage salary without overtime pay.

Ain’t gonna happen.

Besides, if I don’t have every single criteria nailed, that just leaves me with something to learn, a new skill to acquire. That small gap offers growth instead of boredom.

But I digress.

One person to whom I submitted a proposal asked me for project samples. I’d already provided links to project samples in my website, but gave her the benefit of the doubt of likely having received dozens of proposals and not recalling which was specifically was mine. So, I responded with a concrete list, each item hyperlinked. Then that prospective customer asked me to send her samples of those clients’ pre-edited work to show what I had done with those manuscripts.

I replied that I don’t do that. I don’t share clients’ unedited content, because that’s a violation my ethics and of their trust in me. They don’t want their unedited content sent to all and sundry. Instead of breaking their trust (and my contracts with them), I offered to provide that prospective client with a sample edit. I haven’t heard back and doubt I will.

I understand that a prospective client wants assurance that I won’t butcher his or her work when editing it; however, that person also would not want his or her unedited work handed to other people, either. If you don’t want me to do something like that with your manuscript, then don’t ask me to do that with other people’s manuscripts. Fair’s fair.

A sample edit will demonstrate how I would treat your manuscript. There’s no better test for editor-author compatibility.

Another potential client considering me as a ghostwriter mentioned asked to see writing samples. I directed that person to various URLs leading directly to my work. I showed my experience in the genre specified as well as other work. Then came the mention that I’d have to undergo a writing trial which sounded suspiciously like a request for me to write for free. Any professional writer who has been in the game for more than a year or two will tell you: professionals don’t create custom content for free. That’s what all those writing samples are for.

The first request to share a client’s unedited content is, quite simply, unethical. I have no rights to that content. It is not mine to give away.

The second request, one ghostwriters often receive, is also unethical as well as exploitive. This comes under “getting something for nothing” without the security of a contract or the promise of a reward. One doesn’t ask a painter to paint one wall of a house before deciding whether to hire that painter, or a chef to prepare a sample dish before the patron orders a meal.

A third prospective client engaged me in a conversation regarding editing a manuscript. I explained my service and directed him to my website where my rates and recent projects are listed. That person stated that full service wasn’t needed and asked if I were willing and able to deliver an abbreviated version of that service. Of course, I could do that; the author controls the level of service rendered. The author asked for my rates. I provided the information. And … crickets.

The freelance dance requires both patience and perseverance. Patience comes into play when explaining the same thing to many different people—and sometimes to the same people. What I do doesn’t change, but to many folks, what I do is new to them. They don’t comprehend it, and it’s my job to make sure they do understand before we get to the point of signing on the dotted line. Patience also comes into play when a prospective client asks me to do something unethical. I try to give that person the benefit of the doubt: either he did not think the request through or she’s just naive and uninformed. Again, it’s my job to educate that person. Again patience comes into play when a client finally understands what an endeavor will require and how much it will cost. Not everyone is able to or is willing to afford my services. I understand that and, again, work to educate the prospective client on the expected cost of service.

Perseverance is required, because for every “yes” I receive, I get a lot of “no” responses. Just as a prospective client or employer needs to evaluate me as a vendor, I need to evaluate the client. If it’s not a good fit, then it’s best not to do business.

The Twin Moons Saga is the fantasy romance series that keeps on giving. One story sparks an idea for the next … and I’m now five books into the series. Will there be a sixth? Probably.

The beauty of the Twin Moons Saga or any of the series I write is that each book can be read as a standalone novel complete unto itself. I detest cliffhangers and won’t inflict them upon my readers.

Champion of the Twin Moons departs somewhat from my usual style. It focuses more intently upon the hero’s journey, his trials and tribulations and spiraling descent into villainry. Characters from other books in the series pop into Chastian’s story: Master Enders, the enigmatic Archivist; Uberon, the formidable Unseelie King; Ishjarta, former assassin and the new king of Fyrgia; and, of course, the dawn and midnight swifts, the powerful unicorns who serve as the fae realm’s highest powers.

However, the story doesn’t begin with Chastian; it begins with Rosalia, the former princess of Fyrgia, whose father was deposed (and decapitated). Now, at 12 years old and living with her mother (the former queen of Fyrgia) and her siblings as subjects of the Erlking, she receives an offer to study under the Archist’s tutelage—an unprecedented opportunity. No dummy, she accepts.

But she doesn’t know why the Archivist offered her that opportunity, especially since the fae haven’t a particularly good opinion of humans anyway. What Rosalia doesn’t know is that the Chastian, the Champion of the Seelie Court, recognizes her as his mate.

But she’s a child and Chastian is honorable.

The story doesn’t end there. The course of true love never did run smoothly, and fate has other plans for Chastian, including rejection. So, how does a fae male deal with rejection? Not well.

Embark on the rollercoaster ride of fate with Chastian and purchase your copy of Champion of the Twin Moons.

ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) filled headlines this year. 2024 is the year of the AI revolution! Graphic designers and artists gasped in horror and dismay. Then writers join in the collective groaning as they saw clients depart for cheap content. Authors and artists organizations grappled with issues of copyright violation in addition to the ready availability of cheap artwork and content.

Strangely enough, I read on LinkedIn that the use of AI actually declined in June.

Despite that, publishers like EA Publishing are “are hiring for both 1) People who will use AI tools to create content as well as 2) People who will work with AI produced content to mold it into a final product.” It’s the drizzle before the deluge of computer-generated content saturates every publishing platform.

Many writers and artists are hearing the bell toll a death knell. I don’t, but I also recognize that various iterations of ChatGPT and its competitors are hear to stay and their ubiquitous use will have far-reaching consequences:

• Payment for content will plunge, especially for entry level and generalist writers. To make money as a writer, you’ll need to be an expert in a specific niche.
• Entry level content writers will be forced to use AI to generate content in sufficient quantities to earn a living. This will lead to burnout.
• Except for those companies and publishers prizing original, well-researched, well-written content and willing to pay for it, the general quality of content will sink to a uniformly low standard.
• The new low standard for quality will train people to expect lesser quality and value content even less.

It’s a pretty dismal prediction for writers. 

Editors may have a somewhat better expectation, as companies will hire them to massage AI-written content into shape and infuse it with enough character and originality to satisfy readers. Editors who don’t normally do this kind of work (which is more properly called book doctoring) may find themselves in higher demand than those who specialize in developmental editing, line editing, or copy editing. Of course, they’ll need to conduct research to ensure that any citations and sources referenced by AI actually exist and are correct.

It was big news not all that long ago that ChatGPT makes stuff up. It lies. It’s up to humans to verify claims made in AI-generated content.

As always, however, there will be readers who prize original content. These are the people who comprehend the value of craftsmanship and hard-earned skill. For these people, there will always be writers like me, writers who do things the old-fashioned way, the hard way. I don’t use AI in writing my stories. What readers get is the product of my imagination, not a machine-generated output of keywords and suggested themes and plot points devoid of all humanity.

When it comes to computers, the old saying “garbage in, garbage out” still holds true. But AI is capable of learning and adapting and improving itself.

​Woe betide the day when it replaces a good storyteller.