Developmental / Substantive Editing
and
Content Development
There's a story here somewhere....
Writing a book takes far more effort and knowledge than just sitting down
and letting your thoughts run free and your fingers fly over a keyboard. The
professional world of publishing has its own guidelines and requirements.
Without meeting the requirements of a particular publishing house and/or
acquisitions editor, you may waste your time and postage on fruitless
submissions.
Editors buy books that fit into their lines and share similarities with other works they publish; however, they often are attracted to a new twist to existing fiction or new ideas along the familiar lines of nonfiction books. Contrary as it may sound, editors look for similar words with a difference--but not too different from what's selling for them now.
This is where our published authors can help you develop or revise your copy to fit publisher and editorial requirements. If your manuscript isn't written, though you have an idea for a story, you may benefit from ghostwriting. If your manuscript is complete, but it doesn't seem to fit the guidelines of the particular publishing house you've chosen, or if you have the interest of an agent who suggests fine-tuning of your manuscript before acceptance, or if you're just not happy with the manuscript you've produced, our writers are available to offer you substantive editing, content development, and revision assistance.
This level of editing improves awkward sentences, wordiness, and weak word choices; it focuses on the theme, the characters, and the story line itself. It also may involve recommending rewrites to parts of the story that don't strengthen the whole. Published authors often learn to revise their own work to a great extent, yet a good editor may still find ways to improve the form and content of their work.
If your manuscript is nonfiction, we will help you with presentation, clarity, headings, documentation, and indexing.
No writer ever finds it easy to have someone else adjust even a word or comma of his or her creation. When it comes to cutting paragraphs and rewriting sentences and sections, most writers wince. All published writers learn that once a manuscript is bought, many changes will be made to suit the editor, and the editor has the right to make such changes, even when the writer doesn't agree with them.
Learning to accept suggestions from others about your work is part of becoming a professional writer--a published author. If you aren't yet comfortable with considering suggestions for changes, this particular level of service is not for you.
If you want your fiction or nonfiction book to go before literary agents and acquisition editors with the best chance of being read and considered seriously--and you are open to other opinions about your work--we'll be glad to help you accomplish that goal.
Remember, we will offer you many suggestions for revision and content development, but the final decision is always yours.
Editors
D.J. BRUNO works closely with authors to develop, liven, and perfect their books and articles. She provides manuscript critiques that offer extensive feedback on every aspect of a narrative, as well as ghostwriting, developmental editing, copy editing, proofreading, and marketing (proposal, query, and synopsis development and agent contact). A fiction writer herself, she was an editorial assistant and reader at Ploughshares, had her fiction published in various literary magazines, taught literature and grammar, and edited a range of material from memoir to erotica, biography, short fiction, poetry, travel writing, personal essays, and literary and commercial fiction. She specializes in film and photography, food and wine, nutrition, travel, psychology, memoir, and literary fiction.
Manuscript Submission Services: Your initial contact with an agent or publisher is your first impression; therefore, it's crucial that you put your best foot forward when drafting a letter. What I can do . . . "Thanks for your flexibility, great attitude, and hard work. It was a pleasure working with you on this project." - Sarah Yezzi, Senior Technical Editor, Prentice Hall
Services offered:
Articles “Carly was indispensable for the birth of my memoir. She helped me to not only tighten my writing but also improve the structure of the narrative to make it more thrilling. I found a very effective, inspirational guide in her ability to culturally translate my experience in Korea for American audiences.” “My personal experience in working with Carly has been very rewarding. She has the grit to drill down into the material so that nothing is taken for granted. She also demonstrates an intuitive skill to help add an overarching structure to the work that helps expand its scope, further increasing the book’s accessibility to those audiences we wish to reach. Her persistence in getting the content to seamlessly flow from one technical subject to the next is a true gift.” 
KATHRYN CLAPPER is a writer’s editor. She is passionate about partnering with both nonfiction and fiction authors to bring their ideas and stories alive. With 10 years of experience editing more than 300 titles and textbooks for major publishers such as National Geographic, Candlewick Press, Scholastic, Prentice Hall, Pearson Longman, and Blackwell-Wiley, Kathryn knows what it takes to convert an idea into a bound book. With every manuscript, she acts as an advocate of the reader while holding true to the author’s style. Her talents do not stop at developmental editing, however. As an eagle-eyed copyeditor and proofreader, she relentlessly perfects details while keeping the big picture in mind. Kathryn is a certified English teacher with a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University (anthropology) and a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (teaching and curriculum). Her areas of expertise include literary nonfiction, YA fiction, biography, general interest nonfiction, scholarly works, children’s nonfiction, and instructional content in the humanities and social sciences. Kathryn offers the following services:
“Thank you for a truly excellent job in editing my nonfiction book. Before retaining your services, I interviewed a number of editors for the job. All of them were highly credentialed editing professionals. However, I was looking for additional qualities in selecting my editor: intellectual integrity, sensitivity, encouragement, and someone that truly enjoys working with writers. I found these qualities and more in working with you. I also found an inspirational guide. You did an outstanding job!” Henry Dahut "If I were to build my dream editor from scratch ... Kathryn Clapper. She's everything an author needs and wants: highly skilled, thorough, professional, dependable, kind, and cool under fire. With more than 70 books in print, I've worked with plenty of editors in my career, but very few are in Kathryn's class. I can always trust that in her capable hands my work will shine. She is, simply, the best!" - Trudi Strain Trueit, children's fiction and nonfiction author "I worked with Kathryn Clapper on a book a while back and found her approach refreshing after a couple of not-so-wonderful experiences with other editors. Entirely professional, she was relaxed and friendly without losing focus on the job at hand, demanding of high standards without making either one of us crazy, and forthright about business matters without being cold. I would work with her again anytime. A thoroughly pleasant professional." - Stephen Peters, writer/storyteller
Before STACEY DONOVAN became a professional editor more than 20 years ago, she worked in a literary agency where she learned how to say no more often than yes, and include reasons why. A stint in advertising followed, teaching her to tell it short and sweet, meet deadlines, and most important: never give up. Donovan is a six-time published book author of both fiction and non-fiction. She has edited or ghostwritten more than a dozen published books for her clients. Two became New York Times Bestsellers, and another nominated for Best First Novel by International Thriller Writers. She is experienced in many genres: Contemporary/Mainstream; Caper/Detective; Erotica; Gay/Lesbian; Literary Fiction; Mystery; Psychological Thriller; Suspense; Women's Fiction; Young Adult; Memoir/Autobiography; Creative Nonfiction. Specialties
Donovan is a writing coach, mentor, collaborator and ghostwriter. She has published dozens of non-fiction articles on design and art, and specialized in celebrity interviews with experts in their field. She is also a Publishing and Social Media strategist.
TINA HARDY is a professional copy editor and proofreader who specializes in the editing of scholarly works, specifically academic and student documents. Many of her clients are authors whose first language is not English. She has edited hundreds of academic titles and has been involved with dozens of scholarly journals, primarily in the fields of psychology, scientific measurement, and communication. Tina has been repeatedly recognized for her ability to grasp complex concepts and for expertly balancing between reader comprehension and instruction. She is an expert in Chicago and APA formatting. * Copyediting, line editing, and proofreading (nonfiction) If you are writing a scholarly article, academic essay, thesis, dissertation, or research paper, Tina will ensure that your grammar, spelling, punctuation, tense, and so forth, are 100% correct. She will review your document and ensure total compliance with your style of choice, using her extensive expertise in Chicago or APA style as her guide. She will work to mold your document into the appropriate form, ensuring items such as headings, abbreviations, technical terms, citations, references, and so forth, all conform to the appropriate style. She will work with you to ensure that your word choice and word form flow naturally, so that each sentence builds on the next to advance your argument in a logical, consistent, and cohesive manner, all while keeping your natural voice intact. This will result in a document that is precise, exact, and Recent books Tina has edited include the following:
Testimonials: "You are so skilled at making recommendations, asking questions, and eliciting creativity from us. Your thoroughness and thoughtfulness in editing made our revisions easy and logical. We will ask for you again!" Margarita Calderón, Johns Hopkins University, coauthor (with Liliana Minaya-Rowe) of Preventing Long-Term ELs "Tina Hardy's editing skills are outstanding. Her ability to revise in a way that captures the original intentions of the author is top-notch!" Maria Grant, Director, Secondary Teacher Education Program, California State University, Fullerton, coauthor (with Douglas Fisher) of Reading and Writing in Science: Tools to Develop Disciplinary Literacy "Tina Hardy is a quality professional copy editor with an enormous understanding of the concepts and extraordinary attention to even the smallest details. I would confidently recommend her services to those who want their projects manicured properly. She's on my extremely short list of trusted editors for anything I'm involved with." Stephen Thomas, The Pioneer News "I have worked with many editors. I have written 20 books. This is the best job I've seen to date. You have made what we said clearer with every edit and NEVER compromised the message we want to send. We accept everything you have done gleefully with no changes. Thanks so much. This has been a total pleasure for both of us." Peter Desberg, coauthor (with Jeffrey Miller) of Understanding and Engaging Adolescents
TOM GRANT LEMONS is a successful novelist, editorial consultant, publisher, ghostwriter, and managing editor. His historical fiction has won awards and appeared on bestseller lists, and his novels have been translated and published in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Poland. Tom is passionate about the written word, and he is eager to bring his passion and expertise to your writing project. Authors Tom has worked with include Oliver North, T.D. Jakes, Bob Hamer, Joe Moscheo, and Hamilton Gayden. The fiction and nonfiction books Tom has worked on both as developmental editor and ghostwriter have been published by major houses including Broadman & Holman, Warner Faith Publishing, Hachette/Center Street, and Greenleaf Book Group. A skillful editor or ghostwriter can help you refine your words, create a flow that will pull readers in, and still leave the work stamped unmistakably with your unique literary voice. Tom has been able to do this for dozens of books and authors during his writing and editing career. One author told him, “It’s like you were inside my head.” Another wrote in the acknowledgments to his book, “…to Tom … who ‘got it’ immediately, and without whom this book would not have happened.”
“Tom is simply one of the finest men I've ever known and one of the best writers I've ever encountered. His combination of creativity, craftsmanship, integrity, and intelligence puts him at a level I've rarely seen.”—Gary Terashita, Executive Editor, B&H Publishing Group “Tom is an exceptional editor. An author himself, Tom is meticulous and creative in his work as he expertly brings a writer's best ideas forward. Not only are his editorial abilities outstanding, he is also warm, patient, caring, and thus a joy to work alongside. I recommend him wholeheartedly!”—Edwina Barvosa, Associate Professor, University of California at Santa Barbara Evaluation and Critique of a "Spiritual Thriller" Novel By Tom Lemons
DON McCLAIRE uses forty years of editing and writing experience to help both fiction and non-fiction writers polish their work for publication. He’s spent his career as a magazine editor (11 years), award-winning public relations executive (six years), head of his own marketing communications firm (21 years), professional editor, and writing instructor. He’s written and placed hundreds of press releases and trade magazine articles, and has produced three non-fiction “how-to” books, two young-adult novels, and four Donna McClaire-bylined romance novels, all published. McClaire’s work won him The Public Relations Association’s highest award, the Silver Anvil, plus two Golden Trumpets from the Chicago Public Relations Associarion. McClaire knows firsthand, after editing for others for years and judging numerous writing contest entries, the many mistakes unpublished writers make. He spreads this knowledge by conducting workshops at weekend writing conferences and teaching two online writing classes: Editor-Proof That First Chapter for WriterUniv.com, and 21 Steps to Fog-Free Writing, at WritersOnlineClasses.com. He'll edit your manuscript, correcting things you may have been doing wrong your whole writing career. Areas of focus include appearance, hooks, plot, motivation, dialogue, setting, point of view, research, conflict, and voice. He'll also edit weak verb forms, strip away author intrusions, identify character filters, ban redundancies, eliminate foggy phrases, correct passive voice sentences, slash misused and overused words, and correct other writing bugaboos. These are all problems an acquisitions editor or literary agent won't take the time or effort to tell you about, but they could keep you from being published! "I’m going back and redoing everything I’ve everwritten…ever! When you edited the first chapter of my latest manuscript, you opened my eyes to a whole new world—and that’s way too cheesy to be an exaggeration! I can’t thank you enough for the See Don's articles: McClaire Tackles Tough Editing Problems Don't Be an Information Dumper |
Submission Cut and paste the questions and answers into an e-mail: Alternates You may send your initial submission to all addresses to make sure it's received. Required: A sample is required to receive an estimate Along with a sample, the following information is required. Ignore questions that do not apply to your project (e.g., footnotes). (01) Word count of complete project (under "Tools" in MS Word): (02) Put your 100-word (approx) synopsis/description here (or attach): (03) Describe your genre and topic (e.g., nonfiction/self-help, science fiction, horror, romance, mystery, Western, young adult, children, poetry, Christian, creative nonfiction, literary): (04) Deadline date, if any, for return of complete project. (Please be realistic. Remember that professional editors usually have a project in process.): (05) If you have no immediate deadline, when do you want to start the editing process?: (For instance: within 30 days, within 60 days, within 90 days, 4-12 months) (06) Level of editing desired/expected --
(07) Number of charts/tables/pictures (if any): (08) Writing style/format manual (e.g., Chicago Manual, APA, MLA), if applicable: (09) Number of footnotes/references: (10) Do you have a contract with an agent or publisher?: (11) Do you plan to self-publish?: (12) What is your budget for the entire project? (13) Your name: (14) E-mail addresses: (15) Day/evening phone numbers (required -- in case the response to your e-mail bounces or the editors need clarification regarding the scope of service needed, deadline, etc.): (16) City, State, Country (or time zone): (17) The name(s) of the editor(s)/writer(s) you'd like to contact. (18) Do you want the coordinator to reroute your submission if you requested editors/writers who (a) are not available by your deadline date, (b) do not handle the type of material you submitted, and/or (c) do not perform the service(s) you want? (19) How did you learn about our service?: (20) Attach the first 50 pages of your manuscript (include prologue/preface, proposal, query) Notes: No hidden charges To learn more about the rates charged by professional editors, please see: Editorial Freelancers Association It is a mistaken notion that freelance editors work "on spec" (speculation) with no payment to the editor. It is basically asking the editor to work for free. There's no guarantee that a book will see a profit (or even be published). The editors posted here do not work on spec. Note: Questions about price and turnaround times cannot be given over the phone or via chat.
Contact live support if you do not receive a response within three hours (M-F, 9a-7p central). Expect longer response times if you submitted after U.S. business hours or on weekends. Help2012 at Airmail.net You may also leave voice mail for the network coordinator: 469-789-3030. This number is for verification of e-mail submissions only. Please be as complete as possible in representing your project's scope and size so you will receive the most accurate estimate. Disclaimer: Your agreement, whether oral or written, is with your editor or publishing consultant, not with the editing network as a whole or its coordinator. |
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