Alexis Dawes

I’ve had other information products proofread. A proofreader normally goes through to make sure the spelling and grammar are up to snuff, as well as the overall flow of the document.

Today, however, I got a taste of an editors services.

The difference between the two are quite vast, IF you choose the right editor.

But first, here’s an update on where I left off…

As you’ll recall from my last post, I hired a gentleman to check certain parts of No More Smelly House for technical accuracy in the plumbing department.

I had actually interpreted nearly all of what I’d researched pretty accurately. There were only two minute portions that needed adjustment.

After that was complete I began looking for a proofreader.

I decided not to go with my old standby sites (Rentacoder or Elance), as I’d done in the past. Instead, I found what I consider to be a much better option.

EditAvenue.com is a site where freelancers offer editing services only. No web design, software coding, graphics, and everything else under the sun.

I had searched through several other editing sites, but settled with EditAvenue for a couple of reasons.

1) Try before you buy. You can choose editors to review up to 4 pages of your document. They make corrections and include comments to show why they’ve made those corrections.

2) You can choose freelancers who specialize in book editing, by genre. They have editors who handle sub-categories like medical, law, religion, reference, etc.

3) They have a set price menu, and time range for project completion. No More Smelly House will cost approximately $460, and will take a week. But that includes my editor offering specific advice on making my manuscript better.

I found an editor with the types of credentials I was looking for.

She’s a former news writer for the Associated Press (AP). She’s a freelance book doctor for both fiction and non-fiction works. And she’s also an award winning author.

I submitted my sample, waited a couple of days, and received my revised version a few hours ago.

She did an excellent job. Outstanding. She’s worth every last cent I’m going to pay her.

I thought what I’d written was good. It was good. But her changes have put it in the “Wow!!!!” department.

She made a fair number of revisions. But… she didn’t change the context of what I was saying. And whatever she re-worked still had that “Alexis Dawes twang.”

Check out the before and after listed below, and tell me what you think.

Alexis

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BEFORE: This is a part of the intro I submitted.

Just as one man’s trash is another man’s eBay auction, one man’s funk is another man’s fragrance.

Oddly enough, for my nasal passages the smell of roses belongs in the same scent family as human urine. Ick… I can’t stand it! And yet most women adore its familiar essence.

Many bell bottom, disco dancing gentlemen from the 70’s probably have a flood of fond memories when a bottle of Old Spice crosses their path. In certain Asian cultures the smell of curry is as heartwarming as apple pie is in America. And still in other parts of the world, nothing says ‘you foxy thing’ better than an au naturale human scent. Perfumes and deodorants aren’t always a welcome addition to ones personal air space.

If you’ve ever been to a household where ferrets roam free, and the owner quizzically looks at you and says “Smell… what smell?” then you’re already well aware that odor is subjective. Tolerance for different smells varies from person to person.

And even that level of tolerance might fluctuate because of a persons physical condition - pregnancy, for instance, affects smell - or even memories associated with a smell - women who wear Chanel #5 might turn you off because your super psycho ex used to practically shower in it.

Regardless, of these vast differences, I think we can all agree on one thing - smells that don’t agree with our particular olfactory makeup, drive us crazy. Batty. Sometimes making us mad. Or uncomfortable. It’s no fun being amidst a putrid odor. Especially if it’s lingering like a dark storm cloud, in our living quarters.

My Name is Alexis, and I’m a Bad Smell Hater…

My own quest for a positive smell experience came about for two reasons.

Number one, as a modern day nomad I’ve lived in many different apartments around the world. And I’ve encountered a unique scent with each new apartment. Unfortunately its never been a scent that I loved. And I’ve always had to go through a haphazard ritual of getting rid of the previous renters odor ghost.

My second reason - the proverbial straw that broke the camels back - was when a neighbor (whose stove was broken) came up to my apartment and fried about 15 pounds of fish.

It wasn’t just any fish. I should’ve been so lucky! The seasonings she used while frying this fish caused a stench so powerful that it settled like a grim reaper onto my olfactory nerves.

I burned no less than 20 sticks of incense in a three hour period. I lit odor killing candles. I Febreezed almost every piece of furniture in the house. I baking soda’d the entire carpet three times, from the front door to the back bedroom. I opened every window in the house, and slept in winter coat.

And in the morning it was like that deadly stench just laughed at me. It hadn’t moved. Nor had it lessened in intensity. If it were a hurricane, it would’ve been a category 6. And since hurricane categories only go up to a 5, that should relay to you just how surreal the smell was!

It was during this experience that I realized how much time and money I’d wasted through the years just trying to get rid of bad smells. I’m not one of those people who’s easily satisfied by the spritz of an air freshener. I harbor what can only be described as an obsession with aroma.

I like my home to smell the way I want it to smell, and nothing less. And you know what? We have the tools and the technologies to do just that. There’s no reason for my nasal passages to suffer - nor anyone else’s.

Why Do Homes Smell?

There are three main reasons why a home usually holds an odor.

1) We humans can recognize around 10,000 different smells. However we don’t all process those smells the same way.

I was recently at my daughters school, when a little boy threw up maybe 10 feet away from me. At the time I was talking to my daughters teacher, so I didn’t see the actual act. But I did smell it. I caught wind of it before the teacher did, even though we were standing in the same area.

My nose is quite sensitive like that. And judging from the fact that you purchased this book, you probably have a similar degree of nasal prowess. So a home might have a bad smell to us simply because our noses are more easily affected.

2) You’ve got an unseen/unknown source of stinkiness.

Who would think that something as basic as a dishwasher hose can be such an unbridled source of funk. Or the soap dispenser of a washing machine. Or even a perfectly clean bathroom. And yet, all three of these things can be origins of bad odor. If you don’t know where to look, you’ll be constantly banging your head against the wall.

3) Odors embed themselves into everything.

Although we don’t frequently notice all of the separate scents, your home really is haven of smells.

As you may have already witnessed, they don’t just float through the air. They set up residence on your items. That’s why the smell of Thursday night’s curry dinner follows you around on Friday and Saturday. It’s literally embedded in your clothes.

Go right now and get a whiff of your sofa… the books in your bookshelf… the guest towels in your bathroom… around the toilet… in the closet… your pillows… your kitchen cabinets. Good, bad or indifferent, you’ll notice that distinct smells surround all of these items.

4) We’re creating new odors without realizing the effect that it’s having on our home environment.

You ever walk into your house, and it just stinks? You don’t quite know what it is. All you know is that it’s funky. And there’s no trash in the trash can.

Most likely it’s not just one thing. It’s probably a combination of factors. The fried chicken from last night… breakfast… smells already in the carpet… morning breath smell that hasn’t been cleared out of your bedroom (a smell that most people don’t notice, but can be easily detected by others)… the garbage disposal, and so on.

And if you have your windows closed all day, all those smells just pile on top of each other and brew into a smelly house stew.
The No More Smelly House Approach

The last thing - (really) - that I’ll tell you to do is spray some air freshener. Air fresheners in a smelly home tend to act like a bandage on a gun shot wound. They should only be used once you’ve neutralized the odor problem.

Here in No More Smelly House I recommend a 3-step approach to achieving your positive smell experience.

#1 - Prime your environment.
An artist sits down with 20 tubes of acrylic paint before him. Before he paints the picture, he must prime the canvas with gesso. The whiteness of the gesso makes the colors in the painting look brighter. This is a same practice I recommend you take when it comes to a smelly house.

Priming your environment basically means you’re preparing the home to better receive the odor neutralizing treatment you’re going to give it. Priming also helps to keep new odors from forming, while you’re trying to clear the old ones.
#2 - Neutralize existing odors.
You’re not going to cover up any bad smells. Your main job is to find them, and eliminate them.

#3 - Choosing a new house smell.
Bad smells can create an uncomfortable state of mind. Good smells - of course - do just the opposite. Once all has been neutralized you can create a smell that welcomes you home with open arms. Your guests will walk in and think you’ve lost 10 pounds, and re-done the entire place.

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AFTER: This is the editor revised version. Her comments are in the last paragraph.

Just as one man’s trash is another man’s eBay auction, one man’s funk is another man’s fragrance. To me, for example, the smell of roses belongs to the same scent family as human urine. Yuck! I can’t stand it! Yet most people adore its familiar essence.

Many bell-bottom, disco-dancing gentlemen from the 70s probably experience a flood of fond memories when they see a bottle of Old Spice. In certain Asian cultures the smell of curry is as heartwarming as apple pie is in America. [pw1]And still in other parts of the world, nothing says ‘you foxy thing’ better than an au naturale human scent. Perfumes and deodorants aren’t always a welcome addition to one’s personal air space.

If you’ve ever been to a household where ferrets roam free, and the owner quizzically looks at you and says, “Smell? What smell?” then you’re already well aware that odor is subjective. Tolerance for different smells varies from person to person. Even an individual’s level of tolerance might fluctuate because of a physical condition. Pregnancy, for instance, often heightens a woman’s sensitivity to certain odors. Memories associated with a smell can also affect tolerance for it. Women who wear Chanel No. 5 might turn you off because your super psycho ex used to practically shower in it.

Regardless of our varying degrees of tolerance, we can all agree on one thing: Smells that disagree with our particular olfactory makeup can make us sick and even drive us crazy. Home, sweet home, is not so sweet when it’s invaded by a putrid odor that lingers like a storm cloud.
My Name is Alexis, and I’m a Bad Smell Hater.

My quest for a positive olfactory experience came about for two reasons.

Number one, as a modern nomad I’ve lived in many different apartments around the world, and I’ve encountered a unique scent with each new apartment. Unfortunately, it’s never been a scent I liked, and I’ve always had to go through a haphazard ritual of exorcising the previous renter’s odor ghost.

The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back was the result of an act of kindness. One day a neighbor (who will remain nameless) knocked on my door and asked for a favor: His stove was broken. Could he use mine? He had a little bit of fish to fry. It wouldn’t take long. “Sure,” I said, “Come on in.”

If I’d only known.

That ‘little bit’ turned out to be 15 pounds - but that wasn’t the worst of it. The seasonings raised a stench that would’ve sent a skunk running for cover. It may not have taken long to cook that fish, but it sure took a while to get rid of it.

Over the next three hours, I burned at least 20 sticks of incense, trying to chase away that smell. I lit odor-killing candles. I Febreezed every piece of furniture in the house. I baking-soda’d the entire carpet three times, from the front door to the back bedroom. It was dead cold outside, but I opened every window in the house and slept in a winter coat.

Upon waking, I took a deep breath, expecting to inhale fresh, fish-free air. Instead, that smell hit me and I nearly choked. It was as though that deadly stench was laughing at me. It hadn’t moved. It hadn’t weakened. If it were a hurricane, it would’ve been a category 6. Officially, hurricane categories only go up to a 5, so that should tell you just how bodacious that smell was!

I was trying to figure out a new strategy in what was rapidly becoming an all-out war, when it struck me how much time and money I’d wasted through the years battling bad odors. No doubt I was not alone. There were other souls out there like me. The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was no good reason for our nasal passages to suffer. We have the tools and the technologies to make our homes smell pleasing. That’s when I developed The No More Smelly House Approach.

Why Do Homes Smell?

There are three main reasons why a home usually holds an odor.

1) A home might seem smelly to someone simply because his or her nose is sensitive. We humans can recognize around 10,000 different smells. However we don’t all process those smells the same way. I was at my daughter’s[P2] school recently, when a little boy threw up maybe 10 feet away. I was talking to my daughter’s[P3] teacher, so I didn’t see the actual act. But I did smell it. I caught wind of it before the teacher did, even though we were standing next to one another.

2) You’ve got an unseen/unknown source of decay.

Who would think that something as basically clean as a dishwasher hose could be an unbridled source of funk? Or the soap dispenser of a washing machine? Or even a perfectly scrubbed bathroom? All three can be origins of bad odor. If you don’t know where to look, you’ll be constantly banging your head against the wall.

3) Odors embed themselves into everything.

Although we don’t frequently notice all of the separate scents, your home is haven for smells. The particulate that comprises an odor doesn’t just float through the air. It infiltrates, penetrates. That’s why the smell of Thursday night’s curry dinner follows you on Friday and Saturday. It’s literally embedded in your clothes.

4) We’re creating new odors without realizing their effect on our home.

Have you walked into your house, and found that it stinks? You don’t know why. You just know that it’s funky - and there’s no trash in the trashcan. Most likely it’s not just one source but a number of culprits. Last night’s fried chicken dinner, this morning’s omelet, dust motes in the carpet, morning breath trapped in your bedroom (a smell most people don’t notice, but others easily detect), the garbage disposal, and so on. If you’ve had your windows closed, then all those smells have had time to mix and brew.

The No More Smelly House Approach

In No More Smelly House you’ll learn a three-step approach to achieving your positive smell experience.

#1 - Prime your environment:

An artist sits down with 20 tubes of acrylic paint. Before he paints the picture, he must prime the canvas with gesso. The whiteness of the gesso makes the colors in the painting look brighter. I recommend virtually the same practice when it comes to a smelly house.
Priming your environment means preparing the home to better receive the odor neutralizing treatment you’re going to give it. Priming also helps to keep new odors from forming, while you’re trying to clear the old ones.

#2 - Neutralize existing odors:

You’re not going to cover up any bad smells. Disguising them simply compounds the problem. At this stage, your mission is to find and eliminate.

#3 - Choose a new house smell:

Bad smells can create unease, a sense of disharmony. Good smells do just the opposite. Once all has been neutralized, you can create a smell that welcomes you home with open arms. Your guests will walk in, think you’ve lost 10 pounds and re-done the place.

[pw1]For your purposes, I’d suggest using a different comparison. Since the next sentence refers to ‘other parts of the world where the natural human scent is considered sexy, this sentence might refer to the American fixation on neutralizing human scent - the millions Americans spend every year on deodorants, perfumed soaps and body wash. In other words, compare and contrast the apples to apples.
[P2]Do you have one daughter (daughter’s school) or more than one (daughters’ school)? For the sake of a fast edit, I’ll assume you have only one.
[P3]See earlier comment/question.