What’s this newsletter?
Big Reader Bad Grades is a once- or twice-weekly newsletter riffing about books, culture, and writing. The ambit is pretty big and the posts are varied.
Who are you?
My name’s Alexander Sorondo, I’m a writer, I work at a grocery store and that tends to come up a lot. I’m the author of three lengthy pieces for The Metropolitan Review: my 11,000-word profile of novelist William T. Vollmann, and his struggle to publish a 3,400-page opus, remains their second-most-viewed story.
My nonfiction has appeared in Vox, UnHerd, Air Mail, The Jitney, and Open Letters Review.
My debut novel Cubafruit, a magical-realist thriller that kinda reimagines the Cuban revolution as a 1990s conspiracy with Henry Kissinger, was a finalist for 2025’s Samuel Richardson Prize, created by Naomi Kanakia, to honor self-published fiction of “high literary merit,” and there’s another installment on the way, so you can grab a $5 copy at the link below!
Editing/Writing Services
If you’ve got a piece of writing and you’re looking for some close/incisive line edits, I take a few editing gigs each month and I’d be happy to take a look at your work. Flat rates are as follows:
Rates (by word count)
Up to 1,000 words → $50
1,001–2,500 words → $100
2,501–5,000 words → $175
5,001–10,000 words → $250
What You’ll Get
Line edits for clarity, grammar, and flow
Comments on structure, pacing, and style
A short summary of what’s working well and what can be stronger
Some remarks about thematic or stylistic details or any other specific issues you might like to address.
How It Works
Contact me via this form here, or send me an email (thousandmovieproject [at] gmail [dot] com)
Send me your piece as a Google Doc
I’ll return it within 3 business days, with edits and notes.
If you need it within 24 hours, rush jobs are +$25.
Again, you can fill out a form for submission HERE, or email me at thousandmovieproject [at] gmail [dot] com.
