“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something—anything—down on paper. What I’ve learned to do when I sit down to work on a shitty first draft is to quiet the voices in my head.”
― Anne Lamott
If you think you have a book in you — fiction, nonfiction, self-help, found fiction in the form of grocery lists, whatever — but don’t know where to start, I’d love to help. Below are some ways I can support you, but if you don’t see what you need, contact me. We’ll tailor something for your individual project.
Developmental Editing – $0.04/word
Developmental editing is a high-level review of a manuscript that focuses on big-picture elements like structure, organization, flow, and coherence. It happens early in your revision process, before copy editing or proofreading. If you have a finished manuscript and you’re asking questions like, Does this make any sense? Is the dungeon sequence too long and full of blood? you are ready for a developmental edit.
Copy Editing – $0.025/word
Copy editing (or copyediting, if your team Chicago Manual of Style) is all about the grammar and punctuation you learned and forgot in high school. It ferrets out those instances when you accidentally typed “there” instead of “their.” Copy editing also addresses clarity through sentence structure. A thorough review will recommend ways to rephrase text where it is misleading or unintentionally ambiguous.
Interior Formatting – $2-$3.50/page
Interior formatting is the process of designing the inside pages of a manuscript — text, images, and front/back matter — to meet publishing standards. I transform your manuscript from a standard document into book format, with files ready to upload to your self-publishing platform of choice. A standard interior layout with no fancy stuff will be near the low end of the price range, while one with images, drop caps, chapter heading art, etc., will be on the higher end.
Budget Book Cover Design – $75 (e-book only), $150 (e-book & paperback)
If you’ve priced a cover artist and walked away deflated because you can’t afford their amazing talents, this may be for you. I can design your e-book or print book cover — front, back, and spine — without sticker shock. Professional cover designers are expensive because they create unique, custom art just for your book. Instead, with your vision in mind, I select and modify stock images to create professional covers and deliver ready-to-upload files. You can have a beautifully wrapped book, without breaking the bank.
Teach a Writer to Fish
Want to learn how to format your pages or design the cover yourself? Check out my How to Format Your Book for Print elearning; it’s free. If you’d like some help, we can arrange some in-person learning sessions.