Welcome!

You have arrived! What does that mean? To put it simply, it means this is my web site for all things writing. Those of you who don't know me, my name is A. K. Child, and I write. I write a lot. It's not just about my writing though. I also hope to include education services about writing and things of interest to other writers. I plan to include other things as well that I hope will keep you coming back again and again. If you have questions about content or would like to see something included here, please let me know! About Me I'm originally from the Pacific Northwest, but I currently live on the east coast. I pay the bills by working for the Government, but I keep myself insane by writing. I'm a big fan of writers groups and I'm involved with at least three of them, each slightly different. I'm also a regular participant in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and CampNaNoWriMo, and I'm one of two co-Municiple Liaisons for my region (this means I set up parties for NaNo participants). My published work is available on my Published page. About My Writing I mostly write what I call, "fluffy sci-fi." This means a lot of my settings and stories are future/sci-fi based, but I don't spend a lot of time worrying about technology. I prefer adventure and action, which means my stories tend to be quick-paced. I also like to throw in the absurd. Death, violence, and mayhem are my bread and butter...and...er...jam, I guess. I also like to throw in humor, particularly in the worst places. It's often humor that gets us through the most traumatic moments of our lives, and this is reflected in my characters. I also write a good amount of fantasy. Much like my sci-fi, my fantasies focus on adventure. I'm not usually trying to make any kind of statement with my writing, no matter the genre. I would rather have fun with it, and I hope the reader has fun reading it. If they learn something about my world-views, great, but that's not a requirement at all (for any future literature professors out there). Finally, I am an editor as well. Please don't confuse "editor" with "perfectionist." I am not, nor will I ever be a perfectionist. If you find typos on this page...well, you're going to find typos on this page. Despite that, I've been editing for many years, both Government technical writing and personal novel and other creative writing. I coordinate with a developmental editor, Maeghan Jo Kimball, who is also a published author and my co-Municiple Liaison for the Northern Virginia region (NaNoWriMo). Ms. Kimball assists new authors with developing their craft and learnign about storytelling. I am a more, nuts and bolts editor, who looks at copy, consistency, logic, and everything else that helps authors polish their work. Should someone hire me to go over their writing, and I find it needs more help than polishing, I will recommend they go to Ms. Kimball first. Because of our working relationship, I do not accept payment up front - should I need to pass an author on, they will need to work out a payment arrangement with Ms. Kimball. With that said, below is my standard list of charges: For 50,000 words or below: $150 Between 50,000 and 100,000 words: $200 Every 50,000 after 100,000: Add $50 (if the amount over is less than 10,000 words, no additional needed). If that's not enough to convince you, here are a couple testimonials from folks I have edited! Testimonials Accurate, Punctual, and Amazing A.K. has edited two of my books and both times, the service she provided was excellent. She returned the work in a timely fashion and at a great price. In addition to grammatical editing, she also pointed out areas for improvement and continuity errors. I was greatly impressed with her attention to detail, specifically in my first book with regards to its glossary - A.K. doublechecked that all the terms were both accurate and that they occurred in my book (several had dropped out during previous rewrites). I highly recommend her services for any author. RJ Corgan While working on my Masters of Business Administration, I was keen to maximize the potential of my work. I found A.K. to be extremely accommodating, proactive and someone who demonstrates exceptional attention to detail. Her vast editing experience, very firm grasp of grammar, and constructive feedback assisted greatly in fine-tuning my work. She made herself available at short notice and provided very helpful insights into assignment structure and layout. I cannot recommend A.K. highly enough as someone who strives to make any written academic submission achieve its potential. Brian Lein