'Tis the Season of Stories: A Christmas Gift for Returning Clients and the Blogger Team

Hello, friends! I hope this Christmas season has been full of stories for you: ones you're reading, ones you're writing, and the one you're living. :)

If you've been writing a story, I'd love to assist you on the journey! I'm currently freelancing under my married name, offering both editing/critiquing and marketing services.

And here's my gift to you: If you're a returning client (someone I worked with under Editing Through the Seasons in 2012-2014) OR if you signed up as part of the team of bloggers who are willing to participate in future blog events (you can still sign up HERE!), I'm offering discounts...

Take 20% off your first marketing project (blog tour, cover reveal, or book description) and/or 10% off your first editing project (critique or copyedit).

I'm so grateful for such supportive friends, and I'd love to work with you again or in new ways! And as the New Year approaches, this is the perfect time to move another step forward with your publishing goal. Let's take that step together!

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends!

Just for fun: I've been taking lots of pics of myself using my camera's timer feature as I've been updating my website. Here are some bloopers... ;)

Sleeping? Meditating?

Eek! Too eager to check the photo, I suppose. ;) 

Working with You | My Return to Editing and Writing

Happy Monday, friends!

As you might already know from this post last month, I am now living in Montana with my husband, Josh. Because of this move and this new season in my life, I have returned to freelance editing!

The image above shows a sampling of books I've edited. I especially enjoy working with fiction, including Christian fiction and young-adult stories. But I'm also available to hire for other genres and nonfiction projects!

And due to my line of work these past three years as a content writer for a Christian book publisher, I have experience writing book descriptions and other marketing copy. So if you're in need of a writer to help you in those areas, I'd be honored to work with you.

To learn more about me, my services, and pricing, please visit my new website:

Amber Christine Holcomb

* * *

Some of you may recall that I also used to host/organize blog tours back when I was previously freelancing. Out of curiosity, is that something you'd be interested in hiring me to do? Or is that something you'd enjoy participating in as a blogger?

And one final note: I do plan to continue writing my own books as an indie author, Lord willing. :) While I'm not quite at a point to give a possible publication date, Where Trains Collide is definitely on my radar and something I've started revisiting. I believe that's the next story I'd like to share with you all, and I'd certainly be grateful for your prayers for focus, commitment, and guidance in completing this novella. ♥

Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

The Writers Alley Guest Post and Giveaway!

I'm at The Writers Alley blog today, sharing some thoughts on editing and offering a HUGE giveaway! If your story is ready for some editing, I'm giving away any one of my editing packages. That's right - the winner will get a FREE editing package, up to a $550 value (according to my current prices for my freelance editing services)!!! I'm really excited to work with someone on his or her story, and to have someone try out my editing services. =)

To enter the drawing, head on over to The Writers Alley and leave a comment with your e-mail address. You'll find all the details for the drawing, as well as my thoughts about the benefits of editing (perhaps you'll be surprised!), here:

Editing the Future: Another Pair of Eyes and Unwritten Manuscripts ~ A Guest Post by Amber Stokes

I hope to see you there!!

With thanks to Casey Herringshaw for offering to host me, and for giving me the opportunity to share some thoughts on editing as well as spread the word about my new business!

Introducing My New Freelance Editing Business!

Some of you may recall a post I wrote back in July, in which I mentioned my idea of starting a freelance editing business. Well, that idea has finally been turned into a reality!

I'm thrilled to announce that my website for "Editing Through the Seasons" is up, and I am open for business!

What is this all about, you may ask? Let me elaborate...

Why Freelance Editing?

I graduated back in May with a Bachelor's degree in English. I chose to major in English because I love the written word - I love studying literature; I love reading; I love writing; I love editing and proofreading. Getting a degree in English, without any specializations, seemed the best route to allow me to feed my passion and perhaps prepare myself for entering the publishing industry in some form or fashion (maybe as a publicist or an editor, and hopefully someday as a novelist!).

After graduating, I ended up returning home. It's been great being with my family, and my parents were kind enough to give me the summer "off," so to speak. But now the time has come to start working. Since I want to stay around the area for the time being, I'm trying my hand at freelance editing.

What do I love about the idea of freelance editing? Besides the fact that it allows me to work from home and gives me time to spend with my family and work on my own novel-writing, I love the thought of putting my degree and passion to use helping fellow writers and authors. My business is geared toward meeting a writer wherever he or she is at in the story-creating process (at whichever "season" the story is in). Whether someone is just starting out, or whether someone is almost ready to submit his or her work to an agent or an editor with a publishing company, I'm willing and ready to walk alongside that person on the journey, with everything on a "per project" basis. As an avid reader and book reviewer, I can offer general comments on the direction of the novel regarding plot, characterization, etc. And as far as proofreading and copy-editing goes, I am prepared to fine-tune a story in its grammar, syntax, and dialogue.

Preparing for Business

Getting a business started was a little bit tougher than I first imagined - and I keep finding new challenges all the time! But thanks to my daddy, I haven't have to navigate all of this craziness alone.

For those who might be wondering, no need to worry! I have applied for my business license; I have submitted the fictitious business name documents (I still have to advertise in a local newspaper, but that will happen soon!); I have bought the domain name for my website; I have purchased web hosting and figured out (thanks to Google...) the ins and outs of contact forms and such (I'm sure the website will continue to be updated in the days to come, but it's in working order for now!); and I have verified my PayPal account in order to receive payments. I'm sure there are some other little things to figure out, but at this point I am ready to meet my first customer. ;)

Could it be you?

I would be honored if any one of you, dear readers, would be my first customer! If you're an unpublished writer (or even a seasoned author!) who is interested in the services of a freelance editor, I would love to have you check out my website and see if I might be of service to you. =) If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment here or fill out the contact form on my website!

If you're not looking for editing services right now, not a problem! But if you are willing to help me out, it would mean so much to me if you could blog or tweet about my business, post about it on Facebook, or take the button in the sidebar and post in on your blog. Spreading the word would be super helpful!! And one other thing: if you could please pray for me and any writers who might contact me, that would be wonderful!

Thank you so, so much to all my blogging and author friends out there who have already encouraged me, prayed for this endeavor, and helped spread the word!! I believe that starting this business after having already been blogging for a couple of years - and after having made such dear friends because of it - is so much less daunting than it would have been if I had started from "scratch."

~ 

If you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to learn about this new adventure of mine! I hope to keep you all posted on how it goes!

Back to Business - and Maybe Starting a New One

Here I am once again!

I had a lovely time on vacation, emphasis on lovely:

Paulina Falls

Obsidian Flow

View from Mt. Bachelor at Sunset

Delicious Breakfast at the Sunriver Lodge

 

Crater Lake

Aren't those sights just breathtaking? Yes, even the breakfast! (Seriously, I feel like a lot of my memories this trip include some great food that I ate - from a loaded Kobe burger with candied bacon and some delicious sorbet at a restaurant on Mt. Bachelor, to a barbecue at our rental home complete with fruit salad and some brownies and vanilla bean ice cream. And much more! Good thing we did some biking and hiking along with all that eating...)

But it was more than just beautiful views and great food - I had a fabulous time with family and friends. While sometimes it felt a little stressful with all the goings-on and keeping up with younger cousins, I really made such wonderful memories! I am truly blessed!!

There will probably be some more pictures and vacation stories in the coming days, but before I conclude this post I wanted to address the second part of the title. You see, I'm considering starting my own free-lance editing business - hence the poll in the sidebar. Hopefully I will have more to share on this soon, but it would mean a lot to me as I send out some feelers if you would honestly let me know if you (if you're a writer) or someone you know might consider using the services of a free-lance editor. And it would especially mean a lot to me if you could pray for God's guidance as I test the waters!

If it is God's will, I would love to use my passion for stories, my experience with editing/proofreading, and my education (Bachelor's degree in English) to encourage and assist authors in their writing. We'll see where God leads!

For now, I'm back to blogging - and I look forward to interacting with you all again!