It's a private job. And oh, dear God, this woman cannot write. She's an extremely nice woman; I wish that all of my clients were so nice. But she cannot write
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My first reaction is to say you can't tell her that the story is a turd - cue a flounce and her bad-mouthing you to other potential writers/sources of income.
If you truly feel you can't go on with it (and yes, I get that you could feel that way), return the manuscript with your edits so far and tell her you feel that you are not able to do the manuscript justice (even if you mentally add "without setting fire to it") and wish her every possible good luck for the future. Add up the hours you have spent on the MS and bill her for that. Generously estimate the amount of hours left to complete the copy edit (for example:"I have spent 20 hours editing to this point. I estimate there is another 40 hours' work here - you could reduce that by following the style of the edits I have done so far." ) and hopefully she will read the MS and see the difference between your edits and her stream-of-unconsciousness style.
Otherwise, grit your teeth, do the best job you can, take the money and run. She will occupy herself trying to flog it to some unsuspecting publisher, end up self-publishing and then wonder why nobody wants to read it or the 300,000 word sequel she's already working on.
You could also direct her attention to any local writers' workshops where her classmates can tell her what you cannot.
I second this comment. I had a similar project a few years ago and I had to give up 100 pages into it. The book was...well, let's just say the author's id was showing and it wasn't pretty. ::shudders::
I was lucky because a) I didn't need the money and b) I was pregnant and able to say (truthfully!) that I didn't see myself able to finish the project before my son was born.
What I did that made me feel a little better was to give some very gentle overall comments on what I saw, trying very nicely to point out some enormous problems with the (lack of) plot and the obnoxious main character. I don't know if he took my advice, but I tried!
What I did that made me feel a little better was to give some very gentle overall comments on what I saw, trying very nicely to point out some enormous problems with the (lack of) plot and the obnoxious main character. I don't know if he took my advice, but I tried!
My first reaction is to say you can't tell her that the story is a turd - cue a flounce and her bad-mouthing you to other potential writers/sources of income.
I know. But I can't tell her that it's good. It honestly is not. And my explaining to her that the manuscript has X, Y and Z problems and here are some ways to fix X, Y and Z problems haven't gotten much response.
Otherwise, grit your teeth, do the best job you can, take the money and run. She will occupy herself trying to flog it to some unsuspecting publisher, end up self-publishing and then wonder why nobody wants to read it or the 300,000 word sequel she's already working on.
This is what I'm currently doing.
You could also direct her attention to any local writers' workshops where her classmates can tell her what you cannot.
That's an idea, though I know from experience that writers' workshops are not always critical of bad writing.
I estimate that I've done at least 2000 hours of work so far, and that there's at least another 10K needed. That's not hyperbole.
If you truly feel you can't go on with it (and yes, I get that you could feel that way), return the manuscript with your edits so far and tell her you feel that you are not able to do the manuscript justice (even if you mentally add "without setting fire to it") and wish her every possible good luck for the future. Add up the hours you have spent on the MS and bill her for that. Generously estimate the amount of hours left to complete the copy edit (for example:"I have spent 20 hours editing to this point. I estimate there is another 40 hours' work here - you could reduce that by following the style of the edits I have done so far." ) and hopefully she will read the MS and see the difference between your edits and her stream-of-unconsciousness style.
Otherwise, grit your teeth, do the best job you can, take the money and run. She will occupy herself trying to flog it to some unsuspecting publisher, end up self-publishing and then wonder why nobody wants to read it or the 300,000 word sequel she's already working on.
You could also direct her attention to any local writers' workshops where her classmates can tell her what you cannot.
FWIW, I feel your pain. :-)
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I was lucky because a) I didn't need the money and b) I was pregnant and able to say (truthfully!) that I didn't see myself able to finish the project before my son was born.
What I did that made me feel a little better was to give some very gentle overall comments on what I saw, trying very nicely to point out some enormous problems with the (lack of) plot and the obnoxious main character. I don't know if he took my advice, but I tried!
Good luck.
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I hope that works in this case. *crosses fingers*
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I know. But I can't tell her that it's good. It honestly is not. And my explaining to her that the manuscript has X, Y and Z problems and here are some ways to fix X, Y and Z problems haven't gotten much response.
Otherwise, grit your teeth, do the best job you can, take the money and run. She will occupy herself trying to flog it to some unsuspecting publisher, end up self-publishing and then wonder why nobody wants to read it or the 300,000 word sequel she's already working on.
This is what I'm currently doing.
You could also direct her attention to any local writers' workshops where her classmates can tell her what you cannot.
That's an idea, though I know from experience that writers' workshops are not always critical of bad writing.
I estimate that I've done at least 2000 hours of work so far, and that there's at least another 10K needed. That's not hyperbole.
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