Services

Very similar to book coaching in many ways, publishing coaching is centered around the business aspects of self-publishing. A publishing coach will provide you insight into the various and sundry elements inherent in the process of publishing a book and can help you navigate them. The most common services a publishing coach may provide you are:

• Identifying your genre and BISAC categories
• Helping you make sure you have your ducks in a row with your frontmatter and backmatter
• Providing guidance on making the choice of going traditional or self-publishing (both are equally valid paths!)
• Offering resources for learning the first pieces of marketing your book
• Assisting you with creating a publication schedule to help you hit milestones in a way that will be healthy and achievable for you
• Providing accountability for your publication process and an opportunity to check in if you’re feeling overwhelmed
• Answering questions about the publishing industry as a whole

There are many other things you could ask your publishing coach, too! These services are offered on the same schedule as book coaching: weekly, twice-monthly, monthly, or one-off coaching sessions. A one-off coaching session is an excellent way to get a snapshot of the publishing industry and learn what steps you can take to prepare for life as an author.

We recommend this service to everyone writing a book that contains marginalized groups you are not part of, yourself. Sensitivity reading is intended to help authors avoid accidental use of harmful or problematic stereotypes or language and will include notes from the sensitivity reader about where you can learn more about anything they note in your manuscript.

This service includes the following:

• Identification of issues relating to sexism, racism, ableism, mental health depictions, etc.
• Suggested changes to solve content identified as problematic

With this service you will receive: An editorial letter with an in-depth assessment of issues discovered in the manuscript along with resources to help you learn more about the specific points your manuscript may be facing. In addition, you will receive comments and in-line suggestions as necessary within the manuscript itself from your sensitivity reader.

If you’re struggling with the big-picture issues in your book, are unsure of your plot or characters, or are concerned that your world building is not complete, developmental editing is going to be the route best suited for you. Please be aware that developmental editing does not produce a print-ready book by itself. It is best paired with either line or copy editing following the developmental process.

This service includes the following:

• Identifying of characterization issues and how to clean them up
• Pointing out soft spots in world building and providing feedback on how to correct them
• Recognizing plot structure issues and providing solutions
• Performing broad strokes fact checking (depending on editor’s specialty)
• Assisting with pacing by recognizing areas that are too fast or too slow and sharing methods of correction
• Helping identify a splitting point for novels of significant size or helping identify places where scenes need to be cut or expanded

With this service you will receive: An in-depth editorial letter providing overview of issues noticed and providing recommendations based on your novel’s current structure. In addition, you will receive a manuscript with comments in the margins identifying issues and solutions as well as a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the current events of your book. You may also receive optional materials that provide alternative structures to help you bring your current novel in line with story structure principles. This is at the editor’s discretion and will only be provided if needed.

When you think “editing,” this is the the type of editing most conjure up. It’s the granular, line-by-line work that identifies craft issues and helps polish your book’s prose and word choice to a mirror shine. Please be aware that a single line editing pass does not usually produce a print-ready book, and we recommend a copy editing pass paired with this to ensure all punctuation errors are caught after line edits are complete. Or, at minimum, a pass with “The Cheap Option” to ensure consistency of punctuation and spelling after you have made changes following the line editor’s pass.

This service includes the following:

• Assisting with word choice to create clarity
• Correcting sentence structure issues
• Identifying issues with passive voice, over-use of adverbs, etc.
• Eliminating purple prose and assisting with expanding sparse prose
• Very light fact checking on small details (depending on editor’s specialty and discretion)
• Correcting syntax, punctuation, and grammar to conform to agreed upon style guide recommendations

With this service you will receive: An editorial letter noting any recurring issues you should be aware of and remarking on elements of the manuscript the editor feels you should give attention to. In addition, you will receive your manuscript with in-line edits and comments in the margins.

Copy editing is the lightest touch editing service we provide (not to be confused with proofreading which is focused on formatting prior to print). It is entirely focused on punctuation, spelling, and style guides. This type of editing puts the final sheen on a book that has received other attention. It is recommended to all of our clients as a final pass, regardless of other services offered.

This service includes the following:

• Ensuring spelling accuracy and consistency (homonyms, etc.)
• Assisting with word usage consistency (toward vs. towards, etc.)
• Set up appropriate formatting in preparation for typesetting and ebook formatting (headings, chapter breaks, scene breaks, etc.)
• Ensuring adherence to the style guide of your choice (or CMOS if you don’t have a specific preference)

With this service you will receive: A brief editorial letter with any notes the editor feels you should be aware of along with your manuscript with tracked changes and comments in the margins if the editor feels something needs noting.

Proofreading is not what most folks these days think it is! Proofreading is actually the final review of a book before hits the printers and is focused on formatting errors and catching the occasional weird punctuation error. They might be able to pick up on the occasional typo, but proofreading is really dedicated to ensuring books are formatted properly. This service is automatically included whenever we provide typesetting services but can be omitted at your request if you want to do this on your own.

For this service we can receive .pdf or .afpub files. We can only proofread .docx files if you are publishing in ebook format. InDesign files may be provided, but we cannot export to InDesign format due to using different software (Affinity Publisher). We may not be able to edit .pdf files directly depending on how they were produced.

This service includes the following:

• Ensuring page layouts conform to printer requirements
• Identifying font errors in text or chapter headings
• Ensuring front- and backmatter is all present and contains necessary information
• Ensuring file itself falls within printer requirements (page count, size, etc.)
• Ensuring table of contents is functional in ebook documents
• Noting widow/orphan issues in typeset documents
• Noting spacing issues in typeset documents
• Last glance for punctuation errors (such as quotation marks facing the wrong way)

With this service you will receive: This will vary depending on format provided. You will receive either a corrected document (tracked changes is not possible in our formatting software), a corrected .pdf (if the .pdf was edited or if you request we export to .pdf), or a document with noted pages and locations where errors are seen if we cannot edit the document directly. We will discuss which option will work best for your situation when we plan your project.

We provide this service exclusively to offer a “better than nothing” option to those who cannot afford the other editorial services we have on offer. For this option, please be aware the editor will not actually be reading the content of your novel. We will instead be running it through several pieces of editing software and using Word macros to try and catch as many of the various errors as possible through that method. This service does not use AI. We use specialized editing software designed for industry professionals (PerfectIt, SmartEdit, Editor’s Toolkit, and various Word macros) and evaluate each change ourselves.

We strongly advise against using ChatGPT to proofread or edit your manuscript because it does not understand context or author voice. It’s also not infallible. It sounds like it knows what its doing, but there are many times when it is dead wrong. Just like Grammarly, Hemingway, ProWriting Aid, and spellcheck.

This option will not provide the best print-ready option available, but if you cannot currently manage other services, this will at least have given you contact with an editor.

This service includes the following:

• Spelling inconsistencies corrected
• Punctuation inconsistencies corrected
• Repeating words highlighted so author can review them
• Overused adverbs highlighted so author can review them
• To-be verbs (which often indicate passivity or telling) highlighted so author can review them
• A 2,000-word line editing sample from your choice of location in the book.

With this service you will receive: A short editorial letter containing feedback from the sample to identify any specific difficulties you might be having in the prose itself or any issues the editor has noted. You will receive your manuscript back with the tracked changes and highlights as noted above as well as your 2,000-word line edit sample as discussed with the editor.

Cover designs come in two flavors: composite images created from stock art and elements and hand-drawn artwork. Our artists will work with you to create the best book cover within your budget. As part of this service, we may make recommendations based on your genre(s) in order to help you conform to current genre expectations, but your decisions regarding your book cover will be entirely yours.

This service includes:

• Consultation to help you choose which style of cover you want and help select the best artist for your needs
• Opportunities to request changes to a book cover at several phases in the project
• An ebook and/or wrap-around book cover designed to conform to your distributor’s requirements
• Grant of commercial licensing for your cover’s use for all formats of your book as well as marketing materials directly related to your novel
• The ability to purchase the full copyright for an extra fee

With this service you will receive: A book cover for your book designed specifically for you by our cover artists.

Beyond interior design and cover design, you might require other art for your book such as maps, character art, an author logo, illustrations for children’s books, and other such odds and ends. There are many options for pieces you might want for your story, and we are happy to help you fulfill this need. 

This service includes:

• Consultation to help you choose the correct artist for your project
• Opportunities to request changes to a book cover at several phases in the project
• Grant of commercial licensing for your art’s use for all formats of your book as well as marketing materials directly related to your author work
• The ability to purchase the full copyright for an extra fee

With this service you will receive: Art files relevant to the commission requested.