Editing / Workshops

Hello,
My name is Bud Smith, I am the author of the novel, Teenager (Vintage ’22) among others. My short fiction has been published in The Paris Review (“Violets”), The Baffler, The Believer, and others. I work heavy construction in a labor union in NJ, and hold no formal writing or teaching degree. I have taught and edited people with MFAs and graduate degrees, and have done the same with writers new and old who hold no college degree. No matter your level of experience, I’d love to learn about your project. Thank you very much.

Here is some more info on the editing services, and the workshops I offer:

Editing:

Manuscripts


I’m available for hire as an editor. The projects I tend to take on are from authors who have completed a few early drafts of a full length novel, and are interested in working with an editor to aid the development of the project. I guide the author towards a substantial next draft. My rate varies depending on the needs of the author, and the shape of the work.

Two options are listed below:

1) At $.03 per word ($300 per 10,000 words) I will give tracked-change line edits, comments within the .doc throughout, provide a comprehensive editorial letter, and speak on the phone/zoom afterwards with the author. I also take on novellas, short story collections, memoirs, all on a case by case basis–please tell me more about your project, including word count and an assessment of the shape of your project now–reply in the box below or email me at: budsmithwrites@gmail.com

2) If you are interested in a read–through of your manuscript (sans line editing), with comments inserted throughout the manuscript, and developmental advancements posited in an editorial letter, and a thorough discussion of your work on the phone/zoom, I am happy to discuss a fee lower than stated above in option 1. This read and discussion will have the same care as option 1 just without the detailed tracked-change line edits. We will come up with a plan together to enhance the overall structure of your manuscript, deepen your characters and plotting; and we will discuss how to improve the general mechanics of your work, ie. POV, guidance on dialogue, transitions in and out of scenes, etc. Reply in the box below or email me.

Short Stories

I will edit stand alone short stories or essays up to 5000 words for a flat fee of $300.
Please inquire below or email.

Workshops:

1) Novel Workshops. I teach in-person workshops in NYC. Currently I am offering a ‘complete novel workshop’–meant for an author with at least a complete first draft–this workshop offers an emphasis on developmental editing, with prescriptions on enhancing the structure of your novel, characters, plotting, as well as overall prose mechanics.

This workshop happens once in the spring (April), and once in the fall (October).
Usually it’s a two day, back to back, block, with each novel getting approximately four hours of focused, guided discussion.

I take applications year-round, and from those applications, I assemble a small group who wish to have their novels discussed in-depth, live and in-person in a deep and meaningful group discussion, driven by the instructor, me. Editorial letters will be given. Detailed comments and notes will be given. Fun will be had. Lessons for life will be dispensed. Please inquire, including details of your project, and preference on spring or fall. I will be happy to give you more details.

2.) Short Prose Workshops. You can also keep an eye on twitter (@bud_smith) or instagram (@budsmith) for announcements about short prose workshops I run from time to time in blocks. All participants workshop three pieces (stand alone short stories, or chapters of a novel) (up to 5000 words each) over the course of nine weeks. Sometimes I do these workshops in-person in NYC, but occasionally if I get enough interest I will have them over Zoom. Though I prefer to all be in the same room together, there’s something almost equally magic about talking about art between continents.



Thank you for your interest and for making your art
Much respect to you,
Bud Smith