A Novel Way to Find Editing Jobs Among Aspiring Writers

A recently launched web site for fiction writers may very well turn out to be a profitable marketplace for freelance editors and proofreaders looking for editing jobs among members of the literary community.

PatronQuo.com bills itself as a place for aspiring authors to promote themselves online, inviting writers to submit short stories and novel excerpts in the hopes of earning income from supportive patrons who are in turn prominently showcased on the web pages of the works they've patronized.

The web site is built around the concept of a "literary death match that never ends", as each literary submission has the opportunity to win patrons - and, hence, to move up in PatronQuo's eye-catching money earning charts - so long as a submission remains up on the site.

The appeal to the participating writers is obvious. What is not so obvious at first glance are the crucial financial benefits that might accrue to a certain type of participating patron. As J Leland Kupferberg, one of the partners in PatronQuo, explains it: "We took special care to create a web site to promote the patrons as much as the authors, if not more, in some cases."

As Kupferberg sees it, not only is there a mass of aspiring writers out there anxious to get published and sell their work, but a great many of them all too often publicly unveil themselves well before their material is in proper shape to be showcased. The problem: Many submissions are sorely in need of a professional edit, proofread, and polish.

"The fact is, many writers get despondent when they've been repeatedly turned down by publishers and literary agents. They're sure they have a great tale to tell, and they're hoping the talent spotters can see through the odd flaws in formatting, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and typos. But the fact is, the professionals in the industry pay a great deal of attention to these flaws. It signals to them that they're reading the work of an amateur."

The problem of poorly vetted material doesn't just vex the inundated agents and publishers, but also taxes the patience of a considerable pool of readers looking for interesting reading online. In designing his site, Kupferberg wanted to avoid the basic problem that made so many literary open submission sites a slog for readers to get through: "First, these sites are all too often stuffed with huge archives of poorly edited material. As a reader, how do you find the literary gems among all that slush? Second, you're faced with all these distracting Pay Per Click ads that you've trained yourself to avoid at all costs."

PatronQuo's answer was to provide a more integrated, streamlined solution - one in which the patrons, the writers, and the readers would all mutually benefit. The idea would be that the patrons would choose the short stories and novels most worthy of their patronage - generally, with a minimum patron outlay of five dollars. The overwhelming bulk of that outlay, in turn - around 70% of the amount - would go directly to the writer of the tale being patronized (after deducting PatronQuo's 15% commission and any applicable transaction costs or taxes).

The patron's outlay would also happen to boost the patronized work and its author in the ranking charts, while also providing an overall ranking for the patron. As Kupferberg describes it, "Every time a story or novel excerpt page is patronized on our site, that web page will prominently showcase the names of its patrons for all time - or at least so long as the patronized work remains up on the site."

In essence, the patrons would be picking the best work on the site, trusting that the greatest number of readers would gravitate to the work that attracts the patronage. As Kupferberg put it: "Box office speaks much louder with readers than a bevy of free feedback comments and ratings offered mostly by fellow writers."

Kupferberg, in effect, is trusting that readers will come to depend on the literary judgments of the patrons in guiding them toward the most engaging reading material on the web site. Since each patron is furnished with their own profile page - listing their bio, a link to their web site, and a hyperlinked list of the works they've patronized - Kupferberg believes that readers will eventually gravitate to their own favorite patron, bookmarking their profile page as a reading list, as they check periodically for any new patronage picks by that patron.

"And here's the catch," Kupferberg goes on, clearly enthused by his own vision. "A great many passionate readers are aspiring writers themselves. As these readers come to trust the literary judgments of their favorite patrons, it will make a lasting impression on them should they come to need their professional services."

Which brings us full circle to the pool of professional editors and proofreaders out there looking for the ideal online venue to reach their target market. "Look, you have the aspiring writers who eventually want to get published and need to look their best; you have all these readers depending on the judgments of the patrons as to who's their favorites; and you have all these professional editors and freelance proofreaders who can now demonstrate the record of their literary judgments for their prospective clients - just through the lists of the work they've patronized. It's a win-win for everyone."

To ensure that the patrons remain front and center for all visitors to PatronQuo, the site has opted to forego any conventional advertising. "Our motto is, 'Don't advertise. Patronize'," Kupferberg explains. "If you want to have a prominent showcase for your editing services on our site, you can have it while publicly signaling that you're giving back to the very community you're targeting."

For a mere five dollars in - most of it going into the pocket of the patron's favored writer - that's quite an impression to make.