I work with authors who plan to self-publish as well as authors who want to place their book with a traditional or hybrid publisher.
Editorial assessment
You have written your first draft, whether partly or entirely, and you wonder how to move it forward, what’s next. What you need is an editorial assessment. I provide editorial assessments both as a stand-along service and as the first step in every developmental editing project.
The editorial assessment is comprehensive and has two parts. One is a high-level assessment of the writing looking primarily at content, structure, style, and voice. The other is a solid look at the book concept, which includes but is not limited to the author’s goals with the book, who the readers are and what they are seeking, the book’s core message, comparable books, and best publishing pathways. Making sure these parameters work together is key to determining the direction of the book’s development. And comparing the book concept with the manuscript assessment illuminates whatever gap exists between the book the author wants to write and the state of the current manuscript draft.
The editorial assessment is organized around two or more meetings with the author and typically takes a month. If the author and I decide to move forward into a developmental edit, the editorial assessment helps me do my best editing work.
Developmental editing
Developmental editing is what moves a book from first draft to the final draft ready for copyediting and production. The scope and scale of a developmental edit depends on the type and amount of work it needs and also the manuscript’s length.
Typically, it calls for two-to-four rounds of editing by me with review and input by the author after each round. Developmental editing is iterative in nature. While ideally, each round refines the book further, sometimes deeper structural issues show up that make one or more editing rounds more of a heavy lift. The project is set up to accommodate this, and nothing moves forward without the author’s involvement and approval.
As a seasoned editor, I bring my idea-organizing and word-crafting expertise to every developmental edit, as well as an uncanny ability (should I call it intuitive?) to bring what the author really wants to say onto the page in the author’s voice. I am passionate about helping changemakers write book that change minds. I look forward to helping you create that book.
Book proposal
If you’ve decided to place your book with a publisher, the tool you need to approach literary agents and publishing houses is a book proposal.
Manuscript development
You have written a first draft – and you’re not sure what to do next. Or you know the book is not yet working, but you can’t figure out why.
I review the book idea and organization with the author and propose revisions. We develop a plan, and then I put hands on keyboard and eyes on text to execute those changes, editing the entire manuscript for the author to review. I work with the author to move the book forward from whatever stage of development it’s in to being publication ready.
Book proposals
You’ve decided to find a publisher who will publish your book. The tool you need to approach literary agents and publishers is a book proposal.
A book proposal is essentially a 30-to-50-page business plan for a book, designed to sell the book to publishers. Crafting a book proposal takes the book on a shakedown journey to hone its message and impact, pinpoint its readership, zero in on the author’s platform.
I love the evolutionary nature of proposal work, and authors find it hugely rewarding for the clarity and confidence it can bring.